The Best World Cup XI with One Player per Nation

 With the world cup nearly upon us, we have reached that stage in the year where hypotheticals, wild takes and wild bets have begun to be thrown around. 

With pretty much every global footballing heavyweight except Italy ready to attend the tournament, we set ourselves the fun challenge of trying to build the best team possible. But there’s a catch. Each nation can only have a maximum of 1 player from it, meaning we need at minimum, 11 different nations. 

Was this easy? No, and there are some truly great superstars we have had to leave off, even with some formation skullduggery.  

Anyway, without further ado let’s get stuck into the team. 

 

 

Goalkeeper

Thibaut Courtois – Belgium

All things considered, this was actually a pretty easy pick. Considering Donnaruma failed to qualify, there isn’t a huge amount of top talent left in that position. Perhaps more importantly, countries who do have talent in that spot, such as Brazil, Spain etc, all have so much talent elsewhere on the pitch that it would be a shame to waste their pick here. Belgium however is past it’s golden generation and is not nearly as loaded elsewhere on the field, making Courtois an easy pick. 

 

Right-Back

Achraf Hakimi – Morocco

Arguably the best right-back on the planet. Hakimi has continued his imperious form from last season and is the perennial talisman for Morocco. There was a bit of competition here from the likes of Kimmich but its hard to argue with his inclusion. Also, he comes from a nation which, like Belgium, is not loaded with talent all over the pitch. An easy pick. 

 

Centre-Back

Virgil Van Dijk – Netherlands 

Now if there’s one team which is bottom heavy it is the dutch. Van Dijk, Van De Ven, de Ligt, Ake, Timber, Dumfries, de Vrij, Frimpong, Botman, Maatsen, van Hecke, Hato. If any team should be exploring 6 at the back, it’s them.  As a result, it’s no shock we’ve gone defender and Van Dijk is the pick of the bunch. In my opinion the best centre-back in Prem history, can do it all. 

 

Centre-Back

Gabriel Magalhaes – Brazil 

Speaking of elite Premier league centre-acks, Gabriel is next up. One of the best centre backs in the world this year and an absolute demon from set-pieces. Now yes, unlike some of the aforementioned countries, Brazil do have talent everywhere. However, given there are quite a few countries with elite attacking options but not so many defensive options, we thought this was a necessary counterbalance. Also, Gabriel is an unbelievable footballer and a top 3 centre-back in the world. 

 

Left-Back

Alphonso Davies – Canada 

Now this was one spot I had real problems in. Heavy consideration was given to the likes of Gvardiol and Nuno Mendes. However, Including Alphonso Davies allowed us to include Modric on the subs bench. Canada is almost the perfect country for this challenge given they have one stand out star and means another major footballing nation can be saved for later use. Also, let’s not pretend Alphonso Davies isn’t an absolute baller.

 

Centre-Midfield

Bruno Fernandes – Portugal

Arguably the best player in the Premier League this season and a man who can simply produce magic whenever called upon. He spent a large part of the season in the 8 role this season and was not just magic off the ball but tenacious out of possession as well. 

A true superstar and impossible to leave out, even if Vitinha is a better fit position wise. 

 

Centre-Midfield

Fede Valverde – Uruguay

Again, this was an incredibly tight decision, with the likes of Kimmich and Caicedo also in the conversation for this spot. In the end we just felt Valverde has edged out the other 2 on form and talent. Like Fernandes he is also a demon out of possession as well and works his arse off for the team. There is not a thing this man doesn’t do well. Reminds me a lot of Gerrard. 

 

Right Attacking-Midfield – Lamine Yamal 

One of the Balon d’Or frontrunners and arguably the best player on the planet right now. Yamal or Pedri was a decision we did not want to have to make but unfortunately did. At least in terms of right wingers, Yamal is clearer of the competition than Pedri is at centre-midfield, hence his inclusion. 

 

Left Attacking-Midfield – Kylian Mbappe 

I mean, this team is an absolute joke at this point. Arguably the 4 best attackers in the world right now. Now, club football Mbappe is already an absolute freak of nature and has probably been the best player in the world over the course of the last 5 years. But international Mbappe is an entirely different beast. The fact this man even has that extra gear is ridiculous considering how good he already is but here we are. 

 

Striker – Harry Kane 

The Balon d’Or favourite has really reached a different level since joining Bayern. He’s breaking record after record and isn’t just scoring goals. His full array of talents have been on display from defending to passing. A true unicorn in football right now and impossible to leave out. 

 

Striker – Erling Haaland 

It should be illegal to pair these two up top together but given Kane’s propensity to drop deep and get involved in link up play, as well as Haaland’s to run in behind and play on the shoulder of the last man, it might actually work. Haaland was perfect for this challenge given he plays for a nation which is not loaded with talent, meaning his inclusion will not prevent any other stars from missing out. 

 

 

Substitutes: 

• Gregor Kobel 
• Rayan Ait-Nouri 
• Andrew Robertson
• Kalidou Koulibaly 
• Ladislav Krejci 
• Kim Min-jae 
• Joshua Kimmich 
• Luka Modric
• Moises Caicedo  
• Lionel Messi
• Luis Diaz 
• Kaoru Mitoma 
• Mo Salah 
• Antoine Semenyo 
• Alexander Isak 

 

Good lord even the subs bench is loaded to the gills. What would your XI be? 

Also, make sure you check out our Feature Articles section for more fun hypotheticals and challenges.