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Bitter disappointment: Ronaldo heads the worst XI at the World Cup

The 2026 World Cup produced stars who shone in spectacular style. It also delivered its fair share of disappointments.

Bleacher Report have selected the tournament's most underwhelming line-up, naming the players who did not live up to the expectations around them. You can read their full selection here.

In the dugout is Spaniard Roberto Martinez. He took Portugal to an early exit in the round of 16, where they were beaten by a Spain side that went on to lift the trophy.

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer

Manuel Neuer's return from international retirement to represent Germany at this year's World Cup gave the 2014 champions a major lift.

His experience, leadership and rare quality as a sweeper-keeper were expected to steady a side that had not yet settled on a clear successor among the contenders.

Neuer's World Cup started with a goal conceded against Curaçao, with the deflected ball slipping past his weak hand and into the net. He then left his goal exposed in front of Côte d'Ivoire's shot in Germany's 2-1 win. Gonzalo Plata got to the ball before him in the final group-stage match, handing Ecuador a historic victory.

Yes, Neuer saved a penalty against Paraguay in the round-of-32 defeat. But his aura had gone.

Defence: Reece James, Gabriel Magalhães, Jonathan Tah, Lucas Digne

Right-back: Reece James

This judgement may be a touch severe, but when it comes to shattered expectations, Reece James ranks very high for one simple reason: his fitness issues restricted him to only 318 minutes out of a possible 720.

England paid the price. They covered the right-back spot with a series of players, some of them playing out of position. Spence, Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Jarell Quansah all had a go there, with some doing the job more convincingly than others.

Centre-back: Gabriel

Brazil will look back on this tournament with plenty of regret, but centre-back Gabriel may carry the biggest share of it.

The Brazilian defender struggled to deal with space. His positioning was poor for Ismael Saibari's opening goal for Morocco in the group stage, and the knockout rounds punished his choice to drop off Kaishu Sano of Japan.

For many, though, the worst moment of his tournament came when Norway and his old rival Erling Haaland knocked Brazil out. Yes, the cross came in far too easily. Brazil were poor across the pitch, and they would probably have gone out even if Gabriel had defended better in that moment.

But the way he dropped off as the ball came in, gifting Haaland a free header, was a fatal mistake at a decisive moment in one of the finest individual battles the sport can offer.

Centre-back: Jonathan Tah

Germany disappointed as a whole, yet centre-back Jonathan Tah perhaps left the most lasting image of the Machines' failure.

In the round of 32 against Paraguay, Tah, who had never taken a single penalty in his career, stepped up to take the first kick in sudden death.

He blasted it high over the bar and sealed an early, shocking exit for his country. Across four matches he made only three successful tackles, was dribbled past twice, and never once helped Germany keep a clean sheet, not even against Curaçao.

Left-back: Lucas Digne

France gave critics little to work with before the tournament, but the left-back position was still a question mark.

Lucas Digne has enjoyed a fine career. The 33-year-old, however, does not have the star quality of many of his team-mates, and he has never been regarded as an elite defender.

For a side that looked unstoppable for most of the tournament, that weakness in Digne's game proved a decisive factor in their downfall.

His poor touch inside his own box, his lack of awareness, and the reckless challenge that brought down Spain's Lamine Yamal to concede a penalty in the semi-final all showed that clearly.

Midfield: Valverde – Vitinha – Leroy Sané

Central midfield: Fede Valverde

Uruguay's captain entered the World Cup amid a tense atmosphere, after a row with his Real Madrid team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni.

If Valverde was hoping to get away from the drama, the Uruguay camp was the wrong place to be.

According to The Guardian, there were issues on the training ground, disagreements with manager Marcelo Bielsa over the line-up and tactics, and a general unwillingness among some players to sit through the Argentine's long team meetings.

Valverde never found his best form. His passes went astray and he made no impact on the scoresheet from midfield.

Bielsa took him off after 57 minutes in the final group-stage match against Spain.

Central midfield: Vitinha

Vitinha's decline was the most striking. He wore himself out trying to influence matches, and failed to be the passing outlet he so often is with Paris Saint-Germain.

Manager Martinez picked a disjointed side that focused on feeding Cristiano Ronaldo the ball at the cost of what was best for the team. Vitinha's substitution before the end of every match confirmed the pattern.

For a player of his standing to struggle throughout the matches and then be sacrificed at the most important moments is a disappointing finish to a brilliant season for the 26-year-old.

Attacking midfield: Leroy Sané

Fitting players into their natural roles in these line-ups is not always simple, so Leroy Sané takes the attacking midfield slot. Leaving him out would have been unforgivable.

Germany may have crushed Curacao 7-1 in their opening match, but Die Mannschaft could have scored 15 goals had it not been for Sané's wayward shots, poor decision-making, and general disconnect from the rest of the team.

An extremely poor display against Ivory Coast followed, and he was taken off after an hour.

Nagelsmann had good reason to try a different option on the right wing against Ecuador, yet the coach kept Sané in the starting XI.

A goal rewarded that faith. Then the player quickly slipped back into his disappointing style in the round-of-32 exit against Paraguay.

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Attack: Yan Diomande, Noni Madueke, Cristiano Ronaldo

Left wing: Yan Diomande

Yan Diomande arrived at his first tournament with Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool locked in a fierce battle for his signature.

He started all four of Ivory Coast's matches and set up a goal in the 2-0 win over Curaçao.

Effort was never the issue. His end product was. And the more experienced Amad Diallo left him well behind.

Right wing: Noni Madueke

Many potential England managers would never have taken Noni Madueke to the World Cup.

Three goals and one assist in 26 Premier League matches with Arsenal hardly inspire complete confidence, yet Madueke's role deputising for Saka at the Emirates Stadium earned him Thomas Tuchel's trust to make the trip.

Saka managed only 237 minutes across eight matches before England's third-place play-off. In that time he created three goals and drove the classic win over Mexico.

Madueke, by contrast, started five matches, contributed nothing in terms of goals, and wasted an opportunity that should never have fallen into his lap.

Centre-forward: Cristiano Ronaldo

The central figure in a hugely disappointing Portugal side, Cristiano Ronaldo picks himself here.

So much of Portugal's play was built around Ronaldo, and three goals is a meagre return for that approach.

His place in the team is one of the biggest