After 1st round, Messi tops Fifa's Cup rankings, Vini in top 10; see list | OneFootball

After the end of the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the organization released its official Power Ranking.

The new system collects match performance data and rates outfield players on a scale from 0 to 10 in three main categories: Attack, Creativity, and Defense.

In the attacking category, Lionel Messi took the top spot after scoring three goals in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria.

Brazil made the Top 10 in Attack with Vinicius Junior, who sits in 9th place.

In the other categories, the Brazilians were further from the top.

Brazil’s highest-ranked player in Creativity is Luiz Henrique (67th place), while Douglas Santos is the country’s lone standout in Defense (61st place).

📊 Power Ranking Lists (1st Round)

Top 10: Attack

Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Elijah Just (New Zealand)

Kylian Mbappé (France)

Yasin Ayari (Sweden)

Harry Kane (England)

Erling Haaland (Norway)

Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)

Alexander Isak (Sweden)

Vinicius Junior (Brazil)

Luis Diaz (Colombia)

Top 10: Creativity

Ramin Rezaeian (Iran) (Leader with 8.23 points)

Michael Olise (France)

Florian Wirtz (Germany)

Kang-in Lee (South Korea)

Julio Enciso (Paraguay)

Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands)

Bukayo Saka (England)

Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)

Brahim Diaz (Morocco)

Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

Top 10: Defense

Derek Cornelius (Canada) (Leader with 7.28 points)

Nikola Katic (Bosnia)

Tarik Muharemovic (Bosnia)

Xaver Schlager (Austria)

Tyler Adams (United States)

Sidny Lopes (Cape Verde)

Amar Dedic (Bosnia)

Jesus Gallardo (Mexico)

Willy Semedo (Cape Verde)

Alessandro Circati (Australia)

⚙️ How the evaluation works

FIFA’s Power Ranking uses live-collected statistics. Outfield players are rated in attack, creativity, and defense. Goalkeepers, meanwhile, are evaluated in possession and defense. The official list will be automatically updated after each match of the tournament.

How FIFA’s new Power Rankings work at the 2026 World Cup

For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA launched the Power Rankings (presented by Aramco), a new automated system that generates objective assessments of players’ performances based on data collected in real time during matches.

The Evaluation Criteria

The system divides players according to their roles on the field, assigning scores from 0 to 10:

Outfield players: They are evaluated in three distinct categories: attack, creativity, and defense.

Goalkeepers: They receive scores focused on possession and goal defense.

Dynamics and Updates

The official rankings, which will display the top 100 players in each category, will begin to be shown once all national teams have completed the first round of the group stage.

From then on, the list will be updated after the final whistle of each World Cup match. To ensure a fair analysis, the system calculates two metrics: an individual rating for that specific match and another cumulative rating for the player’s overall performance throughout the entire tournament.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 ROBERTO SCHMIDT - AFP or licensors