Let's talk about the unsung heroes of football — the people who don't just finish the job but create it in the first place. Yes, goalscorers get the glory and the Instagram followers, but the assist kings? They're the ones pulling the strings, the puppeteers making everyone else look good. And the 2026 World Cup has delivered some absolutely delicious numbers in that department.
Sitting pretty at the top of the charts is Michael Olise with five assists for France. Five! The man has been serving up goals like a Michelin-starred chef plating dishes, and France's attacking play has been all the more devastating for it. Just behind him on four assists are Bruno Guimaraes, who's been pulling the strings for Brazil with the elegance of a conductor, and Brahim Diaz, who's been the creative heartbeat of Morocco's gorgeous attacking football.
The three-assist club is absolutely stacked with talent. You've got Alexander Isak doing absurd things for Sweden, Kylian Mbappe being Kylian Mbappe for France, Martin Odegaard orchestrating Norway's attack like it's a symphony, Bukayo Saka terrorizing defenses for England, Andreas Schjelderup adding Norwegian flair, and Florian Wirtz doing his thing for Germany. That's a who's who of creative brilliance right there.
And then there's the two-assist brigade, which reads like a fantasy football dream team: Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, Joshua Kimmich, Mohamed Salah, and plenty more. Even Chris Wood popped up with two assists for New Zealand, which honestly feels like finding out your quiet neighbor throws legendary parties.
Historically, Pele still reigns supreme with six assists in 1970 — a record that has stood for over half a century. But Olise's five this year puts him alongside some of the greatest creative forces the game has ever seen: Robert Gadocha in 1974, Pierre Littbarski in 1982, Diego Maradona in 1986, and Thomas Hassler in 1994. Not bad company to keep, is it? The beautiful game has always been about more than just putting the ball in the net, and these numbers prove it.
