World Cup 2026: Africa left out of Sofascore’s best XI

The sports statistics platform Sofascore unveiled its team of the tournament for the 2026 World Cup, held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Based on player ratings and performances throughout the tournament, this select XI is led by Lionel Messi, who earned the highest score with a rating of 8.79. The Argentine edges out France’s Kylian Mbappé (8.24), England’s Jude Bellingham (7.81), and Spain’s Rodri (7.76).

Freshly crowned world champions, Spain boasts five players in this dream line-up, underlining their dominance over the competition. In contrast, not a single African player made the cut, despite the continent’s record participation in this edition of the World Cup.

The World Cup 2026 team of the tournament

According to Sofascore, the best XI, set up in a 4-1-2-3 formation, features the following players:

• Goalkeeper: Gregor Kobel (Switzerland)
  
• Defenders: Pedro Porro (Spain), Pau Cubarsí (Spain), Aymeric Laporte (Spain), Marc Cucurella (Spain)
  
• Midfielders: Rodri (Spain), Jude Bellingham (England)
  

• Forwards: Ousmane Dembélé (France), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Kylian Mbappé (France), and Erling Haaland (Norway

World Cup 2026 Recap: Spain Glory, African Magic, Messi Crushed, Broken Records, and VAR Fury

Mohamed Rek |

Editorfr, ar, en

Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.

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