COMPLETE RUNDOWN: Every 2026 World Cup Man of the Match Award Recipient to Date

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is in full swing across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, with several notable players making a significant impact in the opening round of group-stage matches, and FIFA is recognizing their outstanding performances with its Superior Player of the Match awards.

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As of June 17, a total of 20 players have been honored with this award, including prominent figures such as Argentina's Lionel Messi, Norway's Erling Haaland, and France's Michael Olise, who all received the award after their impressive performances on Tuesday.

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US forward Folarin Balogun is also among the winners, having scored twice in the US team's 4-1 victory over Paraguay in Los Angeles, while Brazil star Vinícius Júnior received the award after helping his team secure a 1-1 draw against Morocco in a Group C encounter.

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The list of 2026 World Cup Player of the Match winners so far includes players from various countries, with the earliest awards given on June 11 to Julian Quiñones of Mexico and Hwang In-beom of South Korea.

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On June 12, awards were given to Ismael Koné of Canada and Folarin Balogun of the USA, after they played crucial roles in their teams' matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Paraguay, respectively.

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June 13 saw awards being presented to John McGinn of Scotland, Nestory Irankunda of Australia, Vinícius Júnior of Brazil, and Mahmoud Abunada of Qatar, following their teams' matches against Haiti, Türkiye, Morocco, and Switzerland, respectively.

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On Sunday, June 14, awards were given to Yan Diomande of Côte d’Ivoire, Kai Havertz of Germany, Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands, and Alexander Isak of Sweden, after they helped their teams secure important results against Ecuador, Curaçao, Japan, and Tunisia, respectively.

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Monday, June 15, saw awards being presented to Federico Valverde of Uruguay, Vozinha of Cabo Verde, Ramin Rezaeian of IR Iran, and Emam Ashour of Egypt, following their teams' matches against Saudi Arabia, Spain, New Zealand, and Belgium, respectively.

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On Tuesday, June 16, awards were given to Michael Olise of France, Erling Haaland of Norway, Lionel Messi of Argentina, and Ali Olwan of Jordan, after they played key roles in their teams' matches against Senegal, Iraq, Algeria, and Austria, respectively.

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A total of 104 Superior Player of the Match awards will be presented throughout the tournament, which will culminate in the final on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium.

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With the tournament progressing towards the knockout stages and final, four more group-stage matches are scheduled for Wednesday, June 17, including Ghana vs Panama, England vs Croatia, Portugal vs DR Congo, and Uzbekistan vs Colombia, at various stadiums across the host countries.