How is Player of the Match awarded at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar? How does the voting work?

The Player of the Match award is always one that sparks intense debate amongst football fans and that is no different at the World Cup in Qatar.

Although there has already been man of the matches that will not see a fan bat an eyelid such was the surety of that player deserving the award, there have also been some questionable ones.

Luka Modric was awarded the Man of the Match award in Croatia’s goalless draw against Morocco despite a subdued performance from the 37-year-old Real Madrid midfielder, while Kevin De Bruyne and Cristiano Ronaldo were also handed the big red Budweiser glasses even though other team-mates were arguably more deserving.

But who decides who gets the award at the end of each match? We explain all…

HOW DOES PLAYER OF THE MATCH WORK AT THE WORLD CUP?

Players are sorted in a list by minutes played, or alternatively voters can filter the results by team, position or by simply searching for the Player of the Match.

The rule it is maximum one entry per person, per World Cup match.

Anyone of legal age can participate in the contest provided they are registered, whether or not they are watching the match in question.

And if being a part of football history isn’t enough to whet the appetite, voters also go into the running to win a Polaroid picture taken of one of the players of the tournament.

WHO HAS WON PLAYER OF THE MATCHES SO FAR?

Qatar 0-2 Ecuador: Enner Valencia

England 6-2 Iran: Bukayo Saka

Senegal 0-2 Netherlands: Cody Gakpo

United States 1-1 Wales: Gareth Bale

Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia: Mohammed Alowais

Denmark 0-0 Tunisia: Aissa Laidouni

Mexico 0-0 Poland – Guillermo Ochoa

France 4-1 Australia – Kylian Mbappe

Morocco 0-0 Croatia – Luka Modric

Germany 1-2 Japan – Shuichi Gonda

Spain 7-0 Costa Rica – Gavi

Belgium 1-0 Canada – Kevin De Bruyne

Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon – Yann Sommer

Uruguay 0-0 South Korea – Federico Valverde

Portugal 3-2 Ghana – Cristiano Ronaldo

Brazil 2-0 Serbia – Richarlison

DE BRUYNE UNHAPPY WITH PLAYER OF THE MATCH AWARD

“I don’t think I played a great game,” De Bruyne said.

“I don’t know why I have got the trophy. Maybe it’s because of the name. This was not good enough.

“We made it difficult for ourselves and stress crept into the team. There was more space than was seen and we used the long ball too often.

“It has to be better, myself included.”