By OkayGoal
David Raya received more votes than any other player in the 2026 FIFPRO Men’s World 11, while Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane was left out of the team altogether.
The Arsenal goalkeeper was picked by 10,278 of his fellow professionals, a 52 per cent share. That put him ahead of Real Madrid‘s Kylian Mbappe, whose 9,105 votes were the most for any outfield player.
The World 11 is the only global award decided purely by players. This year 19,806 men’s footballers from 73 countries voted, judging performances between 4 August 2025 and 19 July 2026. Anyone picked had to have played at least 30 official matches in that period.
Why did David Raya make the FIFPRO World 11?
It is the first time Raya has been named in the team, and it rewards the season in which Arsenal won their first Premier League title since 2004. He kept 19 clean sheets in 37 league appearances and won his third Golden Glove in a row.
FIFPRO singled out one moment from the run-in: a close-range save in Arsenal’s 1-0 win at West Ham. He then finished the voting period as a world champion, part of the Spain side that beat Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final on 19 July.
A small club of goalkeepers
Raya is only the tenth goalkeeper to make the men’s team since it began in 2005. The others are Iker Casillas (five times), Manuel Neuer (four), Gianluigi Buffon (three), Alisson Becker, Thibaut Courtois and Gianluigi Donnarumma (two each), and Dida, David de Gea and Ederson (once each).
He also adds to Spain’s record. Spain now have 53 men’s World 11 appearances across 17 players, with Raya and Pau Cubarsi picked for the first time alongside Rodri and Lamine Yamal.
Who is in the 2026 FIFPRO Men’s World 11?
The team lines up with a back three and four forwards. Each voter chose three players per position, and the final outfield place went to whoever had the most votes after the goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards were filled.
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | David Raya (Arsenal, Spain) |
| Defenders | Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona, Spain), Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal) |
| Midfielders | Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England), Rodri (Manchester City/Barcelona, Spain), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal) |
| Forwards | Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid, France), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain) |
Raya and Erling Haaland are the only two players in the side from current Premier League squads, with Rodri listed under both Manchester City and Barcelona for the voting period. Haaland’s place comes in a rough week for City, after the 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
How close did Harry Kane come?
Very close. Kane took 27.6 per cent of the votes, only just behind Haaland on 28.4 per cent. Lionel Messi (29.5 per cent), Yamal (37.4 per cent) and Mbappe (46 per cent) were the other forwards picked, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Olise also missing out.
It is the first time since the award started in 2005 that the Ballon d’Or winner has not made the team. Kane won the Ballon d’Or last month ahead of Mbappe by one of the smallest margins in its history, becoming the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001. Jude Bellingham is the only Englishman in the side.
Messi and Yamal set new marks
Messi is back in the team for the first time since 2023, extending his record to 18 appearances. Yamal, still only 19, becomes the first player to be picked twice as a teenager. He and Cubarsi were both born in 2007, the year Messi was first selected.
Arsenal’s Russo makes the women’s team
Raya is not the only Arsenal winner. Alessia Russo is one of seven WSL players in the Women’s World 11, which also includes Chelsea’s Lucy Bronze, picked for a record ninth time.
On the pitch, the Gunners won 2-1 in Prague in the Champions League last week, as we covered in our Champions League results round-up.
Verdict: the players got this one right
Goalkeepers rarely top a vote like this, which says plenty about the season Raya had. Arsenal’s title was built on a defence that hardly gave anything away, and he was the man behind it, week after week.
Kane will feel hard done by, missing out by less than a percentage point to Haaland. But for Arsenal fans, seeing their keeper get more votes than Mbappe from the people who play against him is about as strong an endorsement as there is.