Spain’s Rodri Wins FIFA World Cup 2026 Player of the Tournament Award

East Rutherford: Spain captain Rodri won the Golden Ball award for the best player of the 2026 World Cup on Sunday after leading his team to a 1-0 victory against Argentina.

The 30-year-old Manchester City midfielder, who won the Ballon d’Or award for the world’s best player in 2024, said the team was “a bit of a shock at the moment”.

Rodri ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for City against Arsenal in September 2024 and returned to competition the following May.

“Even I can’t express myself with words,” he said. “I think we’re in a cloud right now.

“It was a very difficult time. I just want new generations to see my example as an opportunity; when you fall, you can rise again.

“This has been my philosophy throughout my life. Of course, sometimes things go right and sometimes things go wrong.

“But the positivity I always tell the lads before the game is we have to go to the game.

“We have to face them. We have to look them in the eye and see. We won this match and then life either gives you the World Cup or not.

“But we were brave, and I was brave in that moment.”