New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani overlooked Lionel Messi and selected Kylian Mbappe as his best player for the 2026 Winners Stay on Challenge with CBSSportsGolazo on Instagram.

At the beginning of the challenge, Mamdani favored Riyad Mahrez over Son Heung-min. He also chose the Algerian player instead of David Alaba, but later replaced him with Kevin De Bruyne.

When the Belgian midfielder faced off against Vinicius Jr, Mamdani opted for the Brazilian. He subsequently selected Vinicius over Luis Diaz but chose Lamine Yamal over the Real Madrid player.

Argentina is coming through yet another difficult game, where they have been pushed to the limit. How much has Messi played, how much has been taken away from him mentally, psychologically, physically as well,” Obi Mikel said.

“That’s going to be the question as well, how much can he give again to be able to drag this Argentina team yet again to another semi-final.

In a surprising turn, he also preferred Haaland to Cristiano Ronaldo. Mamdani concluded the challenge by choosing Mbappe over both Haaland and Messi.

Kylian Mbappe is enjoying a remarkable campaign, having scored seven goals in five matches for France.

Likewise, Messi has been in exceptional form during the tournament, netting in every match and accumulating eight goals.

The two teams are positioned on opposite sides of the World Cup bracket, making a final rematch of the 2022 edition a distinct possibility.