CORNERFLICK
Cristiano Ronaldo and Vinícius Júnior are the only players to have claimed all available man-of-the-match awards in the group stage of a World Cup, according to Opta.
Ronaldo did it at the 2010 tournament with Portugal, while Vinícius matched the feat at the 2026 World Cup with Brazil. The record puts both forwards in a tiny bracket of players to have delivered that level of consistency across every group game.
Ronaldo’s displays in 2010 made him the standout figure for Portugal in the opening phase. Vinícius has now repeated the same pattern for Brazil, collecting the award in each of their group matches and underlining his influence in the tournament.
Winning the prize once is difficult enough at a major tournament. Taking it in every group-stage match is rarer still, which is why this shared record has drawn attention in World Cup history.