FULL LIST: Mbappe overtakes Messi in World Cup power rankings

France captain Kylian Mbappe has overtaken Argentina’s Lionel Messi to claim the top spot in FIFA’s World Cup Power Rankings following the conclusion of the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The updated rankings, released by FIFA on Wednesday, place Mbappe first with an attacking score of 8.71, ahead of Messi, who dropped to second with 8.45.

Norway striker Erling Haaland is ranked third with a score of 8.04, while England captain Harry Kane occupies fourth place with 7.41.

The FIFA Power Rankings, launched for the 2026 World Cup and powered by Aramco, use match data to objectively assess players’ performances throughout the tournament.

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Outfield players are scored on a scale of 0-10 across three categories, attacking, creativity and defending, while goalkeepers are assessed for defending the goal and in-possession play.

The rankings are updated after every match.

France also leads two of the three outfield categories, with Michael Olise topping the creativity rankings (8.19) and Dayot Upamecano leading the defending category (7.67).

Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa ranks first for goalkeeping, with a score of 8.89.

Top 10 FIFA World Cup Power Rankings after the Round of 16

Rank

Player

Country

1

Kylian Mbappe

France

2

Lionel Messi

Argentina

3

Erling Haaland

Norway

4

Harry Kane

England

5

Johan Manzambi

Switzerland

6

Jude Bellingham

England

7

Vinicius Junior

Brazil

8

Julian Quinones

Mexico

9

Ousmane Dembele

France

10

Crysencio Summerville

Netherlands

Top 10 Goalkeeper Power Rankings after the Round of 16

Rank

Goalkeeper

Country

1

Diogo Costa

Portugal

2

Gregor Kobel

Switzerland

3

Orlando Gill

Paraguay

4

Mostafa Shoubir

Egypt

5

Unai Simon

Spain

6

Orjan Nyland

Norway

7

Vozinha

Cabo Verde

8

Jordan Pickford

England

9

Zion Suzuki

Japan

10

Yassine Bounou

Morocco

Saheed Oyelakin

Saheed is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over two years of experience covering metro, technology, sports, politics, and human-interest stories. He focuses on producing clear, engaging reports across diverse beats. Saheed’s work reflects hands-on newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate and balanced journalism.

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