World Cup 2022 - Choose Your XI Soccer

[Boot Cleaner]

This thread is for the general discussion of the Soccer World Cup 2022 - Choose Your XI. Please add to the discussion here.

 

[Boot Cleaner]

My Best XI would be

GK - Emiliano Martinez (Argentina)
DEF - Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
DEF - Josko Gvardiol (Croatia)
DEF - Thiago Silva (Brazil)
DEF - Theo Hernandez (France)
MID - Antoine Griezmann (France)
MID - Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina)
MID - Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco)
FOR - Leo Messi (Argentina)
FOR - Kylian Mbappe (France)
FOR - Julian Alvarez (Argentina)

Tough to leave out some of the younger players like Enzo Fernandez (Argentina), Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco) and Cody Gapko (Netherlands). I also thought Matteo Kovacic (Croatia) and Rodrigo De Paul (Argentina) were excellent in midfield.

 

[Bandit]

Formation: 4-1-3-2

GK - Dominik Livakovic (Croatia)

DEF - Theo Hernandez (France)
DEF - Josko Gvardiol (Croatia)
DEF - Christian Romero (Argentina)
DEF - Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)

MID - Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco)

MID - Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco)
MID - Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina)
MID - Jamal Musiala (Germany)

FOR - Leo Messi (Argentina)
FOR - Kylian Mbappe (France)

I thought Griezmann was excellent against Morocco but not so good against England and he didn't really feature in the final.

Musiala was exceptional for Germany in the group stages and deserved better.

Amrabat, Ounahi and Mac Allister were all outstanding in the games I watched them in.

 

[Crabtree]

Formation 3-4-3

GK - Emiliano Martinez (Argentina)
DEF - Josko Gvardiol (Croatia)
DEF - Thiago Silva (Brazil)
DEF - Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
MID - Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco)
MID - Antoine Griezmann (France)
MID - Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina)
MID - Rodrigo De Paul (Argentina)
FOR - Leo Messi (Argentina)
FOR - Kylian Mbappe (France)
FOR - Julian Alvarez (Argentina)

Gone with Martinez in goal, his save at the end of extra-time in the final was world-class and he is the man for penalty shootouts.

Messi rightly so gets most of the plaudits for his displays but Mac Allister and De Paul work tirelessly in midfield to compensate for his lack of defensive duties. I wasn't impressed with De Paul early on but he was key to Argentina in the later knockout rounds.

 

[Cappuccino Kid]

GK - Szczesny. It's between him, Livakovic and Martinez - they're all right choices for me. Both Szczesny and Livakovic lead the stats in terms of stopping the most expected goals. But Livakovic erred in the semi-final for the penalty. Martinez's absolutely crucial 124th minute save, plus his shoot-out antics, won the cup, but he didn't have that much to do before that, while Szczesny only played 4 games.

RB - Hakimi. Easy choice, great going both ways.
LB - Hernandez. Left-back undoubtedly the weakest position and all the best candidates had their share of mistakes. Hernandez was crucial for France taking control of games with his box-to-box game and was second only to Mbappe in 'expected threat from open play'.
CB - Gvardiol. Straightforward choice, a few great games over-riding his one wobbly one against Argentina.
CB - Saiss. Thought Varane might pip him with a strong final, but he was clearly still sluggish after his illness.

DM - Amrabat. Ball recovery was off the charts, brilliant in transitions.
CM - Enzo Fernandez. Held the midfield together, sharp and cohesive.
CM - Modric. Oozed class throughout and Croatia were ultimately undone by weaknesses elsewhere.
AM - Griezmann. Arguably player of the tournament until the final, creative, diligent, was at the heart of anything good coming through France's midfield.

RF - Messi. All about his mentality coolly slotting away high-pressure penalties and bending each game to his will.
LF - Mbappe. My player of the tournament with perhaps the best World Cup final performance from a forward in living memory.

Subs: Martinez, Silva, Casemiro, Mac Allister, Bellingham, Ounahi, Alvarez, Giroud

5 Argentinians, 4 Moroccans, 3 French, 2 Croatians, 2 Braziilans, 1 English, 1 Pole.

 

[Tom]

I am surprised by an almost full sweep for Theo Hernandez. He was poor against England and had a pretty terrible final. Some of his challenges across both games were verging on liability territory.

