Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi follows Spain’s World Cup by winning the Kopa Trophy
Barcelona’s domination of the Kopa Trophy has continued thanks to the success of 19-year-old Lamine Lamal.
The teenager was voted as the 2026 winner of the Kopa Trophy, which acknowledges the best footballer in the world under the age of 21. His triumph was announced on Monday and followed back-to-back wins for fellow Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal.
Yama’s win means that the Kopa Trophy is heading to the Camp Nou for the fifth time in six years, with Gavi and Pedri preceding Yamal as winners since 2021.
No club but Barcelona has had multiple winners of the award, which was first voted upon in 2018, and no country but Spain has had more than one winner.
Yamal is the only individual player with multiple wins and one of only four with multiple appearances on the podium.
The women’s award was also won by a Spanish Barcelona player last year, when Vicky Lopez won the inaugural women’s Kopa Trophy.
Many thought La Masia team-mate Pau Cubarsi was the closest challenger to Yamal this time. The young defender is going from strength to strength, establishing himself as a regular under Barcelona boss Hansi Flick and could reach more than 150 senior appearances before he turns 20 in December.
The Catalan teenager has already won back-to-back La Liga titles as a trusted Flick lieutenant, and followed Olympic Gold in 2024 with a vital contribution to Spain’s World Cup win in 2026.
Cubarsi picked up the Best Young Player award at the World Cup this summer – but Yamal’s status as the most exciting teenager in the world seems to have preceded him once more.
Kylian Mbappe was the first winner of the Kopa Trophy, demolishing the field to claim the inaugural award in the wake of France’s World Cup win in 2018. Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus won by a smaller margin ahead of Jadon Sancho and Joao Felix in 2019.
England’s Jude Bellingham won the 2023 award while at Borussia Dortmund.
