How to become "Man of the Match" and why there's rarely a consensus

Man of the Match awards rarely receive unanimous approval.

Lamine Yamal claimed the accolade after Spain's 2-1 victory over Belgium in Friday's quarter-final, yet his performance didn't strike many as the most impressive among the winning side. This summer's World Cup has seen several particularly contentious recipients of the new "Superior Player of the Match" award, first introduced at last year's Club World Cup as the Superior Player Award.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal, and Erling Haaland are among the stars who have already won the award during the North American tournament. Some recent winners – a visibly indifferent Yamal after the win against Austria, and an equally uninterested Malik Tillman, who barely acknowledged the camera – didn't seem particularly impressed by the prestige of the award, sponsored by beer brand Michelob Ultra.

The Athletic explains how the award winner is actually determined.

How is the winner chosen?

Since 2010, the Man of the Match selection has been in the hands of the fans. From the start of the second half until the final whistle, spectators can vote for the player they believe performed best. Votes can be cast for any player who participated in the match, whether as a starter or a substitute. Fans can even change their vote before the end of the match if a goal is scored, an impressive save is made, or another key event occurs in the interim.

Before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the award winner was determined by FIFA. After that tournament, the right to choose shifted to fans via SMS and online voting, and at the 2014 World Cup, votes were cast through the social network Twitter (now X).

Since 2022, voting has been conducted entirely through FIFA's official website. In national leagues, such as the English Premier League, the Man of the Match is typically chosen by the television broadcaster. Statistics often support the decision, and the selected player receives the award during their post-match interview.

Why is the award so controversial?

Fan voting creates conditions for the award to become a popularity contest, benefiting the most famous players. This seems to be what has happened in numerous cases. In 2022, Belgium star Kevin De Bruyne, then a Manchester City player, himself questioned his selection as Man of the Match after a 1-0 victory over Canada.

"I don't think I played a good game. I don't know why I got the trophy. Maybe because of my name," he said at the post-match press conference.

This summer, Cristiano Ronaldo's selection as Man of the Match in Portugal's 2-1 victory over Croatia in the first knockout round also sparked significant debate. The 41-year-old Portuguese, who had already received the award after the 5-0 win over Uzbekistan in the group stage, had little impact on the match, apart from converting a penalty for 1-1 in the 68th minute.

Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal received the award after Spain's 3-0 victory over Austria. While he had a strong game, it's hard to argue he deserved the accolade more than Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored two goals between Pedro Porro's strike. Yet, it was Oyarzabal who was chosen as Man of the Match in the 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the group stage. The forward scored two goals and assisted Yamal's opener, and fans clearly appreciated his performance in Atlanta.

Many also disagreed with Lionel Messi's selection as Man of the Match in Argentina's 3-2 victory over Cape Verde on Friday. The Inter Miami forward opened the scoring, but the contributions of defender Lisandro Martinez, who also scored and assisted Messi's goal, as well as the magnificent performance of Cape Verde's Sydney Cabral, who scored a goal that will surely be among the contenders for Goal of the Tournament when he equalized for 2-2, were hard to overlook.

Interestingly, fans do not need to register a profile on the FIFA website to vote. Thus, the vote is effectively open to everyone – regardless of age, nationality, or football allegiance.

Which players have won the award this year?

Lionel Messi leads in the number of accolades, having been chosen as Man of the Match four times in his first five appearances in the tournament. Jude Bellingham (England), Vinicius Junior (Brazil), and Erling Haaland (Norway) each have three awards, while Bellingham's teammate Harry Kane has won the award twice.

One of Bellingham's awards – after a 0-0 draw against Ghana – also caused bewilderment, as the African team managed to almost completely neutralize England's attack.

Forwards Julián Quiñones and Folarin Balogun, representing co-hosts Mexico and the USA, also have two awards each, alongside superstars Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Luis Díaz, and Mohamed Salah.