Germany striker Deniz Undav has emerged as the surprise leader in FIFA’s newly introduced World Cup 2026 Power Rankings, edging football icon Lionel Messi to the top spot after the completion of the group stage.
The rankings, released before the start of the Round of 32, assess players’ performances based on attacking, creativity and defensive contributions during the tournament.
Despite Germany’s subsequent elimination from the World Cup, Undav finished as the highest-rated outfield player with an overall performance that caught the attention of football fans worldwide.
The 29-year-old VfB Stuttgart forward received scores of 8.36 in attacking, 6.78 in creativity and 4.70 in defending after an outstanding group-stage campaign in which he scored three goals and provided two assists. His performances helped Germany top Group E before their shock penalty shootout defeat to Paraguay in the knockout stage.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi was ranked second with scores of 8.34 in attacking, 6.43 in creativity and 5.14 in defending.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has enjoyed another remarkable World Cup campaign, scoring six goals in the group stage to become the highest scorer in World Cup history with 19 goals across all editions of the tournament.
France superstar Kylian Mbappe occupied third place in the rankings, while Brazil winger Vinicius Junior was fourth after both impressed during the opening phase of the competition.
One of the biggest surprises in the rankings was Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who was placed 79th. The veteran forward received ratings of 5.72 in attacking, 4.98 in creativity and 4.74 in defending, reflecting a relatively quiet group-stage campaign.
FIFA introduced the Power Rankings system for the 2026 tournament to provide a comprehensive assessment of individual performances, using match data to evaluate every player’s contribution beyond traditional statistics such as goals and assists.
