At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game.
Awards The World Cup winners are symbolically presented with the FIFA World Cup Trophy after the final, but it remains in the custody of FIFA between tournaments. The previous Jules Rimet Trophy was permanently awarded to the Brazilian Football Confederation after the team's third championship in 1970. Squad members and coaching staff of the national teams placing first, second, and third in the tournament receive gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively. In some tournaments, the fourth-placed team members also received medals after the third-place playoff.
There are five post-tournament awards from the FIFA Technical Study Group:2018 FIFA World Cup Technical Report the Golden Ball (commercially termed "Adidas Golden Ball") for best player, first awarded in 1982. the Golden Boot (commercially termed "Adidas Golden Boot", formerly known as the "Adidas Golden Shoe" from 1982 to 2006) for top goalscorer, first awarded in 1982; the Golden Glove (commercially termed "Adidas Golden Glove", formerly known as the "Lev Yashin Award" from 1994 to 2006) for best goalkeeper, first awarded in 1994; the FIFA Young Player Award (commercially termed "FIFA Young Player Award, presented by Aramco" since 2026, formerly known as the "Best Young Player Award" from 2006 to 2010) for best player under 21 years of age at the start of the calendar year, first awarded in 2006; the FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team that advanced to the second round with the best record of fair play, first awarded in 1970. There is one award voted on by fans during the tournament: the Player of the Match (commercially termed "Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match", formerly known as the "Budweiser Man of the Match" from 2002 to 2018 and "Budweiser Player of the Match" in 2022) for outstanding performance during each match of the tournament, first awarded in 2002. There are three awards voted on by fans after the conclusion of the tournament: the Goal of the Tournament, (commercially termed "Hyundai Goal of the Tournament") for the fans' best goal scored during the tournament, first awarded in 2006; the Most Entertaining Team for the team that has entertained the public the most, during the World Cup final tournament, as determined by a poll of the general public. the Dream Team, which is considered as a replacement for the All-Star Team. It has been selected by fans in 2002, 2010 to 2018, and 2026. One other award was given between 1994 and 2006: an All-Star Team comprising the best players of the tournament chosen by the FIFA Technical Study Group. From 2010 onwards, all Dream Teams or Statistical Teams are unofficial, as reported by FIFA itself.
Golden Ball
The Golden Ball award is presented to the best player at each FIFA World Cup finals, with a shortlist drawn up by the FIFA technical committee (Technical Study Group) and the winner voted for by representatives of the media. Those who finish as runners-up in the vote receive the Silver Ball and Bronze Ball awards as the second and third most outstanding players in the tournament respectively. The award was introduced in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, sponsored by Adidas and France Football.1982 FIFA World Cup Technical Report, page 222: Paolo Rossi wins both adidas/France Football World Cup Trophies Oliver Kahn is to date the only goalkeeper to have won the award, which he did in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi became the first player to win a second Golden Ball.
Official winners (1982–present) +Golden BallWorld Cup Golden Ball Silver Ball Bronze Ball1982 Spain Paolo Rossi Falcão Karl-Heinz Rummenigge1986 Mexico Diego Maradona Toni Schumacher Preben Elkjær1990 Italy Salvatore Schillaci Lothar Matthäus Diego Maradona1994 United States Romário Roberto Baggio Hristo Stoichkov1998 France Ronaldo Davor Šuker Lilian Thuram2002 South Korea–Japan Oliver Kahn Ronaldo Hong Myung-bo2006 Germany Zinedine Zidane Fabio Cannavaro Andrea Pirlo2010 South Africa Diego Forlán Wesley Sneijder David Villa2014 Brazil Lionel Messi Thomas Müller Arjen Robben2018 Russia Luka Modrić Eden Hazard Antoine Griezmann2022 Qatar Lionel Messi Kylian Mbappé Luka Modrić2026 Canada–Mexico–United States Rodri Lionel Messi Kylian Mbappé
Unofficial winner (1978) A group of journalists and experts selected the best player of the 1978 tournament, and their selection is recognised by the FIFA website. FIFA recognises only this selection besides the Golden Ball award. Hans Krankl received the same number of votes as Dirceu at the time, and was not chosen as the third best player by FIFA later.
