Using Flashscore's new player ratings system, we have put together the Team of the Round of 32, selecting the best XI from all 32 participating nations based on match rating.
Goalkeeper
Orlando Gill (Paraguay) - 8.7
Paraguay's first World Cup appearance since 2010 ended on Saturday night at the hands of title favourites France, but they can be mightily proud of getting past Germany on penalties, with Gill the hero of their Round of 32 victory with two vital penalty shootout saves.
Gill made a total of 23 saves throughout the tournament, Round of 16 included, and has been one of the feel-good stories of the tournament after it was revealed that he sold some of his national team gear in 2023 to support the medical care of his prematurely born son and the emergency surgery of his partner, who also suffered complications during the birth.
He rated an 8.7 against Germany for six saves, which doesn't account for the penalty shootout, in addition to a game-high 10 accurate long passes.
Defenders
Marc Cucurella (Spain) - 8.6
Cucurella set up both of Mikel Oyarzabal's two goals in Spain's 3-0 win over Austria and had a key hand in the build-up of Pedro Porro's second-half goal, when he won back possession at the edge of the box and laid it off to Alex Baena.
The Spanish left-back finished with the third-highest rating of the match thanks to an excellent attacking and playmaking performance in which he created goals with each of his two key passes and two big chances, making 19 accurate passes in the final third at a rate of 86%.
It looks as though Chelsea will be getting their money's worth out of an off-season transfer reportedly worth more than £50m.
Lisandro Martinez (Argentina) - 9.4
An emotional Lisandro Martinez produced one of his greatest national team performances in Argentina's nailbiting extra time win over Cape Verde before an emotional press conference in which he revealed he came agonisingly close to retiring from all football following his serious anterior cruciate ligament injury.
He came close to tears when explaining he was at the precipice of a career change until the birth of his child during his recovery, which inspired him to continue battling through his recovery.
Martinez was both inspired and inspirational with what our ratings system considers to be the best performance of the Round of 32 when he contributed to two Argentina goals, made a game-high 116 accurate passes at a rate of 97% and recorded six clearances.
Gabriel Magalhaes (Brazil) - 9.1
Gabriel was Brazil's standout defender in their hard-fought 2-1 win over Japan at the heart of their back third, standing out as the Player of the Match for a near-flawless performance.
The 28-year-old created a big chance and an assist, setting up Casemiro for Brazil's first goal of the match with one of his game-high 130 passes for the match.
Gabriel touched the ball more times (144) than any other player, won four of his six individual duels, whilst a further two clearances and two interceptions also boosted his final match rating.
Pedro Porro (Spain) - 8.8
Porro extended Spain's lead over Austria to 2-0 with a well directed header, scoring his maiden international goal in his 20th appearance for the first team.
It was just his second start of the tournament and his highest player rating in any game for club or country since a 9.1 in a 2-0 World Cup qualification win over Georgia.
On this occasion, Pedro made an outstanding five completed passes.
Midfielders
Florian Wirtz (Germany) - 8.8
Rather than go through Wirtz's outstanding match in the loss to Paraguay here, we highly recommend Pavel Křiklan's in-depth analysis of his marathon 110-minute shift in midfield:
Why Florian Wirtz was the one bright spark in Germany's World Cup exit to Paraguay
Stephen Eustaquio (Canada) - 8.7
Canada's 29-year-old midfielder broke down in tears after scoring the goal that broke the deadlock in Canada's Round of 32 win over South Africa.
Eustaquio dedicated his goal to both of his recently departed parents, who he wished could be in attendance to see the greatest Canadian World Cup performance in history as they progressed out of the group stage of the World Cup for the first time.
He recorded his greatest Flashscore player rating since a double-assist performance for FC Porto in December 2023, adding the stoppage time match-winning goal to his five key passes, two big chances and 43 accurate passes at a rate of 90%.
FIFA World Cup 2026
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Gustavo Puerta (Colombia) - 8.7
Puerta was our Player of the Match in Colombia's 1-0 win over Ghana with an incredible 22 accurate passes in the final third (96% accuracy), more than twice as many as any other player on the pitch.
That was in addition to five individual duels won, an interception, a successful dribble and his two shots, one of which was on target.
He's in our Team of the Round as a left midfielder on this occasion, but don't be surprised to see him on the right or even as a central holding midfielder in their Round of 16 game against Switzerland, with Puerta telling broadcasters after the match that his role is to be "as versatile as possible" at this World Cup.
Forwards
Kylian Mbappe (France) - 9.4
Mbappe remained in the hunt for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot with his Round of 32 double against Sweden, adding his fifth and sixth goals of the tournament before adding a seventh in the Round of 16 against Paraguay.
Four of Mbappe's five shots against Sweden were on target, leading to 0.60 expected goals.
With his crossover step and accurate strike on the stroke of half-time, Mbappe scored his ninth World Cup knockout goal to overtake Ronaldo and Leonidas before running away with the record later in the match.
Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) - 9.1
Oyarzabal came away with the top rating of Spain's win over Austria courtesy of scoring Spain's first and third goals of the game, his second brace of the tournament already.
Following his best LaLiga season to date in terms of goals, with 15 for Real Sociedad, Oyarzabal has now racked up 17 goals in his last 16 international starts.
His two goals against Austria came from his six shots, four of which were on target, with a count of 1.09 expected goals underlining his efficiency.
Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 8.9
It wouldn't be a Team of the Week/Round/Month/Season/Century without the presence of the great man, who retained his presence at the top of the all-time World Cup goalscoring standings with Argentina's match-opening goal against Cape Verde.
It was the ninth time in Messi's last 10 games for Argentina or Inter Miami that he found the back of the net, completely defying the fact that he turned 39 during this World Cup.
Whilst Messi was not our Player of the Match as he was against Jordan, Austria and Algeria, he came mightily close with 8.9 out of 10 thanks to his nine shots, six of which were on target, whilst he completed more accurate crosses (four) than anyone else in the game.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
