FIFA World Cup awards

At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game.

Awards

[edit]
  • There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA Technical Study Group:[1][2]
    • the Golden Ball (currently commercially termed "adidas Golden Ball") for best player, first awarded in 1982.
    • the Golden Boot (currently commercially termed "adidas Golden Boot", formerly known as the "adidas Golden Shoe" from 1982 to 2006) for top goalscorer, first awarded in 1982;
    • the Golden Glove (currently commercially termed "adidas Golden Glove", formerly known as the "Lev Yashin Award" from 1994 to 2006) for best goalkeeper, first awarded in 1994;
    • the FIFA Young Player Award (formerly known as the "Best Young Player Award" from 2006 to 2010) for best player under 21 years of age at the start of the calendar year, first awarded in 2006;
    • the FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team that advanced to the second round with the best record of fair play, first awarded in 1970.
  • There is currently one award voted on by fans during the tournament:
    • the Player of the Match (currently commercially termed "Budweiser Player of the Match", formerly known as the "Man of the Match" from 2002 to 2018) for outstanding performance during each match of the tournament, first awarded in 2002.
  • There are currently two awards voted on by fans after the conclusion of the tournament:
    • the Goal of the Tournament, (currently commercially termed "Hyundai Goal of the Tournament") for the fans' best goal scored during the tournament, first awarded in 2006;
    • the Most Entertaining Team for the team that has entertained the public the most, during the World Cup final tournament, as determined by a poll of the general public.
  • One other award was given between 1994 and 2006:[3]
    • an All-Star Team comprising the best players of the tournament chosen by the FIFA Technical Study Group. From 2010 onwards, all Dream Teams or Statistical Teams are unofficial, as reported by FIFA itself.

Golden Ball

[edit]

The Golden Ball award is presented to the best player at each FIFA World Cup finals, with a shortlist drawn up by the FIFA technical committee (Technical Study Group) and the winner voted for by representatives of the media.[4] Those who finish as runners-up in the vote receive the Silver Ball and Bronze Ball awards as the second and third most outstanding players in the tournament respectively. The current award was introduced in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, sponsored by Adidas and France Football.[5] Oliver Kahn is to date the only goalkeeper to have won the award, which he did in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi became the first player to win a second Golden Ball.[6]

Official winners

[edit]
Golden Ball[7]
World Cup Golden Ball Silver Ball Bronze Ball
1982 Spain Italy Paolo Rossi Brazil Falcão West Germany Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
1986 Mexico Argentina Diego Maradona West Germany Harald Schumacher Denmark Preben Elkjær
1990 Italy Italy Salvatore Schillaci West Germany Lothar Matthäus Argentina Diego Maradona
1994 United States Brazil Romário Italy Roberto Baggio Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov
1998 France Brazil Ronaldo Croatia Davor Šuker France Lilian Thuram
2002 South Korea/Japan Germany Oliver Kahn Brazil Ronaldo South Korea Hong Myung-bo
2006 Germany France Zinedine Zidane Italy Fabio Cannavaro Italy Andrea Pirlo
2010 South Africa Uruguay Diego Forlán Netherlands Wesley Sneijder Spain David Villa
2014 Brazil Argentina Lionel Messi Germany Thomas Müller Netherlands Arjen Robben
2018 Russia Croatia Luka Modrić Belgium Eden Hazard France Antoine Griezmann
2022 Qatar Argentina Lionel Messi France Kylian Mbappé Croatia Luka Modrić
Trophies by country
Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
 Argentina 3 0 1 4
 Italy 2 2 1 5
 Brazil 2 2 0 4
 West Germany/Germany 1 3 1 5
 France 1 1 2 4
 Croatia 1 1 1 3
 Uruguay 1 0 0 1
 Netherlands 0 1 1 2
 Belgium 0 1 0 1
 Bulgaria 0 0 1 1
 Denmark 0 0 1 1
 South Korea 0 0 1 1
 Spain 0 0 1 1

Unofficial winner

[edit]

The following players are recognised as best players by the FIFA website. FIFA recognizes the Golden Ball award prior to 1982 only in 1978; it does not recognize Golden Ball awards from 1930 to 1974.