+Best playerWorld Cup Winner Runner-up Third place1978 Argentina Mario Kempes Paolo Rossi Dirceu
Contemporary and retrospective selections (1930–1974)
On 2 August 1950, Dr. , the editor-in-chief of Kicker (then Sport-Magazin), chose his best players of the tournament. France Football, the sponsor of Golden Ball and Ballon d'Or, selected the best player of the 1966 FIFA World Cup at that time with L'Équipe, and Bobby Charlton became the winner. In 1998, the Argentinian newspaper Clarín provided a brief description of each star player dating back to 1930. Some are controversial decisions as is the case with retrospective awards. The 1998 winner was awarded after the tournament ended.
+ Best players selected by other media World Cup Medium First place Second place Third place 1930 Uruguay ESPN Deportes José Nasazzi — — Clarín José Nasazzi — — 1934 Italy ESPN Deportes Raimundo Orsi — — Clarín Giuseppe Meazza — — 1938 France ESPN Deportes Giuseppe Meazza — — Clarín Leônidas — — 1950 Brazil Sport-Magazin Zizinho Alcides Ghiggia Ademir ESPN Deportes Obdulio Varela — — Clarín Obdulio Varela — — 1954 Switzerland ESPN Deportes Ferenc Puskás — — Clarín Ferenc Puskás — — 1958 Sweden ESPN Deportes Pelé — — El Gráfico Pelé Garrincha Vavá Clarín Pelé — — 1962 Chile ESPN Deportes Garrincha — — Clarín Garrincha — — 1966 England France Football and L'Équipe Bobby Charlton Franz Beckenbauer Eusébio ESPN Deportes Bobby Charlton — — Sofascore Eusébio Helmut Haller Bobby Charlton Castrol Football Franz Beckenbauer Helmut Haller Martin Peters Clarín Franz Beckenbauer — — 1970 Mexico ESPN Deportes Pelé — — Sofascore Rivellino Pelé Jairzinho Castrol Football Gerd Müller Jairzinho Pelé Clarín Pelé — — 1974 West Germany ESPN Deportes Johan Cruyff — — Sofascore Johan Cruyff Ronnie Hellström Kazimierz Deyna Castrol Football Johan Cruyff Grzegorz Lato Kazimierz Deyna Clarín Johan Cruyff — —
Golden Boot
The Golden Boot or Golden Shoe award goes to the top goalscorer of the FIFA World Cup. While every World Cup had a ranking of the goalscorers, the first time an award was given was in 1982, under the name Golden Shoe. It was rechristened Golden Boot in 2010. FIFA sometimes lists the top goalscorers of previous Cups among the Golden Boot winners. If there is more than one player with the same number of goals, since 1994 the tie-breaker goes to the player with more assists. If there is still more than one player, since 2006 the tie is decided by (fewer) minutes played in the tournament. A Silver Boot and a Bronze Boot are also awarded for the second and third-highest goalscorers respectively.
Top goalscorerWorld Cup Top goalscorerGoals Runners-upGoals Third placeGoals1930 Uruguay Guillermo Stábile8 Pedro Cea5 Bert Patenaude41934 Italy Oldřich Nejedlý5 Edmund Conen Angelo Schiavio4colspan="2" 1938 France Leônidas7 György Sárosi Gyula Zsengellér Silvio Piola5colspan="2" 1950 Brazil Ademir9 Óscar Míguez5 Alcides Ghiggia Chico Estanislau Basora Telmo Zarra41954 Switzerland Sándor Kocsis11 Josef Hügi Max Morlock Erich Probst6colspan="2" 1958 Sweden Just Fontaine13 Pelé Helmut Rahn6colspan="2" 1962 Chile Flórián Albert Valentin Ivanov Garrincha Vavá Dražan Jerković Leonel Sánchez4colspan="4" 1966 England Eusébio9 Helmut Haller6 Franz Beckenbauer Ferenc Bene Geoff Hurst Valeriy Porkujan41970 Mexico Gerd Müller10 Jairzinho7 Teófilo Cubillas51974 West Germany Grzegorz Lato7 Johan Neeskens Andrzej Szarmach5colspan="2" 1978 Argentina Mario Kempes6 Teófilo Cubillas5 Rob Rensenbrink5Golden ShoeWorld Cup Golden ShoeGoals Silver ShoeGoals Bronze ShoeGoals1982 