The 2026 FIFA World Cup is over.
Spain are world champions for a second time, Kylian Mbappé has won another Golden Boot, and Lionel Messi cemented his status as the GOAT, even though Argentina failed to win back-to-back titles.
The first 48-team World Cup has thrown up incredible stories, from Cape Verde’s remarkable run to the round of 32 to Erling Haaland‘s seven-goal debut tournament and an unforgettable 6-4 victory for England in the third-place game against France.
So with this World Cup now consigned to the history books, who have been the winners and losers in the United States, Mexico and Canada?
Here are some 2026 World Cup grades — from A for outstanding to F for, well, forgettable failure.
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Starting with the teams…
Spain
The European champions are now the world champions after conceding just one goal in the whole tournament, and Luis de la Fuente’s side extended their unbeaten run to 38 games, so they are the undisputed best team in the world.
Cape Verde
The rank outsiders were the darlings of the tournament and didn’t lose a game over 90 minutes. The Blue Sharks held Spain to a 0-0 draw and took Argentina to extra time in a classic round-of-32 tie.
Argentina
Had Lionel Messi been sent off for a bad foul against Algeria in their opening game, Argentina might not have even reached the knockout stages, but Messi dragged them all the way to the final — where they disgraced themselves with cynical fouls and belligerent behavior after losing to Spain.
England
Reaching the semifinals: very good. Panicking and losing the plot after taking the lead against Argentina: very bad. England should have reached the final, but they were outfought and outthought by Argentina.
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United States
A place in the round of 16 was the minimum expectation, but it proved to be a glass ceiling for Mauricio Pochettino’s team, which was well beaten by Belgium in Seattle.
Germany
Julian Nagelsmann lost his job as coach after Germany’s round-of-32 exit against Paraguay. The Germans even lost on penalties for the first time since 1976, so it was an unexpectedly bad tournament for Die Mannschaft.
Brazil
No big team had a worse World Cup than the five-time world champions. Yes, Italy didn’t even qualify and Germany crashed out in the round of 32, but Brazil hired Carlo Ancelotti to turn them into winners, and they ended up with their worst performance in 36 years by going out in the round of 16.
And how about the players and people who made the World Cup?
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Erling Haaland
What a sensational debut World Cup for the Norway striker. Haaland’s seven goals took Norway to the quarterfinals, but his fun personality also endeared him to the watching public and made him an even bigger global star.
Kylian Mbappé
The France forward scored 10 goals for Les Bleus and won the Golden Boot for the second successive World Cup to prove that he is the best player in the world right now.
Lionel Messi
Messi scored eight goals and had an amazing tournament for Argentina, but he misses out on an A grade because he just couldn’t make it happen against Spain in the final. Even the GOAT can have a bad day.
Lamine Yamal
Yamal is just 19 years old and has already won the World Cup and European Championship before he is even old enough to pour himself a drink in the United States to celebrate. However, despite his success, the Barcelona forward had a quiet tournament with Spain.
Thomas Tuchel
You will have seen the memes of Tuchel being unmasked like a Scooby-Doo villain to reveal Gareth Southgate’s face underneath. Having been hired to take England to a new level and do what Southgate couldn’t, Tuchel took the team so far — and then saw it unravel in the same way that Southgate did.
Mauricio Pochettino
Along the same lines as Tuchel, U.S. Soccer hired a super coach to elevate a talented but underperforming group of players. Pochettino did enough to get a nation believing in the group stage, but as soon as the USMNT faced a competent team in Belgium, it lost.
Christian Pulisic
It can’t be easy to carry the hopes of a nation as Pulisic does with the USMNT, but the so-called “Captain America” is 27 now and another World Cup has passed him by. He’s a good player, but maybe that’s about it. Good, but not great.
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Cristiano Ronaldo
Just playing at a World Cup as a 41-year-old is a remarkable achievement, but Ronaldo arguably made Portugal worse rather than better and this was ultimately a tournament too far for the Al Nassr forward.
Gianni Infantino
Enough of the attention-seeking attempts to claim the tournament as your own little playground for celebrities, politicians and fading players. And thanks for the World Cup final halftime show and all those hydration breaks. No … really.
Marcelo Bielsa
It seems so long ago now, but Uruguay were a shambles under Bielsa and suffered a group stage exit amid all kinds of recriminations within the squad. Bielsa’s reputation took such a battering that this tournament could be the end of him as a top coach.
