The best team of the biggest tournament so far.
With less than a week until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil concludes CaughtOffside thought it was the ideal time to look back and determine which players would make the ultimate XI of the tournament so far.
See if you agree.
GK – Keylor Navas, Costa Rica
After enjoying a fine season with Levante in La Liga the 27-year-old then stood firm between the sticks for the surprise team of the tournament, with the Costa Ricans making the quarter-finals despite being drawn in a group with Uruguay, Italy and England.
Navas conceded just once against those teams and in fact let in just two goals in normal time during the entire competition and despite penalty shoot-out heroics against Greece in the last-16, could not repeat the feat against Netherlands.
RB – Daryl Janmaat, Netherlands
People were unsure what to expect of the Dutch this summer, especially after they too were drawn in a difficult group that also contained world champions Spain, Chile and Australia.
As it was Louis van Gaal’s side cruised through with maximum points and despite a stuttering quarter-final victory over Costa Rica remain strong, with right-back Janmaat a surprise star.
CB – Mats Hummels, Germany
As always the Germans are proving to be a strong outfit and with two goals to his name from central defence Hummels is one of their standout performers.
During the past few years with Borussia Dortmund the 25-year-old has proven himself to be a world-class defender and could be key to any success his nation has, whilst Manchester United are keeping a close eye on developments.
CB – Thiago Silva, Brazil
Partnering Hummels in our team is the Brazilian captain and the only one of their back four who has shown any real consistency in defence at the tournament in his home country.
Silva will be absent for the semi-final clash with Germany and the skipper will be greatly missed for his dominant displays.
LB – Ricardo Rodriguez, Switzerland
Having impressed with Wolfsburg in 2013/14 this 21-year-old arrived in South America brimming with confidence and showed what all the hype was about with his performances.
The left-back is a formidable presence in both defence and attack and even provided two assists for his nation before Argentina knocked them out.
CM – Luiz Gustavo, Brazil
Another Wolfsburg player now and someone who is something of an unsung hero for the Samba Boys for his no-nonsense approach in front of the back four.
Gustavo’s role is to break up play and feed the more creative sources in the team, something which has made the midfielder a favourite of manager Luis Felipe Scolari.
CM – Toni Kroos, Germany
It’s easy to see why so many sides have been clamoring for this Bayern Munich star’s signature, as Kroos shows just what all the fuss has been about.
The 24-year-old has two assists and is key to his team’s play and even when the attacking players rotate the midfielder remains a constant.
CAM – James Rodriguez, Colombia
What a star this 22-year-old has proven himself to be and AS Monaco must be smug that they snapped up the South American from FC Porto back in 2013.
Rodriguez has scored six goals in the competition so far and despite the Colombians’ elimination is still in line for the Golden Boot.
RW – Arjen Robben, Netherlands
In a van Gaal team that relies more on togetherness than world-class stars, Robben bucks the trend with his displays in a roaming role alongside Robin van Persie.
The Bayern winger has mixture of pace, trickery and a fierce eye for goal and to date has three goals and an assist in Brazil.
ST – Lionel Messi, Argentina
Having scored just one goal in two previous World Cups many thought that the four-time Ballon d’Or winner was to be forever to fail on the international stage.
Yet four goals for Messi has proven those doubters wrong and many are predicting that the FC Barcelona man’s country will lift the trophy come Sunday.
LW – Neymar, Brazil
A back injury against Colombia has cruelly ended Neymar’s tournament early, but up until then the 22-year-old had been carrying the nation’s hopes on his young shoulders.
Despite the pressure the Barca forward netted four goals and provided one assist before being struck down in the quarter-finals.
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