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The one-man-team index

How much each squad leans on a single player — the largest individual share of squad market value and of squad career big-five league goals. Goals are career totals (per-tournament World Cup goals need a goalscorer dataset, deferred), so a 100% goal share usually means only one squad member has ever scored in a big-five league — a big-five-exposure artefact more than a tactic. Cache-only. 2002 has no market values.

The 38-year-old carry

Argentina 2026 lean on Lionel Messi for 52% of the squad's career big-five league goals — by far the most goal-dependent of the genuine contenders, even as his market value (and Argentina's value dependency, 12%) has fallen away.

Value dependency — top 20

Largest single-player share of squad market value.

#SquadPlayerShareReached
1🇪🇬 Egypt 2018Mohamed Salah76%Group
2🇹🇬 Togo 2006Emmanuel Adebayor59%Group
3🇺🇿 Uzbekistan 2026Abdukodir Khusanov59%Group
4🇰🇷 South Korea 2018Son Heung-min57%Group
5🇬🇭 Ghana 2006Michael Essien56%Round of 16
6🇯🇴 Jordan 2026Musa Al-Taamari49%Group
7🇺🇦 Ukraine 2006Andriy Shevchenko49%Quarter-final
8🇨🇷 Costa Rica 2018Keylor Navas45%Group
9🇪🇬 Egypt 2026Omar Marmoush43%Round of 16
10🇰🇷 South Korea 2022Son Heung-min43%Round of 16
11🇶🇦 Qatar 2026Akram Afif40%Group
12🇮🇸 Iceland 2018Gylfi Sigurðsson39%Group
13🇨🇦 Canada 2022Alphonso Davies37%Group
14🇭🇳 Honduras 2010Wilson Palacios36%Group
15🇲🇽 Mexico 2006Rafael Márquez36%Round of 16
16🇬🇭 Ghana 2026Antoine Semenyo34%Round of 32
17🇳🇴 Norway 2026Erling Haaland34%Quarter-final
18🇵🇹 Portugal 2014Cristiano Ronaldo34%Group
19🇮🇷 Iran 2022Mehdi Taremi34%Group
20🇿🇦 South Africa 2010Steven Pienaar33%Group

Goal dependency — top 20 (career big-five goals)

Largest single-player share of the squad's career big-five league goals — see the artefact note above.

#SquadPlayerShareReached
1🇰🇷 South Korea 2002Ahn Jung-hwan100%Semi-final
2🇨🇳 China PR 2002Yang Chen100%Group
3🇪🇨 Ecuador 2002Iván Kaviedes100%Group
4🇯🇵 Japan 2002Hidetoshi Nakata100%Round of 16
5🇰🇷 South Korea 2006Ahn Jung-hwan100%Group
6🇿🇦 South Africa 2010Steven Pienaar100%Group
7🇳🇿 New Zealand 2010Ryan Nelsen100%Group
8🇷🇺 Russia 2014Aleksandr Kerzhakov100%Group
9🇷🇺 Russia 2018Denis Cheryshev100%Quarter-final
10🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 2026Saud Abdulhamid100%Group
11🇵🇦 Panama 2026Michael Amir Murillo100%Group
12🇶🇦 Qatar 2026Lucas Mendes100%Group
13🇿🇦 South Africa 2026Lyle Foster100%Round of 32
14🇺🇿 Uzbekistan 2026Eldor Shomurodov100%Group
15🇯🇴 Jordan 2026Musa Al-Taamari100%Group
16🇳🇿 New Zealand 2026Chris Wood98%Group
17🇨🇷 Costa Rica 2006Paulo Wanchope95%Group
18🇨🇷 Costa Rica 2002Paulo Wanchope94%Group
19🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago 2006Dwight Yorke93%Group
20🇪🇬 Egypt 2018Mohamed Salah88%Group