Spain’s 2-0 victory over France in the 2026 World Cup semifinals extends a curse that has existed for nearly 70 years for Ballon d’Or winners.
On July 14, Spain defeated France 2-0 to advance to the 2026 World Cup final. This result not only ended the championship dream of “Les Bleus”, but also caused the Ballon d’Or curse at the World Cup to continue to persist.
Ousmane Dembele, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, was expected to become the first player in history to simultaneously hold the “Best Player in the World” title and lift the world golden cup. However, the defeat against Spain caused the French forward to miss out on this special milestone.
Since France Football awarded the Ballon d’Or for the first time in 1956, no player has ever been crowned World Cup champion while being the reigning holder of this noble individual accolade.
Many legends were once helpless against the “curse”. In 1970, Gianni Rivera and Italy lost to Brazil in the final. Johan Cruyff failed with the Netherlands against West Germany in 1974, while Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also finished as runner-up with West Germany at the 1982 World Cup.
Brazilian football has twice tasted similar pain. Ronaldo Nazario, the 1997 Ballon d’Or winner, collapsed against France in the 1998 World Cup final. Ronaldinho, the holder of the 2005 Ballon d’Or, stopped in the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup with Brazil after a defeat against the French team itself.
Lionel Messi was no exception. When entering the 2010 World Cup as the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, he and Argentina were eliminated by Germany in the quarterfinals. Cristiano Ronaldo has also never broken the jinx, leaving the 2014 World Cup from the group stage and stopping in the round of 16 in 2018.
At the 2026 World Cup, Dembele becomes the latest name to extend the list of Ballon d’Or winners who could not touch the world championship trophy.