Unofficial Best Player
World Cup Winner Runner-up Third place
1978 Argentina Argentina Mario Kempes[8] Italy Paolo Rossi[9] Brazil Dirceu[9]

Media selections

[edit]

Authoritative football historian and statistician Ejikeme Ikwunze, popularly called "Mr. Football", published a list of the best players in his book World Cup (1930-2010): A Statistical Summary,[10] and it gained the most attention among experts' selections about the best players until 1978. This work is part of the official FIFA library,[11] and received public recognition from his former presidents Joao Havelange and Sepp Blatter.[citation needed] A considerable number of other media agreed with him.[12][13][14][15]

World Cup (1930-2010): A Statistical Summary's Best Player[10]
World Cup First place Second place Third place
1930 Uruguay Uruguay José Nasazzi[16] Argentina Guillermo Stábile Uruguay José Leandro Andrade
1934 Italy Italy Giuseppe Meazza Austria Matthias Sindelar Czechoslovakia Oldrich Nejedly
1938 France Brazil Leônidas[17] Italy Silvio Piola Hungary György Sárosi
1950 Brazil Brazil Zizinho[18] Uruguay Juan Alberto Schiaffino Brazil Ademir
1954 Switzerland Hungary Ferenc Puskás Hungary Sándor Kocsis West Germany Fritz Walter
1958 Sweden Brazil Didi[19][20] Brazil Pelé France Just Fontaine
1962 Chile Brazil Garrincha[21] Czechoslovakia Josef Masopust Chile Leonel Sánchez
1966 England England Bobby Charlton England Bobby Moore Portugal Eusébio
1970 México Brazil Pelé[22] Brazil Gérson West Germany Gerd Müller
1974 West Germany Netherlands Johan Cruyff West Germany Franz Beckenbauer Poland Kazimierz Deyna
1978 Argentina[23] Argentina Mario Kempes Italy Paolo Rossi Did not select

On 2 August 1950, Dr. Friedebert Becker [de], the editor-in-chief of Kicker (then Sport-Magazin), chose his best players of the tournament.[24]

France Football, the sponsor of Golden Ball and Ballon d'Or, selected the best player of the 1966 FIFA World Cup at that time with L'Équipe, and Bobby Charlton became the winner.[25]

After the 1978 World Cup, Argentinian magazine El Gráfico held a survey for the best player of the tournament. This was different from the unofficial Golden Ball which is recognised by FIFA.[26]

Guerin Sportivo chose their top ten players for the 1990 tournament in Italy.[27]

In 1998, the Argentinian newspaper Clarín provided a brief description of each star player dating back to 1930. Some are controversial decisions as is the case with retrospective awards. The 1998 winner was awarded after the tournament ended.[28]