Spain Paolo Rossi6 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge5 Zico41986 Mexico Gary Lineker6 Emilio Butragueño Careca Diego Maradona5colspan="2" 1990 Italy Salvatore Schillaci6 Tomáš Skuhravý5 Gary Lineker Roger Milla41994 United States Oleg Salenko Hristo Stoichkov6colspan="2" Kennet Andersson Romário51998 France Davor Šuker6 Gabriel Batistuta Christian Vieri5 colspan="2" 2002 South Korea–Japan Ronaldo8 Miroslav Klose Rivaldo5 colspan="2" 2006 Germany Miroslav Klose5 Hernán Crespo3 Ronaldo3Golden BootWorld Cup Golden BootGoals Silver BootGoals Bronze BootGoals2010 South Africa Thomas Müller5 David Villa5 Wesley Sneijder52014 Brazil James Rodríguez6 Thomas Müller5 Neymar42018 Russia Harry Kane6 Antoine Griezmann4 Romelu Lukaku42022 Qatar Kylian Mbappé8 Lionel Messi7 Olivier Giroud 42026 Canada–Mexico–United States Kylian Mbappé10 Lionel Messi8 Jude Bellingham7Notes
Golden Glove
The Golden Glove award is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. The award was introduced with the name "Lev Yashin Award" in 1994, in honour of the late Soviet goalkeeper. It was rechristened "Golden Glove" in 2010. The FIFA Technical Study Group recognises the top goalkeeper of the tournament based on the player's performance throughout the final competition. Although goalkeepers have this specific award for their position, they are still eligible for the Golden Ball as well, as when Oliver Kahn was awarded in 2002.
+Official AwardLev Yashin Award World Cup Lev Yashin Award Clean sheets1994 United States Michel Preud'homme21998 France Fabien Barthez 52002 South Korea–Japan Oliver Kahn 52006 Germany Gianluigi Buffon 5Golden GloveWorld Cup Golden Glove Clean sheets2010 South Africa Iker Casillas 52014 Brazil Manuel Neuer 42018 Russia Thibaut Courtois 32022 Qatar Emiliano Martínez 32026 Canada–Mexico–United States Unai Simón 7
FIFA Young Player Award
The FIFA Young Player Award ("Best Young Player Award" 2006–2010) was awarded for the first time at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and given to Germany's Lukas Podolski. The award is given to the best player in the tournament who is at most 21 years old. For the 2022 World Cup, this meant that the player had to have been born on or after 1 January 2001. In 2006, the election took place on FIFA's official World Cup website with the help of The FIFA Technical Study Group.
FIFA organised a survey on the Internet for users to choose the "Best Young Player" of the World Cup, between 1958 and 2002, named the best young player of each tournament. With 61% of the overall vote, the winner was Pelé, who finished ahead of the Peruvian Teófilo Cubillas, the best young player at Mexico 1970, and England's Michael Owen, who reached similar heights at France 98. The winner of the award has only been part of the winning nation four times: Pelé in 1958, Kylian Mbappé in 2018, Enzo Fernández in 2022, and Pau Cubarsí in 2026.
World Cup FIFA Young PlayerAgePosition1958 Sweden Pelé 17FW1962 Chile Flórián Albert 20FW1966 England Franz Beckenbauer 20DF1970 Mexico Teófilo Cubillas 21MF1974 West Germany Władysław Żmuda 20DF1978 Argentina Antonio Cabrini 20DF1982 Spain Manuel Amoros 21DF1986 Mexico Enzo Scifo 20MF1990 Italy Robert Prosinečki 21MF1994 United States Marc Overmars 20FW1998 France Michael Owen 18FW2002 South Korea–Japan Landon Donovan 20FW2006 Germany Lukas Podolski 21FW2010 South Africa Thomas Müller 20FW2014 Brazil Paul Pogba 21MF2018 Russia Kylian Mbappé 19FW2022 Qatar Enzo Fernández 21MF2026 Canada–Mexico–United States Pau Cubarsí 19DF
FIFA Fair Play Trophy