As the largest ever comes to a close so too does the maiden instalment of the
In a fitting conclusion to a tournament where they were close to unbreachable, Spain dominated the final Defensive rankings with ending top of the pile, ahead of three fellow La Roja stars.
Elsewhere, it was a France double as Kylian Mbappe won the Attacking category, ahead of Jude Bellingham and Lionel Messi, while Michael Olise produced top marks in Creativity, where he shaded Messi and Mbappe.
Having scored the goal that settled the final, Spain’s Ferran Torres produced a score of 8.55 on the day and made a remarkable leap into the top 30 of the overall Attacking rankings, rising 94 places. Across both the New York New Jersey decider and the bronze final, there were numerous others that also gained significant ground on those above them. England forward Marcus Rashford (5.69 overall) jumped up 30 places to 44th, while his team-mate Bukayo Saka (6.50 overall) finished 13th on the back of a 27-place leap following his hat-trick heroics as the Three Lions finished third.
In terms of Creativity, Spanish players again dominated, producing seven of the top ten scorers in the final (as they also did in both the Attacking and Defending categories). There, Nico Williams’ score of 7.94 placed him ahead of Lionel Messi (7.13) on the day.
Defensively, overall winner Rodri was again a standout, mustering a score of 8.22 in the tournament’s showpiece fixture, while Pau Cubarsi (7.41) also put in a fine showing.
Now the leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history, Kylian Mbappe (9.12) had an exceptional tournament. It was one that saw him and also finish top of the Attacking category on the FIFA Power Rankings.
The France forward was involved in a tournament-long tussle with Jude Bellingham and Lionel Messi and, thanks to another fine display in the bronze final, he finished almost a full point clear of Bellingham (8.29), with Messi (8.06) ending up third.
In a nod to how many individuals from different nations stood out in North America, seven of the remaining slots in the top ten were occupied by players from five different nations, including fourth-placed Erling Haaland (7.54) and Swiss starlet Johan Manzambi (6.84) who ended up ninth.
In terms of Creativity, both Mbappe (7.84) and Messi (8.26) were again right in the hunt until the very end, but Michael Olise (8.29) held them off to top the section. Whether playing just in behind or to the right of Mbappe, Olise was the creator-in-chief for a France side that finished fourth, thanks in no small measure to his tournament-high seven assists.
Three other La Roja stars, Lamine Yamal (7.47), Alex Baena (7.14) and Dani Olmo (7.14) also finished in the top ten, along with a pair of Englishmen in Anthony Gordon (7.42) and Marcus Rashford (7.28).
What Spain did in conceding just a single goal across eight matches, and more than 800 minutes of action, is an extraordinary defensive achievement that will be very hard to top. It was little surprise, then, that a fleet of La Roja stars topped the Defensive category, led by the adidas Golden Ball winner Rodri (8.23).
The pair of central defenders stationed behind him, Pau Cubarsi (7.60) and Aymeric Laporte (7.14) finished second and fourth respectively. Right-back Pedro Porro (7.59) finished third to make a clean sweep of the top four places for this watertight Spain side.
Sources: FIFA Official
