Messi leads The Athletic’s top player rankings as World Cup semifinals arrive
The Athletic's updated list puts Lionel Messi at No. 1 ahead of the final four, with history being made off the pitch as well as on it
The World Cup semifinal stage has a way of concentrating the world’s attention, and The Athletic is doing its part to frame the conversation. The outlet released its updated top-50 player rankings on July 9, 2026, with Lionel Messi of Argentina holding the top spot, Kylian Mbappé of France in second, and Harry Kane of England rounding out the top three.
The list reflects performances through the knockout rounds, where a single bad game can crater a player’s standing and a single brilliant one can launch them into the conversation for tournament best.
The list, and why it matters
The Athletic’s approach ties individual standings directly to match outcomes in the knockout phase, which means the numbers you see on July 9 look different from anything published before the round of 16.
Messi at No. 1 is hardly a surprise, but it carries weight. Messi has scored his 20th World Cup goal, solidifying his spot as the tournament’s best player.
Mbappé at No. 2 reflects France’s own convincing semifinal run.
The broader top-10 picture rewards players whose teams are still in the tournament, which is both logical and slightly circular. If your side went out in the round of 16, your window to add to your case closed early.
A genuinely historic semifinal setup
For the first time since FIFA introduced its official world rankings in 1992, the top four ranked nations in the world all reached the final four of the same World Cup.
Argentina, Spain, France, and England. The matchups are France vs. Spain and England vs. Argentina, which means regardless of which two teams make the final, the trophy goes to a nation that has held a top-four FIFA ranking spot.
To put that in context: FIFA rankings have existed for 34 years. In that entire stretch, no tournament has produced a semifinal draw that perfectly mirrors the top four in the world. Every previous edition introduced at least one semifinalist ranked outside the elite tier. This one did not.
What this means for how we watch the remaining games
The Athletic’s pre-tournament lists from late 2025 featured Mbappé and Erling Haaland prominently, but Haaland’s absence from the semifinals reflects Norway’s early exit. Rankings that made sense in December shifted entirely by July.