Mazraoui was pretty superb before his injury and deserves the shout in my opinion.

Martinez (Argentina)

Hakimi (Morocco)
Varane (France)
Gvardiol (Croatia)
Mazraoui (Morocco)

Enzo Fernandez (Argentina)
Amrabat (Morocco)
Mac Allister (Argentina)

Mbappe (France)
Messi (Argentina)

Alvarez (France)

 

[Dylan]

Goalkeeper: Livakovic - This guy is a key for reaching the semi-final for the Croatia team. He made a lot of crucial saves both in games and in the penalty spot. He also didn't have a problem when leaving the goal situations. He also used his feet well.

RB: Hakimi - Undoubtedly the best RB of this tournament. Hakimi was great at both defending and attacking phases. He was a big weapon on the right side with his effective overlapping, crossing, cutting inside, and acting as a playmaker for his team.

CB: Gvardiol - Unanimous the best defender of this world cup. The real colossus at the back for this Croatia team. He was pretty amazing on the ball too.

CB: Saiss - The real backbone of the historic Morocco team. His impact on this team was untouchable. You can see the difference when having him and without him. He was a real leader of this team.

LB: Hernandez - He showed impressive performances, especially in the attacking phase. His attacking contribution was one of the main reasons why France reached the final. Although he could be seen as the weakest spot in this team and sometimes he made mistakes in defending, I would say he deserves to be a part of this team.

CDM: Amrabat - The best midfielder in this impressive Morocco team. He was a defensive force on this team. His tackles and interceptions saved Morocco from having chances to concede the goals. He was a fine passer and that benefitted in transitions.

CM: Luka Modric - Modric is still in class at 37 years old. In this tournament, he was still one of the best players. He was a real force in this Croatia team. He was a playmaker that dictate the tempo of this team, an inspiring leader, a supreme passer, and he still performed impressive defending from a midfielder.

CAM: Griezmann - Creative monster with supreme work rate. Griezmann was the heart of the France team with his precious performances in both phases.

RW: Messi - Arguably the best player in this tournament. Messi was an offensive force and complete attacker who could do anything at the highest level. His impact on this team was invaluable.

LW: Mbappe - Mbappe's performances were almost out of this world. A mentality monster with clutch genes and nerves of steel. He was the real protagonist of this France team.

ST: Alvarez - Alvarez showed the world with his excellent performances in this tournament. A tireless runner with a supreme work rate, a selfless player, and a clinical finisher. He was one of the reasons why Argentina was the champion.

 

[Legion]

Livakovic (Croatia)

Hakimi (Morocco)
Saiss (Morocco)
Gvardiol (Croatia)
Hernandez (France)

Amrabat (Morocco)
Fernandez (Argentina)

Di Maria (Argentina)
Messi (Argentina)
Mbappe (France)

Alvarez (Argentina)

Subs: Martinez, Otamendi, Modric, Griezmann, and Giroud.

 

[John Steed]

Midfield was the most difficult to choose. Modric looked completely past it in a few of the Croatia games I saw. He gave the ball away cheaply and made countless fouls without being booked. Griezmann didn't insert any influence on the final. Di Maria missed too many games even though for 60 minutes he was one of the best player in the final before being substituted

I'd go for a 3-4-3 formation:

Martinez (Argentina)

Hakimi (Morocco)
Otamendi (Argentina)
Gvardiol (Croatia)

Amrabat (Morocco)
Enzo Fernandez (Argentina)
Ounahi (Morocco)
De Paul (Argentina)

Messi (Argentina)
Mbappe (France)
Alvarez (Argentina)

 

[Spikey]

Gone with a traditional 4-4-2. The only real problem area was left back where I've selected Luke Shaw who I think was as good as anyone else in that position throughout the tournament.

Great to see so many Moroccan players making it into everyone's XI

Livakovic (Croatia)

Hakimi (Morocco)
Gvardiol (Croatia)
Saiss (Morocco)
Shaw (England)

Casemiro (Brazil)
Amrabat (Morocco)
Griezmann (France)
Enzo Fernandez (Argentina)

Mbappé (France)
Messi (Argentina)