World Cup Media First place Second place Third place
1930 Uruguay Clarín Uruguay José Nasazzi
ESPN Deportes[29] Uruguay José Nasazzi
1934 Italy Clarín Italy Giuseppe Meazza
ESPN Deportes[30] Italy Raimundo Orsi
1938 France Clarín Brazil Leônidas
ESPN Deportes[31] Italy Giuseppe Meazza
1950 Brazil Sport-Magazin Brazil Zizinho Uruguay Alcides Ghiggia Brazil Ademir
Clarín Uruguay Obdulio Varela
ESPN Deportes[32] Uruguay Obdulio Varela
1954 Switzerland Clarín Hungary Ferenc Puskás
ESPN Deportes[33] Hungary Ferenc Puskás
1958 Sweden El Gráfico[34] Brazil Pelé Brazil Garrincha Brazil Vavá
Clarín Brazil Pelé
ESPN Deportes[35] Brazil Pelé
1962 Chile Clarín Brazil Garrincha
ESPN Deportes[36] Brazil Garrincha
1966 England France FootballL'Équipe England Bobby Charlton West Germany Franz Beckenbauer Portugal Eusébio
Sofascore[37] Portugal Eusébio West Germany Helmut Haller Hungary Ferenc Bene
Castrol Football[14] West Germany Franz Beckenbauer West Germany Helmut Haller England Martin Peters
Clarín West Germany Franz Beckenbauer
ESPN Deportes[38] England Bobby Charlton
1970 Mexico Sofascore[39] West Germany Gerd Müller Brazil Pelé Brazil Rivellino
Castrol Football[15] West Germany Gerd Müller Brazil Jairzinho Brazil Pelé
Clarín Brazil Pelé
ESPN Deportes[40] Brazil Pelé
1974 West Germany Sofascore[41] Netherlands Johan Cruyff Poland Kazimierz Deyna Sweden Ronnie Hellström
Castrol Football[17] Netherlands Johan Cruyff Poland Grzegorz Lato Poland Kazimierz Deyna
Clarín Netherlands Johan Cruyff
ESPN Deportes[42] Netherlands Johan Cruyff
1978 Argentina El Gráfico Argentina Mario Kempes Italy Paolo Rossi Argentina Ubaldo Fillol
Sofascore[43] Argentina Mario Kempes Argentina Daniel Passarella Peru Ramón Quiroga
Castrol Football[18] Argentina Mario Kempes Brazil Émerson Leão Argentina Ubaldo Fillol
Clarín Argentina Mario Kempes
ESPN Deportes[44] Argentina Mario Kempes
1982 Spain FourFourTwo[45] Italy Paolo Rossi Italy Bruno Conti Brazil Falcão
Guerin Sportivo[46] Italy Paolo Rossi Italy Claudio Gentile Brazil Júnior
Sofascore[47] Poland Zbigniew Boniek France Michel Platini Brazil Zico
Castrol Football[19] Italy Paolo Rossi Brazil Zico Poland Zbigniew Boniek
Clarín Italy Paolo Rossi
ESPN Deportes[48] Brazil Sócrates
Pelé[49] Italy Bruno Conti
1986 Mexico FourFourTwo[50] Argentina Diego Maradona Denmark Preben Elkjær England Gary Lineker
Sofascore[51] Argentina Diego Maradona Brazil Careca England Gary Lineker
Castrol Football[20] Argentina Diego Maradona Argentina José Luis Brown England Gary Lineker
Clarín Argentina Diego Maradona
ESPN Deportes[52] Argentina Diego Maradona
1990 Italy FourFourTwo[53] West Germany Lothar Matthäus Italy Salvatore Schillaci Argentina Diego Maradona
Guerin Sportivo Italy Salvatore Schillaci West Germany Andreas Brehme England Paul Gascoigne
Sofascore[1] West Germany Lothar Matthäus West Germany Andreas Brehme Spain Míchel
Castrol Football[21] West Germany Andreas Brehme Italy Franco Baresi West Germany Guido Buchwald
Clarín Argentina Diego Maradona
ESPN Deportes[54] West Germany Lothar Matthäus
1994 United States FourFourTwo[55] Brazil Romário Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov Romania Gheorghe Hagi
Sofascore[2] Romania Gheorghe Hagi Sweden Kennet Andersson Romania Florin Răducioiu
Castrol Football[22] Brazil Romário Brazil Márcio Santos Brazil Aldair
Clarín Brazil Romário
ESPN Deportes[56] Brazil Romário
1998 France FourFourTwo[57] France Lilian Thuram Brazil Ronaldo Croatia Davor Šuker
Sofascore[3] Paraguay Celso Ayala France Lilian Thuram France Zinedine Zidane
Castrol Football[23] France Lilian Thuram France Marcel Desailly France Bixente Lizarazu
Clarín France Zinedine Zidane
ESPN Deportes[58] France Zinedine Zidane
2002 South Korea/Japan FourFourTwo[59] Brazil Ronaldo Germany Oliver Kahn Turkey Hasan Şaş
Sofascore[4] Germany Michael Ballack Brazil Ronaldo Germany Torsten Frings
Castrol Football[26] Brazil Ronaldo Germany Michael Ballack Germany Thomas Linke
ESPN Deportes[60] Brazil Ronaldo
2006 Germany FourFourTwo[61] Italy Andrea Pirlo France Zinedine Zidane Italy Fabio Cannavaro
Sofascore[6] Italy Andrea Pirlo Ukraine Anatoliy Tymoshchuk Switzerland Pascal Zuberbühler
Castrol Football[27] Italy Gianluigi Buffon France Lilian Thuram France William Gallas
ESPN Deportes[62] France Zinedine Zidane
2010 South Africa FourFourTwo[63] Spain Xavi Uruguay Diego Forlán Spain Andrés Iniesta
Bleacher Report[64] Netherlands Wesley Sneijder Spain David Villa Uruguay Diego Forlán
Sofascore[8] Argentina Lionel Messi Germany Bastian Schweinsteiger Spain Xavi
Castrol Football[28] Spain Sergio Ramos Spain Joan Capdevila Spain Carles Puyol
ESPN Deportes[65] Uruguay Diego Forlán
2014 Brazil FourFourTwo[66] Colombia James Rodríguez Germany Toni Kroos Argentina Javier Mascherano
The Guardian[67] Colombia James Rodríguez Germany Thomas Müller Netherlands Arjen Robben
Bleacher Report[68] Germany Manuel Neuer Netherlands Arjen Robben Colombia James Rodríguez
Sofascore[11] Colombia James Rodríguez Switzerland Ricardo Rodriguez United States Tim Howard
2018 Russia Irish Independent[69] Croatia Luka Modrić France Kylian Mbappé France N'Golo Kanté
Sportskeeda[70] Croatia Luka Modrić France Kylian Mbappé Belgium Eden Hazard
Sofascore[12] Spain Isco Belgium Eden Hazard Brazil Neymar
2022 Qatar FourFourTwo[71] Argentina Lionel Messi France Kylian Mbappé France Antoine Griezmann
Sports Illustrated[72] France Kylian Mbappé Argentina Lionel Messi France Antoine Griezmann
Sofascore[13] Argentina Lionel Messi France Antoine Griezmann France Kylian Mbappé

