As far as Premier League performers were concerned, World Cup 2026 offered a mixed bag.
Some players rarely or never featured, others featured all the time, some kicked their heels on the sidelines in frustration, others had their reputation enhanced by not being called upon.
All in all, there is no doubt the English top flight provided a backbone of the tournament with more than 180 names involved for 38 different nations.
Indeed, several English club stars played pivotal roles in the Spanish squad that defeated Argentina in the final.
So, what of those Premier League players who delivered World Cup 2026 highlights and boosted their reputation in the process?
Here are the top four, according to this Sbotop observer, after a spectacle in the US, Mexico and Canada that few will forget in a hurry – for good, bad and ugly reasons!
Rodri – Spain
There really is only one place to start isn’t there. The man who made the European and now World Champions tick. The man who lifted the World Cup. The man who will return to club duties in around a month from now with the title of World Cup winning captain and Golden Ball holder to his name.
Quite simply, Rodri was masterful in midfield as La Roja lifted the trophy for a second time.
A vital cog in a side that combines a fluid attack with watertight defence, he started all eight games for his country and played a combined 729 minutes.
A ‘rolls royce’ of a midfielder, he ensured they played with composure and maturity throughout, all this after starting out with a draw against the minnows of Cape Verde – a result not even the SBOTOP World Cup 2026 betting odds could predict.
Technically and tactically, no-one can deny Spain are deserved world champions after a run which included victories over Portugal, Belgium and France before deservedly seeing off the holders Argentina in the final.
And Rodri was the metronome.
As for the club’s future for the player of the tournament?
Well, the 29 year-old is entering the final year of his contract at Manchester City and reports suggest he is set to miss the start of next season to have surgery on an unspecified injury.
Either way, the Premier League is likely to have him for at least one more year and that is to City’s benefit.
Erling Haaland – Norway
Is any list complete without the unstoppable Norwegian frontman, a club team-mate of Rodri?
We have become so used to Haaland finding the net it seems he is perhaps not as widely appreciated as he should be.
I find that staggering as he helped City to a domestic cup double last term and was again the league’s leading scorer by a distance.
Yet, despite netting 27 goals, scoring one every 110 minutes, and boasting seven assists to his name (the fourth highest in the top flight), Haaland still has his detractors who think he has something of an easy ride.
Some believe anyone would score the same amount if they had the creative riches he gets to enjoy.
This World Cup was another way to answer uninformed critics as, despite not having the stellar cast he is used to on a weekly basis, he seamlessly transferred his club form to the world stage.
Two goals against Iraq, another double versus Senegal and a later winner versus Ivory Coast were surpassed in the last 16 as his double floored the mighty Brazil.
Alexis MacAllister – Argentina
Until the final, the Liverpool midfielder had never been on the losing side in a World Cup match, a record stretching to 13 unbeaten games until Sunday in New York.
One goal, one assist and one yellow card in his country’s eight games doesn’t tell the full story of his impact.
Like many of his team-mates, he was underwhelming in the showpiece and was fortunate to avoid an early booking for a challenge on Dani Olmo.
Until that game, though, he showed why he is important to Lionel Scaloni’s men and had a decent World Cup, playing a key role in their victories over Switzerland and England in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.
Dan Ndoye – Switzerland
The name of Ndoye may surprise some readers but the Nottingham Forest winger was key in Switzerland’s run to the last eight.
He scored twice, including in the extra-time quarter-final defeat to defending champions Argentina, and that will have given food for thought for new Forest manager Oliver Glasner. In helping his nation end an 88 year wait for a knockout stage victory at a World Cup, the 25 year-old’s first World Cup demonstrated his genuine potential on the world stage and he should shine if Forest have more stability next term.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
