Erling Haaland is in the 2026 FIFPRO Men’s World 11, and he got there by the narrowest of margins, edging out Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane for a place in the front line.
FIFPRO, the world players’ union, revealed both teams on Monday. Haaland took 28.4 per cent of the forwards’ vote, while Kane finished on 27.6 per cent, just short of the four forwards who made the cut.
It means the Man City striker is back in the team after missing out last year. He was picked in four straight World 11s from 2021 to 2024, so this is his fifth selection.
Who is in the 2026 FIFPRO World 11?
The team was voted for by 19,806 men’s footballers from 73 countries, judging performances between 4 August 2025 and 19 July 2026. To be eligible, a player needed at least 30 official matches in that window.
Goalkeeper: David Raya (Arsenal)
Defenders: Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona), Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Rodri (Manchester City/Barcelona), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain)
Forwards: Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
Each voter picks three players per position. The goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards with the most votes go in, and the last spot goes to the outfield player with the next highest total. This year that was a fourth forward, which is how Haaland squeezed in ahead of Kane.
How close did Kane come?
Less than a percentage point. Mbappe led the forwards with 46 per cent, more votes than any other outfield player, followed by Yamal on 37.4 per cent and Messi on 29.5 per cent. Haaland’s 28.4 was enough for the last place.
That leaves Kane with an unwanted first. Every Ballon d’Or winner since the World 11 began in 2005 had also made the players’ team, from Ronaldinho to Ousmane Dembele last year. Kane won the Ballon d’Or last month, yet his fellow professionals put Haaland ahead of him.
Raya was the most popular pick of all, with 10,278 votes and a 52 per cent share. He is one of three debutants this year, along with Cubarsi and Barcelona forward Claudia Pina.
Rodri and Greenwood join him, Enzo misses out
Haaland isn’t the only name with City links. Rodri, listed under both Manchester City and Barcelona because the voting window covers his final season at the Etihad, makes the midfield alongside Bellingham and Vitinha. It’s his second World 11 after 2024.
Enzo Fernandez wasn’t so lucky. When Haaland and Enzo Fernandez made the 26-man shortlist last week, the Argentine was one of seven midfielders chasing three places, and he didn’t make the final cut.
On the women’s side, City captain Alex Greenwood is in the Women’s World 11, voted for by 6,511 players from 64 countries. It’s her third selection. She won’t be celebrating on the pitch just yet, though, as she is out with an ankle injury and misses Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Inter.
Arsenal’s four become one
The shortlist had four Arsenal men on it, against City’s two. In the final team it’s one each: Raya for Arsenal, Haaland for City, with Gabriel, William Saliba and Declan Rice all missing out.
Haaland’s FIFPRO World 11 place: a timely boost
This award looks back at last season, not the last few weeks, but the timing will still be welcome. City went into the international break on the back of a 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest, their third league loss in a row, and the mood around the Etihad is as low as it has been in a while.
Being picked by around 20,000 fellow professionals ahead of the Ballon d’Or winner says plenty about how Haaland is rated inside the game. It was a double for him on Monday, too, as he was also named the men’s Golden Player at the Golden Boy awards. Now he takes that into Norway’s games against Wales and Denmark, before City need his goals again against Fulham on 21 November.
