tamil yogi
The FIFA World Cup is the greatest stage in sports. Play well for your country as all four corners of the globe watch and it can do spectacular things for your career: A hugely enhanced reputation, a big-money move, millions of new social media followers and more could follow.
But play poorly, or make a high-profile error, and the opposite can happen. It should not (and likely will not) be a career killer, but a bad tournament can do more harm than good in the short-term at least.
So, whose stock has soared and whose has dropped during the 2026 edition? We’ve picked 20 players and divided them evenly across those two categories.
– Tighe: What it’s like to transfer clubs during a World Cup
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– Men’s summer transfer grades
Cape Verde’s incredible progression to the knockout stages, where they gave Argentina the scare of their lives by forcing them to extra time before losing 3-2, was one of the stories of the World Cup. Central to their story was goalkeeper Vozinha.
Aged 40 and coming to the end of his contract at Portuguese second-tier side Chaves, he was likely hoping to impress enough for one last move. Little did he know he would gain 29 million Instagram followers — making him one of the most-followed players in world soccer. Thanks to his performances, plenty of doors are opening for his next move.
The whole world wants to know where he’ll play his football next, and he has been linked with a move to join knockout rival Lionel Messi at Inter Miami.
Olise has enjoyed a similar glow-up to the one his France teammate Kylian Mbappé experienced at the 2018 World Cup. Both were already world-class players going into the respective tournaments, but big performances on the biggest stage in sports take you to new levels.
We’re now at the point where a club spending a €150 million fee to sign Olise wouldn’t even be seen as a risk — in fact, it would probably be seen as a bargain. That’s how far his reputation has scaled.
Of course, there is no realistic threat of him leaving Bayern Munich this summer, who consider him untouchable. But if Real Madrid chairman Florentino Pérez were to launch a huge bid for another record-breaking Galactico in the future, we know who it would be for.
Despite playing just 200 minutes for Switzerland due to a knee injury he picked up during the tournament, Manzambi registered five combined goals and assists, wowing spectators with slaloming runs and clinical finishing. This came off the back of a breakout 2025-26 campaign with Freiburg, in which the German club reached the UEFA Europa League final.
Before Manzambi’s tournament came to an end, Newcastle United agreed a £49 million fee to land the 20-year-old, but then Aston Villa swooped in and convinced the player to join them instead. The hype around the midfielder began earlier this season, but his World Cup performances helped seal the deal.
Balogun ended the USMNT’s World Cup as the unwitting central figure in a major political storm. But that should not cloud how impressive he was for the co-hosts, leading the U.S. forward line with aplomb and scoring three goals.
This came off the back of a strong campaign with French side AS Monaco, where he bagged 13 goals from 26 Ligue starts. His runs into the channels and strength in the air are improving, and the former Arsenal striker might just be ready for a big move.
Freeman’s buccaneering performances on the USMNT’s right flank thrilled onlookers during the World Cup. He got forward well, bagging a goal and an assist, and showcased supreme stamina up and down the pitch.
The 21-year-old only joined Villarreal in January but has seen his playing time severely limited so far, totting up just 340 minutes in LaLiga. There may well be other clubs out there who fancy using him more, and give the Yellow Submarine an opportunity to make a quick transfer profit.
If you thought what Bouaddi did was impressive at 18-years-old, how about Mora at 17?
Shouldering the hopes of an expectant co-hosts, he became the youngest-ever player to compete for Mexico at the World Cup when he came on as a second-half substitute against South Africa, and flashed true brilliance afterwards. His boldness on the ball gave Ecuador the runaround in the round of 32, while his off-the-ball runs throughout the tournament caught the eye.
The teenager signed a new deal with Club Tijuana just before the World Cup, but since then almost every elite club have been credited with an interest in him.
Bouaddi’s stock soared at the World Cup thanks to some ridiculously complete, composed performances at the heart of Morocco’s midfield. To see an 18-year-old, who had only declared for the Atlas Lions and made his debut for them a few weeks before the tournament began, do what he did on such a stage was remarkable.
Those performances have cemented his status as the pre-eminent young midfield talent in Europe, and it’s no wonder the elite clubs have fallen head over heels for him. According to reports, Manchester City are willing to part with €100 million to secure his signature.
South Africa’s World Cup started abysmally, with a double red-card implosion at the Azteca against Mexico, but they did incredibly well to regroup, improve and reach the knockouts. Central to that progression was Mbokazi, who shone in defense.
Top clubs are always on the lookout for left-footed defenders as there’s a natural scarcity of them, so they’ll have noted the 20-year-old’s performances, especially his prowess in duels. Mbokazi only joined Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire FC last winter but could quickly be on the move once again.
If teams are not interested in signing a 40-year-old goalkeeper, in Vozinha, other options could lead them to Japan’s Suzuki, who shot to the fore thanks to some strong performances.