Golden Boot

[edit]

The Golden Boot or Golden Shoe award goes to the top goalscorer of the FIFA World Cup. While every World Cup had a ranking of the goalscorers, the first time an award was given was in 1982,[7] under the name Golden Shoe.[5] It was rechristened Golden Boot in 2010.[73] FIFA sometimes lists the top goalscorers of previous Cups among the Golden Boot winners.[74]

If there is more than one player with the same number of goals, since 1994 the tie-breaker goes to the player with more assists. If there is still more than one player, the tie (since 2006) is decided by minutes played in the tournament, with the player playing fewest minutes ranked first. A Silver Boot and a Bronze Boot are also awarded for the second and third-highest goalscorers respectively.

Top Goalscorer[75][76]
World Cup Top goalscorer Goals Runners-up Goals Third place Goals
1930 Uruguay Argentina Guillermo Stábile 8 Uruguay Pedro Cea 5 United States Bert Patenaude 4
1934 Italy Czechoslovakia Oldřich Nejedlý 5[a] Germany Edmund Conen
Italy Angelo Schiavio
4 None
1938 France Brazil Leônidas 7[b] Hungary György Sárosi
Hungary Gyula Zsengellér
Italy Silvio Piola
5 None
1950 Brazil Brazil Ademir 9[c] Uruguay Óscar Míguez 5 Uruguay Alcides Ghiggia
Brazil Chico
Spain Estanislau Basora
Spain Telmo Zarra
4
1954 Switzerland Hungary Sándor Kocsis 11 Switzerland Josef Hügi
West Germany Max Morlock
Austria Erich Probst
6 None
1958 Sweden France Just Fontaine 13 Brazil Pelé
West Germany Helmut Rahn
6 None
1962 Chile Hungary Flórián Albert
Soviet Union Valentin Ivanov
Brazil Garrincha
Brazil Vavá
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dražan Jerković
Chile Leonel Sánchez
4 None
None
1966 England Portugal Eusébio 9 West Germany Helmut Haller 6 West Germany Franz Beckenbauer
Hungary Ferenc Bene
England Geoff Hurst
Soviet Union Valeriy Porkujan
4
1970 Mexico West Germany Gerd Müller 10 Brazil Jairzinho 7 Peru Teófilo Cubillas 5
1974 West Germany Poland Grzegorz Lato 7 Netherlands Johan Neeskens
Poland Andrzej Szarmach
5 None
1978 Argentina[80] Argentina Mario Kempes 6 Peru Teófilo Cubillas 5 Netherlands Rob Rensenbrink 5
Golden Shoe[74]
World Cup Golden Shoe Goals Silver Shoe Goals Bronze Shoe Goals
1982 Spain Italy Paolo Rossi 6 West Germany Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 5 Brazil Zico 4
1986 Mexico England Gary Lineker 6 Spain Emilio Butragueño
Brazil Careca
Argentina Diego Maradona
5 None[81]
1990 Italy Italy Salvatore Schillaci 6 Czechoslovakia Tomáš Skuhravý 5 England Gary Lineker
Cameroon Roger Milla
4
1994 United States Russia Oleg Salenko[d]
Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov[e]
6 None
Sweden Kennet Andersson
Brazil Romário
5[f]
1998 France[84] Croatia Davor Šuker 6 Argentina Gabriel Batistuta
Italy Christian Vieri
5 None[g]
2002 South Korea/Japan[85] Brazil Ronaldo 8[h] Germany Miroslav Klose
Brazil Rivaldo
5
2006 Germany[87] Germany Miroslav Klose 5 Argentina Hernán Crespo 3[i] Brazil Ronaldo 3[i]
Golden Boot[74]
World Cup Golden Boot Goals Silver Boot Goals Bronze Boot Goals
2010 South Africa Germany Thomas Müller 5[j] Spain David Villa 5[j] Netherlands Wesley Sneijder 5[j]
2014 Brazil Colombia James Rodríguez 6 Germany Thomas Müller 5 Brazil Neymar 4[k]
2018 Russia England Harry Kane 6 France Antoine Griezmann 4[l] Belgium Romelu Lukaku 4[l]
2022 Qatar France Kylian Mbappé 8 Argentina Lionel Messi 7 France Olivier Giroud 4[m]
Notes
  1. ^ FIFA initially credited Nejedlý with only four goals, which would make him joint top scorer with Angelo Schiavio of Italy and Edmund Conen of Germany. However, FIFA changed it to five goals in November 2006, making Nejedlý the outright top scorer.[77]
