With the 2026 World Cup already in full flow, there has been ample opportunity for players to stamp their authority on the competition’s history, with new cult heroes emerging and challenging the established stars who will go down among the greatest players in the tournament’s history.

Argentina and France already look every bit the favourites many expected them to be heading into the summer, but question marks remain over whether the likes of England, Spain and Portugal can also live up to expectations. Meanwhile, emerging dark horses include Morocco, Norway and co-hosts the USA.

While great teams ultimately win World Cups, the players who collect the most individual honours also earn their own unique place in tournament folklore. Below, we’ve taken a look at the 19 players to have earned the most Man of the Match awards. It’s worth noting that the accolade was only introduced in 2002, meaning the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona never had the opportunity to add to their incredible career hauls.

3 Man of the Match Awards

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Three players have earnt themselves the Man of the Match award three times, and perhaps nobody on this list can count themselves as more of a cult hero than Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. Every four years, fans have grown accustomed to seeing ‘Memo,’ with his unmistakable curls held back by a headband, pull off spectacular saves against the world’s elite. Incredibly, at 40 years old, he is currently competing in his sixth World Cup, but it will be his last.

Elsewhere in this section, all three of Rivaldo’s awards came in the 2002 edition, which saw Brazil win their fifth and final World Cup. While Ronaldo and Ronaldinho stole the spotlight from their fellow frontman during the early 2000s, Rivaldo was able to take some of that back with five goals and an assist across seven matches as he also won Golden Boot.

Lastly, Andrea Pirlo also won all of his at the triumphant 2006 World Cup, where Italy beat France in an iconic final best remembered for ZInedine Zidane’s headbutt. The Azzurri haven’t won a knockout game on the world stage since.

4 Man of the Match Awards

Nine players have won four Man of the Match awards at the World Cup. Of those, only Neymar and James Rodríguez are competing at the 2026 tournament across the pond, although both are now in the twilight of their careers and may find it difficult to add to their tallies. Nevertheless, the South American pair remain hugely popular around the world.

Keisuke Honda, Japan’s hero at the 2010 World Cup, and Park Ji-sung are the only two Asian players to feature on this list. Meanwhile, Antoine Griezmann is undoubtedly one of the most underrated players of his generation, with his exceptional selflessness often helping his more celebrated France teammates grab the headlines. The same cannot be said for Eden Hazard, whose brilliance was widely admired but ultimately failed to help Belgium’s Golden Generation deliver a major honour.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Miroslav Klose – now the third-highest goalscorer in World Cup history after a certain duo recently overtook him – only ever picked up four Man of the Match awards.

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5 Man of the Match Awards

Nathan Ray Seebeck/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters

It feels like forever that Harry Kane has been the be all and end all, running the show for both club and country. Whether it be dropping deep to act like a football equivalent of a quarterback, or playing on the last line of defence to score goals with ease, the fact he’s won five World Cup Man of the Matches can hardly be a surprise, and he’s bound to get more before this summer is over.

He is level with 2018 Ballon d’Or winner, Luka Modric, and former Barcelona striker, Luis Suarez. The latter of those was arguably the best player not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo during the peak of his career, and the way he used to control matches by himself is certainly something Kane would have been taking inspiration from throughout his development down the years.

Top 4

Reuters/Maria Lysaker

Coming in fourth, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, is Arjen Robben. The Netherlands winger had a unique ability to manipulate the ball like a magician, earning six Man of the Match awards across just three tournaments between 2006 and 2014. Kylian Mbappe recently surpassed that tally and, with two Man of the Match awards in as many games this summer, his total of seven suggests he is well on course to break plenty of tournament records over the course of his career.

For now, though, he remains one award behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who is eyeing 1,000 career goals and will view his sixth World Cup as another opportunity to add to his remarkable legacy. Meanwhile, out in front, was there ever any doubt that it would be Lionel Messi?

On his way to a first World Cup title in 2022, the former Barcelona star earned five Man of the Match awards. With two already at this tournament, he now sits on 11 in total. Given the award was only introduced in 2002, it is impossible to make a direct comparison with Pele, but retaining the title this summer would only strengthen the argument that Messi stands above everyone else.

It’s not just new signings that Tottenham are dealing with at the moment, as they’ve now extended the contract of one of their stars for another five years.

Spurs have been heavily linked with new additions in recent weeks as they look to turn things around after a disappointing few years.

Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson, and Jan-Paul Van Hecke have all signed on the dotted line at Spurs, while they also have interest in a host of other players.

West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes is one player they are pushing to sign, though they face competition from Manchester United.

It’s already been a busy window for the North London club, and they don’t appear to be slowing down in terms of new additions and tieing down their current players.

Romano: Tottenham Star Signs 5-Year Deal

According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky has signed a new five-year contract at the club. He’s set to be the starting goalkeeper under Roberto De Zerbi.

Kinsky, described as ‘phenomenal’ by Dominic Solanke, did go through some difficult spells at Spurs last season, but he turned a corner under De Zerbi, who showed a lot of faith in him.

Tottenham also have the option to extend Kinsky’s deal by another year, so they are clearly backing him long-term.

Guglielmo Vicario is set to leave the club, with Kinsky retaining the number one shirt.

Big Show of Faith From De Zerbi

It’s a huge show of faith from Tottenham and De Zerbi to make Kinsky the number one goalkeeper heading into the new season.

The youngster has struggled to cement a regular place as Tottenham’s number one.

After a nightmare game against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, where Igor Tudor substituted him in the first half, it looked like his Spurs career could be over.

Since then, he has rapidly turned things around, especially under De Zerbi, who has given him plenty of opportunities.

With Vicario likely to head through the exit door, Tottenham now have their number one goalkeeper sorted heading into the new season.

Iran left another lengthy handwritten note in their dressing room after their draw against Egypt at the 2026 World Cup.

Iran drew their opening two matches of the World Cup against New Zealand and Belgium. They went into their final group game with Egypt at Seattle Stadium knowing a victory would see them progress to the last 32, while a draw would give them a chance of qualifying as one of the eight best-performing third-placed sides.

Team Melli didn’t get off to the best of starts as they fell behind after just five minutes when Mahmoud Saber found the back of the net. Iran hit back quickly, though, restoring parity nine minutes later through Ramin Rezaeian.

Iran thought they had won the game in the dying embers when Shoja Khalilzadeh fired home, but their goal was ruled out due to the tightest of offside calls. The final whistle blew shortly after as they game ended in a 1-1 draw.

They will now have to wait and see whether they have done enough to qualify for the knockout rounds of the competition.

Iran Leave Note in Dressing Room After Draw vs Egypt

REUTERS/Matthew Childs

Iran left a 74-word handwritten note in their dressing room after their match against Belgium last week. They left another note in their dressing room after the match against Egypt.

The Telegraph journalist James Decker took a picture of the note and published it on social media. It read: “We come from Iran… From a land that, for thousands of years, has placed honour above victory.

“For us, football is not only a competition for results, it is a test of character.

“Perhaps points can be won in many ways, but respect cannot. Perhaps a team can advance from a group, but only through fairness and honour can one stand tall before history.

“Fair play is not just a line in football’s rules. It is the soul of the game.”

Alongside their comments about fair play, they also wrote the names of six countries yet to play their final group game: Austria, Algeria, Ghana, DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Croatia. The results of those three matches will determine whether Iran advances as one of the best-performing third-placed sides or not.

Their note concluded: “Thank you Seattle for your hospitality and thank you to all Iranians who gave their hearts, their voices. And their whole being for Iran. Iran, always standing tall.”

Iran’s Head Coach Praises His Side

Kirby Lee (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)

Iran’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, praised his side for what they were able to do despite all the hardships they have been made to endure.

He said after their draw against Egypt, per the Guardian: “To my players and the team, I want to say to them I’m proud of them, what these young people, these players have done, it should be written in history because the host country treated us very unfairly.

“Had the host country allowed us to arrive two weeks earlier, we would have been more prepared. They were reasonable, rational demands. We would have been able to recover and be in better shape physically and mentally however they deprived us of that justice.

“When you play in a match, physically, scientifically, our bodies are at a low and when you suddenly go on a flight, that actually postpones your recovery and this is the third time they are doing this to us, we have to leave from here to the airport and we have to return to Tijuana and it will take us some three hours.

“Their behaviour towards us has been really terrible and we hope the world will be aware of that. They didn’t let us come two weeks earlier and two days earlier before every game. This has really hurt us. And we had a war as well. Despite all of these problems, we’ve been able to perform well and the world is proud of Iranians and our team. I think that’s our greatest achievement despite all the obstacles and the hurdles they put in our way.”