Greetings

As we slowly drift away from the excitement of the World Cup, there were players who disappointed, players who impressed, and players who have been bang average. In this post, I thought I would take this chance to highlight the players who impressed me the most.

So, without further ado, let's get into it.

Goalkeepr: Dominik Livaković

While we had some top contenders for this position, namely Emiliano Martínez who made two last-minute saves, one against Australia and another in the final against France, and Yassine Bounou who was the main key in Morocco's impressive journey, Dominik Livaković still takes the cake for me.

Livaković was the man of the match in not one but two matches, against Japan in the round of 16 and Brazil in the round of 8. Performance-wise, Livaković managed to actually be more than Luka Modrić himself throughout the group stage and the knockout stage, and despite the heavy loss against Argentina, Livaković still remained one of the top names that rallied Croatia to third place against Morocco.

Right-Back: Achraf Hakimi

Up until the round of 8, Dumfries was the easy pick for this position as the Dutch right-back was integral to the Netherlands squad, but all that changed in the round of 8 when Dumfries suddenly turned into a liability, causing a penalty when his team needed to score for a draw, countless mistakes, he even ended up getting a red during the penalty shootouts.

On the other hand, Hakimi remained a consistent force in the right-back position whether when advancing or when defending. At times he looked like prime Walker defending and prime Cafu when providing offensive addition. Perhaps Dumfries' disastrous ending and Hakimi playing more games played a big part in his pick here in an otherwise position with very few people impressing.

Left-Back: Théo Hernandez

Early into the tournament, Théo saw his older brother stretched out of the World Cup, yet the Frenchman remained focused on the prize. Covering the defensive end of a side where Mbappe, who rarely tracks back, operates can't be an easy task. But, Théo did that and still managed to add offensively consistently. So much so that he played the main role in France's advancement to the final with his early goal against Morocco.

Perhaps Théo, much like Hakimi/Dumfries, benefitted from the fact that this World Cup didn't really have impressive full-backs as he did cause the penalty that Harry Kane missed. Otherwise, we might actually be talking about a player who caused his team's departure from the World Cup.

Center-Back: Nicolás Otamendi

Don't let Otamendi's unimpressive performance in the final fool you. The Argentinian centre-back was the only consistent name in Argentina's defensive line for a reason as he was the experienced leader from the back, like an Argentinian Thiago Silva who would have been here if Otamendi and the next player didn't perform at the top level and for more games.

Otamendi's career might have had the best outcome, but with his performance in the World Cup as a whole, he definitely earned himself a legendary end.

Center-Back: Joško Gvardiol

Between Dominik Livaković and Joško Gvardiol, Croatia would have never come as far as they have as the pair had been crucial. Gvardiol's performance was something to admire.

At twenty years old, Gvardiol definitely earned himself the 100+ million price tag as he was Croatia's most deadly weapon in the back next to Lovren. Still, Gvardiol managed to be an even more crucial player by scoring a goal against Morocco that helped his team earn their third place in the World Cup.

Midfielder: Sofyan Amrabat

The Morrocan midfielder's performance is definitely the best in his position but more importantly, he is in competition for the best player of the tournament or would have been if Messi and Mbappe didn't go Super Saiyan in the final.

Connecting the defence and midfield, then the midfield and attack, providing deep play-making, protecting the full-backs, tacks, and passes, is there anything that this man hasn't done during the 2022 World Cup? Amrabat was playing every game as if his life depended on it.

Midfielder: Bruno Fernandes

There are only two players who haven't made the semi-final who feature in my list, Bruno Fernandes is one of them.

Up until the round of 8, Bruno was the de facto leader and captain of Portugal, controlling the team's attacks and either creating or helping create the holes for his team to score. Even against a stubborn defence like Morocco, Bruno Fernandes managed to create some chances that went to waste.

Midfielder: Antoine Griezmann

Griezmann midfielder? What? Yes, Antoine Griezmann was simply a midfielder for France this tournament, and what a job he did there!

Antoine Griezmann became France's mastermind and maestro throughout the tournament. His movements always helped connect France's lines and his teammates moving forward. Griezmann also had a great defensive presence as we found him in many teams defending deep in France's box and later being the man in charge of moving the ball upfront.

We could argue who was France's best player, but when it comes to France's most important player, the answer is definitely Griezmann

Right-Winger: Bukayo Saka

I am okay if people assume this is my Arsenal bias speaking here, but what tournament did Saka have during this World Cup?

Saka was always the best option to have in that England squad as he always had the defensive work to show for it, but since the Euro, Saka added goal-scoring, assisting, and dribbling, pardon the pun, into his Arsenal. If there was a doubt before about Southgate's constant picking of Saka over Rashford and Sancho, that doubt is over.

Left-Winger: Kylian Mbappé

Nightmare-ish pace, terrifying skills and dribbling, and a killer instinct in front of the goal, Kylian Mbappé's performance this World Cup was nothing short of offensive greatness.

Kylian Mbappé knew how to use his pace and skills to serve the team and create an opening and serve the team up front. Mbappé should easily fill in the role of the team's leader, or at least the attack's leader. Most importantly, with all due respect to Ligue 1, it's time for Mbappé to embark outside of France on a journey to become among the greatest players of all time.

Center-Forward: Gabriel Jesus

While Saka's addition to the list can be attributed to bias, this one definitely isn't. Gabriel Jesus played the most crucial role which led Brazil to make it to the round of 16. His injury left a huge hole for Brazil that even Neymar's return couldn't fill...... Okay, I am just kidding. Here's the actual pick even though it is way too obvious.

Center-Forward: Lionel Andrés Messi

Never, in my life, have I seen a player as consistent and crucial for his team as I saw Messi become throughout this World Cup.

While the Saudi game was definitely a shock, Messi remained focused and became the centre of Argentina's rallying point. Even against Poland and despite not scoring and wasting a penalty, Messi kept controlling the game's pace and rhythm and made sure the ball moves as smoothly as possible from the midfield to the attack.

Messi, despite being already the greatest of all time, still found something to improve, his penalties. We saw Messi changing his entire technique in shooting penalties after his penalty against Poland.

Messi's performance during this World Cup definitely showed why he is the greatest of all time as he effectively ended the debate.

In Conclusion

These are my picks, some names could have been changed, namely the goalkeeper, the right-back, Modric for one of the midfielders, and moving Messi to right-winger to accommodate Julián Álvarez. But, this is my final version and I stand behind it. Below you can see how the team looks.

[Created on the My Lineup app]

I would like to take this chance to start a sort of challenge of people sharing their own best starting eleven from the World Cup. So, I nominate @blanchy and @blockchainfpl. Create your own and keep the ball rolling.