The 23-year-old showcased excellent shot-stopping skills and a willingness to come for the ball in the air. With two solid seasons at the top level under his belt at Parma and now a good World Cup, it’s no wonder the enquiries are flying in for him.
De Ketelaere had a tough group stage, but suddenly sprung into life in the knockouts and helped sink the U.S. in the round of 16 before scoring a great header against Spain in the quarterfinal.
The Atalanta forward has echoes of Arsenal’s Kai Havertz in that some onlookers would consider him a striker, while others would say he is better in attacking midfield. Either way, he’s a difference-maker, and his reputation is on the rise.
Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa chopped and changed Valverde’s position, moving him out to the wing and back inside again, in order to try and make him Uruguay’s key man. Sadly, nothing he tried worked particularly well as the South American side crashed out in the group stage.
It was odd to see such a quality player turn in such anonymous showings, and it continued a very difficult 2026 for the Madrid man, who had an infamous bust up with teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni in May.
Thiago enjoyed a major breakthrough for Brentford in the Premier League last season, scoring an astonishing 22 goals. That led to Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti installing him as his first-choice striker to open the tournament, but that decision fell flat on its face immediately.
The opportunity for Thiago to explode was there, but it wasn’t taken. In contrast, Bournemouth’s 19-year-old winger Rayan forced his way into the Seleção XI instead.
If you’d stated before the tournament began that Egypt would make it to the knockouts for the first time in their history and even push Argentina all the way in the round of 16, you probably would have assumed Marmoush would be at the heart of it.
But no. Zero goals, zero assists, and he underwhelmed to the point where he lost his place in the XI for that blockbuster 3-2 loss to Lionel Messi’s Agentina. The 27-year-old, who only signed for City for €70 million in 2025, might be on the move, but now any hopes his club had of his stock increasing have been dashed.
Freese has enjoyed three excellent seasons in MLS with New York City FC and used that to earn a starting role for the U.S. at this World Cup. If he had shone, perhaps that could have been a platform to even greater things; unfortunately, the opposite happened.
His disastrous error against Belgium in the round of 16 will live long in the memory. Fairly or unfairly, that will likely count against him if clubs consider signing him this summer.
Any quiet hopes that Neymar may have had for one last, big move off the back of the World Cup were quelled by the disastrous nature of his Brazil campaign.
Ancelotti took a big gamble in selecting him in the final squad and it didn’t pay off; the 34-year-old missed most of the tournament with an injury and was able to log just 37 minutes across two games. He did net a last-minute penalty against Norway in the round of 16, but it counted for little other than a goal-scoring goodbye to his beloved Seleção as he declared his international retirement after the game.
Sané signed a huge contract with Galatasaray last summer in what felt like an extremely exciting move after leaving Bayern on a free, but his performances fell well short of the mark. In fact, he was so poor in the Champions League playoff against Juventus that he was dropped for the round of 16 tie with Liverpool.
Perhaps a strong World Cup could have piqued the interest of other clubs and bailed them out of the deal, but instead he was roundly panned in Germany for a succession of poor showings.
Suárez’s mighty tally of 38 goals from 53 games last season for Sporting CP turned some heads, and for anyone wondering if the Colombia striker could replicate that feat outside of Portugal, this World Cup represented an important litmus test.
Sadly, he failed to score once, in a tournament that was defined by Colombia’s inability to execute in front of goal. Suárez was hardly alone in these struggles — Luis Díaz and James Rodríguez also underwhelmed — but he had the most to prove.
Vitinha is (rightly) among the conversation to be considered one of the best central midfielders in the game, and pulls the strings for back-to-back European champions Paris Saint-Germain. As a result, expectations were sky high for Portugal at the World Cup, but he fell well short of those.
On paper at least, Portugal’s self-destruction and round of 16 exit to Spain had little to do with him, but there might now be a nagging question in the minds of his suitors — which includes Real Madrid — as to what he can do outside PSG’s immaculate system.
Hernández joined Al Hilal in the summer of 2025 for €30 million from AC Milan, but did so reluctantly. He claims to have been frozen out at Milan, forcing him to end his time in Italy prematurely, but reports then emerged in January that Juventus were lining up a possible approach for him this summer.
Well, if they watched Hernández play in France’s opening game against Senegal, they’d have seen he was off the pace to a concerning degree. He was swiftly usurped by Lucas Digne and since then he has only played to allow others to rest. A return to an elite team in Europe looks unlikely.
Ugarte was almost certain to move clubs this summer after being deemed surplus to requirements at Manchester United — until disaster struck. He was stretchered off with a torn ACL during the 1-0 group-stage defeat to Spain that ended both Uruguay’s tournament and any hopes of a transfer.
An incredibly unfortunate situation for everyone involved.
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