The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner, but who will light up the competition and land the Golden Ball award?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is almost upon us, with 48 teams travelling to the United States, Mexico and Canada for the biggest-ever edition of the tournament.
While the world’s top players will be visualising lifting the trophy, those that inspire their teams to deep runs may also be in line for individual honours.
The World Cup Golden Ball is given to the best player at each tournament, with the first official award going to Italy’s Paolo Rossi in 1982.
Overall, 12 different players have claimed the World Cup Golden Ball award since then, with Harry Kane to be in fine form.
Luckily for Thomas Tuchel, Kane has a real claim to being the best footballer on the planet right now.
Throughout 2025-26, Kane plundered 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern Munich across all competitions, a staggering 19 goals more than any other player from Europe’s top five leagues since the 2025 Club World Cup finished (Mbappé netted 42). Kane also supplied seven assists, taking him to a remarkable 68 goal involvements.
Those 61 goals came from a total expected goals (xG) figure of 44.4, and his overperformance of +16.6 was not only the best by any player from Europe’s top five leagues, it was over double that of his closest rival, with Antoine Semenyo recording an xG overperformance of +7.3 for Bournemouth and Manchester City combined.
Kane also has plenty of World Cup pedigree, with his eight goals across the 2018 (6) and 2022 (2) tournaments only bettered by Mbappé’s 12. He needs three goals to overhaul Gary Lineker (10) as England’s all-time leading World Cup scorer.
However, it should be noted that, of the 11 previous World Cup Golden Ball awards, only two have ever gone to the player who was the leading goalscorer at that same tournament. They were both Italians – Rossi in 1982 and Salvatore Schillaci in 1990.
Kane is capable of being the kind of talisman that lands these awards, having provided a tournament-high three assists under high pressure at Qatar 2022. But England have other stars capable of grabbing the headlines, too, including Arsenal duo Jude Bellingham.
Kylian Mbappé (France)
There will surely be other Madrid players in the Golden Ball conversation, starting with Vinícius Júnior.
Mbappé’s fellow Real Madrid star has so far failed to deliver his best football on the international stage, only scoring nine goals in 49 senior appearances for Brazil.
At his three major tournaments, (2022 World Cup, 2021 and 2024 Copa América), Vinícius has three goals and two assists in 11 appearances. But perhaps the chance to step out of Neymar’s shadow may help him realise his potential on the biggest stage.
Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer – who may himself have been a Golden Ball contender in 2014 before suffering a back injury in the quarter-finals – has been recalled by Ancelotti, but is nursing a calf issue, having not appeared for his country since 2023.
And, in the wake of a 6-2 friendly win over Panama, Ancelotti said Neymar cannot play out wide, suggesting he will have to compete with Vinícius and Bruno Fernandes is coming off a record 21-assist campaign in the Premier League, while Paris Saint-Germain’s James Rodríguez led the assist charts with seven – the latter was the Player of the Tournament at the 2024 Copa América.
France might still be led by Mbappé, but Kevin De Bruyne and Florian Wirtz both elite creators on their day.
One thing is for sure; there will be no shortage of contenders.
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Golden Ball Contenders: Who Will Be the Best Player at the 2026 World Cup? Opta Analyst.
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