  2. ^ FIFA initially credited Leônidas with eight goals. However, in November 2006, FIFA confirmed that in the quarter-final tie against Czechoslovakia, he had scored once, not twice as FIFA had originally recorded, meaning he had scored only seven goals in total.[77]
  3. ^ There was controversy regarding the number of goals Brazilian Ademir had scored in 1950, as a result of incomplete data concerning the Final Round game Brazil vs. Spain (6–1). The 5–0 goal had been credited to Jair, but is now credited to Ademir.[78][79]
  4. ^ Salenko is the only player to win the award playing for a team that were eliminated in the group stage. His six goals are the only international goals he ever scored.
  5. ^ Despite the assist tiebreaker, Salenko and Stoichkov remained tied with six goals and one assist each, and both received the Golden Shoe.[82]
  6. ^ Romário and Andersson surpassed the other two players with five goals (Jürgen Klinsmann and Roberto Baggio) by having three assists each.[82][83]
  7. ^ Both runners-up had the same number of assists, and each received the Silver Shoe.
  8. ^ During the tournament, after the group stage match against Costa Rica, Ronaldo logged a protest against the crediting of a goal as an own goal, and FIFA granted him the change.[86]
  9. ^ a b Eight players had scored three goals. Ronaldo, Crespo and Zinedine Zidane stood out for having one assist, and then the two recipients were determined by less playtime (308 minutes for Crespo, 411 for Ronaldo, 559 for Zidane).[88]
  10. ^ a b c Müller, Villa, Sneijder and Diego Forlán tied with five goals. Müller won by virtue of having more assists (three) than the rest (each had one). Villa won the Silver Boot due to playing fewer minutes than Sneijder, and Sneijder won the Bronze Boot due to having played fewer minutes than Forlán.[89]
  11. ^ Neymar, Lionel Messi and Robin van Persie all had four goals in the tournament. Neymar received the Bronze Boot for playing fewer minutes than his competitors (480; Messi played 693 minutes, and Van Persie, 548).[90]
  12. ^ a b Griezmann, Lukaku, Denis Cheryshev, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé tied with four goals. In the assists tiebreaker, Griezmann won the Silver Boot by virtue of having two, while Lukaku got the Bronze Boot as he had one. The rest had zero.[91]
  13. ^ Giroud and Julián Álvarez tied with four goals. Giroud won the Bronze Boot due to playing fewer minutes than Álvarez.[92]

Golden Glove

[edit]

The Golden Glove award is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. The award was introduced with the name "Lev Yashin Award" in 1994, in honor of the late Soviet goalkeeper.[7] It was rechristened "Golden Glove" in 2010. The FIFA Technical Study Group recognises the top goalkeeper of the tournament based on the player's performance throughout the final competition. Although goalkeepers have this specific award for their position, they are still eligible for the Golden Ball as well, as when Oliver Kahn was awarded in 2002.[93]

Official Award
Lev Yashin Award
World Cup Lev Yashin Award Clean sheets
1994 United States Belgium Michel Preud'homme 2
1998 France France Fabien Barthez 5
2002 South Korea/Japan Germany Oliver Kahn 5
2006 Germany Italy Gianluigi Buffon 5
Golden Glove
World Cup Golden Glove Clean sheets
2010 South Africa Spain Iker Casillas 5
2014 Brazil Germany Manuel Neuer 4
2018 Russia Belgium Thibaut Courtois 3
2022 Qatar Argentina Emiliano Martínez 3

FIFA Young Player Award

[edit]

The FIFA Young Player Award ("Best Young Player Award" 2006–2010) was awarded for the first time at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and given to Germany's Lukas Podolski.[94] The award is given to the best player in the tournament who is at most 21 years old. For the 2022 World Cup, this meant that the player had to have been born on or after 1 January 2001.

