Messi leads the stats as World Cup enters last‑32

The 2026 World Cup group stage delivered standout individual displays across every area of the pitch, with Lionel Messi unsurprisingly setting the attacking benchmark. The Argentina captain finished as top scorer with six goals and recorded the most shots on target, while Erling Haaland, Vinicius Junior, Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé followed on four. Creativity was shared, with Bruno Guimarães, Michael Olise and Alexander Isak each producing three assists.

Spain’s Lamine Yamal dominated the dribbling metrics, leading the tournament with 19 successful dribbles and 25 attacking duels won. Defensively, Iraq’s Merchas Doski topped the tackling charts, while Haiti’s Maxime Experience led one‑on‑one duels. In the air, Derek Cornelius, Mehdi Taremi, Alessandro Circati and Nikola Katić each won 14 aerial battles.

Goalkeepers also shone: Unai Simón and Raúl Rangel kept three clean sheets, and Eloy Room made a tournament‑high 20 saves. These numbers frame the stars shaping the knockout phase.