Fernandes and Cunha handed prestigious honours for World Cup displays | OneFootball

Manchester United stars Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha have been recognised for their brilliant performances in the ongoing World Cup.

Impressive performances

Fernandes and Cunha have starred for Portugal and Brazil respectively, helping the two nations to the competition’s Round of 32.

Ever-present in Portugal’s group-stage campaign, Fernandes has lined up against DR Congo, Uzbekistan, and most recently Colombia, pulling the strings from his preferred playmaking berth in a three-man engine room with João Neves and Vitinha.

His most impactful showing came in the Uzbekistan game, in which the Selecao won 5-0 thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo brace and strikes from Nuno Mendes and substitute Rafael Leao. The United skipper registered an assist for Ronaldo’s second goal.

Meanwhile, Cunha has shown himself to be Brazil’s talisman alongside Real Madrid ace Vinicius Junior.

Cunha was named on the bench for Brazil’s opener against Morocco but battle to start in the subsequent meetings vs. Haiti and Scotland.

The 27-year-old bagged a double in the Haiti match and followed that up with another sensational strike to secure a 3-0 victory over Scotland.

Fernandes and Cunha’s performances have earned them spots in the Premier League XI from the World Cup group stage.

Fernandes and Cunha honoured

On why Fernandes was selected, the Premier League write, “Fernandes provided one assist in the group stages of the World Cup. The 31-year-old also created four chances and played five accurate through-balls.”

“What’s more, the Man Utd captain’s off-the-ball work was superb, as he managed seven tackles that helped Portugal progress to the knockout stages.”

On Cunha, ” Matheus Cunha started Brazil’s World Cup opener on the bench. The forward came into the side for the 3-0 win over Haiti and kept his starting spot against Scotland, scoring three goals across back-to-back 3-0 victories as Brazil progressed to the next round as group winners.”

The Premier League’s 2026 World Cup group stage Best XI: Alisson (Liverpool & Brazil); Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace & Colombia), Jan Paul van Hecke (Spurs & Netherlands), Gabriel (Arsenal & Brazil), Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton & Belgium); Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United & Portugal), Rodri (Manchester City & Spain), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle & Brazil); Brian Brobbey (Sunderland & Netherlands), Erling Haaland (Manchester City & Norway); Matheus Cunha (Manchester United & Brazil).

Brazil return to action later this evening against Japan, while Fernandes and his compatriots are not in action until Friday, when they face Croatia.

Featured image by Molly Darlington/Getty Images

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