In 2006,[95] the election took place on FIFA's official World Cup website with the help of The FIFA Technical Study Group.[96]

FIFA organised a survey on the Internet for users to choose the "Best Young Player" of the World Cup, between 1958 and 2002, named the best young player of each tournament.[97] With 61% of the overall vote, the winner was Pelé, who finished ahead of the Peruvian Teófilo Cubillas, the best young player at Mexico 1970, and England's Michael Owen, who reached similar heights at France 98.[98][99]

The winner of the award has only been part of the winning country three times. Pelé in 1958, Kylian Mbappé in 2018, and Enzo Fernández in 2022.

World Cup FIFA Young Player Age Position
1958 Sweden Brazil Pelé 17 Centre-Forward
1962 Chile Hungary Flórián Albert 20 Centre-Forward
1966 England West Germany Franz Beckenbauer 20 Sweeper-Defender
1970 Mexico Peru Teófilo Cubillas 21 Attacking-Midfielder
1974 West Germany Poland Władysław Żmuda 20 Centre-Back
1978 Argentina Italy Antonio Cabrini 20 Left-Back
1982 Spain France Manuel Amoros 21 Right-Back
1986 Mexico Belgium Enzo Scifo 20 Attacking-Midfielder
1990 Italy Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Robert Prosinečki 21 Centre-Midfielder
1994 United States Netherlands Marc Overmars 20 Left-Winger
1998 France England Michael Owen 18 Centre-Forward
2002 South Korea/Japan United States Landon Donovan 20 Second-Striker
2006 Germany Germany Lukas Podolski[94] 21 Second-Striker
2010 South Africa Germany Thomas Müller[100] 20 Second-Striker
2014 Brazil France Paul Pogba[101] 21 Centre-Midfielder
2018 Russia France Kylian Mbappé[102] 19 Left-Winger
2022 Qatar Argentina Enzo Fernández 21 Centre-Midfielder

FIFA Fair Play Trophy

[edit]

The FIFA Fair Play Trophy is given to the team with the best record of fair play during the World Cup final tournament since 1970. Only teams that qualified for the second round are considered. The winners of this award earn the FIFA Fair Play Trophy, a diploma, a fair play medal for each player and official, and $50,000 worth of football equipment to be used for youth development.[103]

The appearance of the award was originally a certificate. From 1982 to 1990, it was a golden trophy based on Sport Billy, a football-playing cartoon character from 1982 who became an icon for FIFA Fair play.[104][105] Ever since 1994, it is simply a trophy with an elegant footballer figure.[106] Peru was the first nation to win the award after receiving no yellow or red cards in the 1970 FIFA World Cup held in Mexico.[107]

Peru's FIFA Fair Play trophy award. Peru won the award after receiving no yellow or red cards in the tournament.
World Cup FIFA Fair Play Trophy Winners
1970 Mexico  Peru
1974 West Germany  West Germany
1978 Argentina  Argentina
1982 Spain  Brazil
1986 Mexico  Brazil
1990 Italy  England
1994 United States  Brazil
1998 France  England
 France
2002 South Korea/Japan  Belgium
2006 Germany  Brazil
 Spain
2010 South Africa  Spain
2014 Brazil  Colombia
2018 Russia  Spain
2022 Qatar  England

Player of the Match

[edit]

The Player of the Match (POTM) award picks the outstanding player in every match of the tournament. The award was introduced with the name "Man of the Match" in 2002. It was rechristened "Player of the Match" in 2022.

