Former Chelsea winger and world’s greatest player also included…
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With football’s biggest extravaganza fast approaching, we’ve decided to collate our Ultimate World Cup XI.
Only one player from each country is allowed, meaning the team is made up with representatives from Belgium, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, England, France, Holland, Portugal, Uruguay and Argentina!
Could you come up with any better, using these rules…?
Here’s the side in all its glory:
GK) Thibaut Courtois – Belgium
Belgium’s young and talented squad demanded us to include one of their stars in our XI, and we’ve decided to use the brilliant 22-year-old goalkeeper. Courtois won La Liga with Atletico Madrid last term, and almost completed a double with his side narrowly missing out on Champions League glory. He’s a wonderful, wonderful shot stopper, and has all the ability to develop into one of the best keepers of his generation.
Click through the pages to read the rest of the unbelievable side!
DR) Philipp Lahm – Germany
Germany’s captain recently won the Bundesliga for a second consecutive time with Bayern Munich. He’s so technically strong, he can play at left-back or on holding midfield – but he’s starting on the right of defence for us. He’s as brilliant defensively as he is impressive offensively.
DC) Sergio Ramos – Spain
Question marks have always been raised over Ramos’s discipline and the occasional lapse of concentration, but the fact remains that he’s been elected into the FIFPRO World Team of the Year on four separate occasions. He just won the Champions League with Real Madrid, and has already collected a World Cup and two European Championships with Spain.
DC) Thiago Silva – Brazil
Is there a better centre-back on the planet? Probably not. Thiago Silva will skipper his country this summer as they host the tournament – hoping to pick up Brazil’s sixth World Cup come July. The PSG man is brilliantly composed with the ball at his feet, and while this enables him to start attacks from deep – he’s very rarely defensively compromised.
DL) Ricardo Rodriguez – Switzerland
Probably the least well known player in our team, Rodriguez lit up the Bundesliga last term with Wolfsburg. He scored five goals and assisted nine more. His set-piece delivery is excellent, as is his consistently barnstorming presence up the left flank.
AMR) Arjen Robben – Holland
It’s crazy to think how effective and how good a player Robben is considering he only ever uses his left foot. The Dutchman is a phenomenal dribbler, and can beat his fullback on the outside, or cut infield and shoot with his powerful left. He also has the guile and creativity to slip teammates through on goal once he’s in that position.
MC) Steven Gerrard – England
England’s captain, and the man they’re relying on to provide the platform and dictate their tempo this summer in Brazil. Gerrard was outstanding for Liverpool last season, excelling in his new adapted deep-lying playmaker role. He can spray passes around the field practically at will – and his set-piece delivery is almost incomparably good.
MC) Paul Pogba – France
Pogba could truly announce himself on the World Stage this summer. The young Frenchman is the only Serie A player in our side, after he helped Juventus win the Italian top flight with his immense physicality in midfield. He’s also technically excellent though, and despite his size, can beat players with skill and trickery.
AML) Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal
In all competitions last season, Ronaldo bagged 51 goals for Real Madrid, winning the Ballon D’or for the second time in January. Quite rightly, he’s regarded as the very best in the world right now, and in his current goalscoring form, Portugal are an outside bet to win the whole competition.
FC) Lionel Messi – Argentina
While Ronaldo is regarded as the best on the planet right now, if Messi has a career defining tournament with Argentina, he could establish himself as the greatest footballer of all time. The Little Argentine has won four Ballon D’or awards, and broke nearly every goalscoring record available to him with Barcelona.
FC) Luis Suarez – Uruguay
The feisty striker was breathtakingly good for Liverpool in the Premier League last campaign, scoring 31 goals, and winning multiple Player of the Year awards as a result. He’s facing a race against time to be fit for the start of the tournament – but if he manages it, he has the skill to take Brazil by storm.
