The Man of the Match award is given to the best performing player in every match of the World Cup since 2002. In its first two seasons, the award was chosen by the technical department while since 2010, this award is being picked by an online poll on FIFA's official website.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi and former Netherlands star Wesley Sneijder has won the most number of MOM awards in a FIFA World Cup with 4 awards. Sneijder won his 4 awards during the 2010 World Cup as he helped his national side become the runners up of the tournament. Argentinian Lionel Messi won his 4 MOM awards during the 2014 World Cup. He was the player of the FIFA World Cup too as he felt just short of winning the World Cup for his national side.
During the last World Cup, which was in 2018, England star Harry Kane, Croatian captain Luka Modric, French International Antoine Griezmann and Belgian superstar Eden Hazard all won the MOM three times. Griezmann won his third MOM in the finals of World Cup as his side won the World Cup by defeating Croatia.
World Cup | Player winning most MOM Awards | Country | Number of Awards |
2002 South Korea/ Japan | Rivaldo | Brazil | 3 |
2006 Germany | Andrea Pirlo | Italy | 3 |
2010 South Africa | Wesley Sneijder | Netherlands | 4 |
2014 Brazil | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 4 |
2018 Russia | Harry Kane, Antoine Griezmann, Luka Modric, and Eden Hazard | England, France, Croatia, Belgium | 3 |