While the inaugural two editions were chosen by the technical group,[108][109] since 2010, Player of the Match is picked by an online poll on FIFA's website.[110][111][112]

World Cup Player(s) with most POTM wins Wins
2002 South Korea/Japan Brazil Rivaldo 3
2006 Germany Italy Andrea Pirlo 3
2010 South Africa Netherlands Wesley Sneijder 4
2014 Brazil Argentina Lionel Messi 4
2018 Russia France Antoine Griezmann
Belgium Eden Hazard
England Harry Kane
Croatia Luka Modrić
3
2022 Qatar Argentina Lionel Messi 5

Total awards
As of 18 December 2022

Rank Player Wins World Cup(s) with awards
1 Argentina Lionel Messi 11 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022
2 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 7 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022
3 Netherlands Arjen Robben 6 2006, 2010, 2014
4 France Kylian Mbappé 5 2018, 2022
Croatia Luka Modrić 2018, 2022
Uruguay Luis Suárez 2010, 2014, 2018
7 France Antoine Griezmann 4 2018, 2022
Belgium Eden Hazard 2014, 2018
Japan Keisuke Honda 2010, 2014
England Harry Kane 2018, 2022
Germany Miroslav Klose 2002, 2006
Germany Thomas Müller 2010, 2014
Brazil Neymar 2014, 2018, 2022
South Korea Park Ji-sung 2002, 2006, 2010
Colombia James Rodríguez 2014, 2018
Netherlands Wesley Sneijder 2010

By country
As of 18 December 2022

Rank Country Wins Players
1  Brazil 25 16
2  Germany 23 13
3  France 22 12
4  Argentina 21 9
5  Spain 18 12
6  England 17 14
7  Netherlands 16 7
8  Mexico 14 11
 Portugal 8
10  United States 13 8
 Croatia 8

Most Entertaining Team

[edit]

The Most Entertaining Team award is a subjectively awarded prize for the team that had done the most to entertain the public with a positive approach to the game, organised through public participation in a poll[7] starting in 1994.[73]

World Cup Most Entertaining Team Award
1994 United States  Brazil[87]
1998 France  France[87]
2002 South Korea/Japan  South Korea[113]
2006 Germany  Portugal[114]

All-Star Team

[edit]

Official winners

[edit]

The All-Star Team is a team of the best performers at the respective World Cup finals. Since 1994, FIFA decided to add official best squads, chosen by its Technical Study Group under the brand name MasterCard All-Star Team.[115] For 1998, 2002 and 2006, substitute and reserve members were also nominated for full squads.

All-Star Team
World Cup Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards Reserves
1994 United States[115]

Belgium Michel Preud'homme

Brazil Jorginho
Brazil Márcio Santos
Italy Paolo Maldini

Brazil Dunga
Bulgaria Krasimir Balakov
Romania Gheorghe Hagi
Sweden Tomas Brolin

Brazil Romário
Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov
Italy Roberto Baggio

Did not select
1998 France[116]

France Fabien Barthez
Paraguay José Luis Chilavert

Brazil Roberto Carlos
France Marcel Desailly
France Lilian Thuram
Netherlands Frank de Boer
Paraguay Carlos Gamarra

Brazil Dunga
Brazil Rivaldo
Denmark Michael Laudrup
France Zinedine Zidane
Netherlands Edgar Davids

Brazil Ronaldo
Croatia Davor Šuker
Denmark Brian Laudrup
Netherlands Dennis Bergkamp

Netherlands Edwin van der Sar
Argentina Juan Sebastián Verón
France Thierry Henry
Nigeria Jay-Jay Okocha
England Michael Owen
Italy Christian Vieri

2002 South Korea/Japan[117]

Germany Oliver Kahn
Turkey Rüştü Reçber

Brazil Roberto Carlos
England Sol Campbell
Spain Fernando Hierro
South Korea Hong Myung-bo
Turkey Alpay Özalan

Brazil Rivaldo
Brazil Ronaldinho
Germany Michael Ballack
United States Claudio Reyna
South Korea Yoo Sang-chul

Brazil Ronaldo
Germany Miroslav Klose
Senegal El Hadji Diouf
Turkey Hasan Şaş

Spain Iker Casillas
Brazil Cafu
Germany Dietmar Hamann
Spain Joaquín
Japan Hidetoshi Nakata
United States Landon Donovan
Belgium Marc Wilmots

2006 Germany[118]

Italy Gianluigi Buffon
Germany Jens Lehmann
Portugal Ricardo

Argentina Roberto Ayala
England John Terry
France Lilian Thuram
Germany Philipp Lahm
Italy Fabio Cannavaro
Italy Gianluca Zambrotta
Portugal Ricardo Carvalho

