Best Players Remaining in the 2026 World Cup Semifinals

Charlie Zschau Published: 4 hours ago

The 2026 World Cup is has been dominated by the biggest stars from the start of the tournament, and as the semifinals approach, many of the big names are still in the competition.

The 2026 World Cup semifinals will feature the four highest ranked teams in the world according the FIFA World Rankings, with France taking on Spain, and England facing Argentina.

Argentina was dragged to the semis by the legendary Lionel Messi who's scored eight goals and added two assists in six games. The only player with more goal contributions in the World Cup is France's Kylian Mbappe (eight goals, three assists).

Mbappe has been excellent for France, but he has also been well complimented by 2025 Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele (five goals, two assists) and Michael Olise (zero goals, five assists).

England has scored 13 goals thus far in the World Cup, and 12 of them have come from Jude Bellingham (six goals) or Harry Kane (six goals).

Spain is the only team that has not been carried to the semifinals by their stars, and has received consistent production from players all over the field. Spain's strength has come from stout team defense, and unselfish attacking play. La Roja have only conceded one goal during the tournament, and it came against Belgium in the quarterfinals.

10 Best Players in the World Cup Semifinals

Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Kylian Mbappe (France)
Harry Kane (England)
Jude Bellingham (England)
Ousmane Dembele (France)
Michael Olise (France)
Rodri (Spain)
Lamine Yamal (Spain)
Declan Rice (England)
Pau Cubarsi (Spain)

Although Mbappe has the most goal contributions (11) in the World Cup ahead of the semifinals, Lionel Messi claims the best player of the tournament due to the lack of production and creativity around him. Mbappe has benefited from the threats of Olise and Dembele while Messi has been the only dangerous player in the Argentina squad.

Kane and Bellingham's incredibly performances have them landing 3rd and 4thin this ranking, while the same logic that applies to Mbappe applies to Dembele and Olise who drop to 5th and 6th.

Rodri, Lamine Yamal, Declan Rice, and Pau Cubarsi fill in the final top ten spots for their consistent production. Cubarsi, 19, has been a rock at the center of the Spanish defense and is the only defender to crack the top 10 players in the star studded semifinals.

2026 World Cup Semifinals Combined 11

	ST Harry Kane		ST Lionel Messi
LW Kylian Mbappe				RW Ousmane Dembele

	CM Jude Bellingham		CM Rodri

LB Marc Cucurella				RB Jules Kounde
	CB William Saliba		CB Pau Cubarsi
		GK Unai Simon