Brazil Zé Roberto
France Patrick Vieira
France Zinedine Zidane
Germany Michael Ballack
Italy Andrea Pirlo
Italy Gennaro Gattuso
Portugal Luís Figo
Portugal Maniche

Argentina Hernán Crespo
France Thierry Henry
Germany Miroslav Klose
Italy Luca Toni
Italy Francesco Totti

Did not select

Unofficial winners

[edit]

FIFA published the first All-Star Team in 1938, but it never made All-Star Team again until 1990 due to ensuing complaints.[119] In January 1959, the host of 1958 tournament Swedish Federation published an All-Star Team based on 720 answers out of 1,200 experts.[120][121] In 1990 there was an All-Star Team announced in combination with the Golden Ball ceremony. It was chosen by the same journalists who chose the best player, but this team is still considered unofficial.[122][123]

Unofficial All-Star Team
World Cup Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards Reserves
1938 France

Czechoslovakia František Plánička

Brazil Domingos da Guia
Italy Pietro Rava

Brazil Zezé Procópio
Italy Michele Andreolo
Italy Ugo Locatelli

Sweden Arne Nyberg
Italy Giuseppe Meazza
Brazil Leônidas
Hungary György Sárosi
Hungary Pál Titkos

Did not select
1958 Sweden

Northern Ireland Harry Gregg

Sweden Orvar Bergmark
Brazil Bellini
Brazil Nílton Santos

Soviet Union Yuriy Voynov
West Germany Horst Szymaniak

Brazil Garrincha
Brazil Didi
France Raymond Kopa
Brazil Pelé
Sweden Lennart Skoglund

Did not select
1990 Italy

Brazil Cláudio Taffarel

Brazil Jorginho
Italy Giuseppe Bergomi
Italy Franco Baresi
West Germany Guido Buchwald
West Germany Andreas Brehme

Italy Roberto Donadoni
West Germany Lothar Matthäus
Belgium Enzo Scifo

Italy Salvatore Schillaci
West Germany Jürgen Klinsmann

Costa Rica Gabelo Conejo
Brazil Branco
England Des Walker
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragan Stojković
Cameroon Roger Milla

After FIFA changed its sponsor from MasterCard to Visa in 2007,[124] it published Team of the Tournament based on statistical data of other sponsors, which evaluates players' performances. FIFA explained these are not official.[125]

Statistical Team of the Tournament
World Cup Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards Standard
2010 South Africa[126]

Germany Manuel Neuer

Spain Joan Capdevila
Germany Philipp Lahm
Spain Carles Puyol
Spain Sergio Ramos

Netherlands Mark van Bommel
Germany Thomas Müller
Netherlands Wesley Sneijder
Spain Sergio Busquets

Spain David Villa
Uruguay Luis Suárez

Castrol performance index
2014 Brazil[127]

Germany Manuel Neuer

Argentina Marcos Rojo
Germany Mats Hummels
Brazil Thiago Silva
Netherlands Stefan de Vrij

Brazil Oscar
Germany Toni Kroos
Germany Philipp Lahm
Colombia James Rodríguez

Netherlands Arjen Robben
Germany Thomas Müller

Castrol performance index
2018 Russia[125]

Belgium Thibaut Courtois

Sweden Andreas Granqvist
France Raphaël Varane
Brazil Thiago Silva
Colombia Yerry Mina

Russia Denis Cheryshev
Brazil Philippe Coutinho
Croatia Luka Modrić

England Harry Kane
Belgium Eden Hazard
France Antoine Griezmann

Fantasy football

Since 2010, the Fan Dream Team has been voted by online poll of FIFA website, but FIFA explained this is also not official team.[125]

Fan Dream Team
World Cup Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards Manager
2010 South Africa[128]

Spain Iker Casillas

Germany Philipp Lahm
Spain Sergio Ramos
Spain Carles Puyol
Brazil Maicon

Spain Xavi
Germany Bastian Schweinsteiger
Netherlands Wesley Sneijder
Spain Andrés Iniesta

Spain David Villa
Uruguay Diego Forlán

Spain Vicente del Bosque

2014 Brazil[129]

Germany Manuel Neuer

Brazil Marcelo
Germany Mats Hummels
Brazil David Luiz
Brazil Thiago Silva

Argentina Ángel Di María