The teams of Argentina and France shot the coolest final of the World Cup, in which the best players on the planet determined the strongest in a penalty shootout. Each of the players from both squads made an outstanding tournament, thanks to which they would surely have ended up in the classic symbolic team of the tournament. However, I propose to diversify the assembly of such a composition, and include in the list only those players who do not represent Argentina and France.
Goalkeeper: Dominik Livakovic (Croatia)
Four years ago, in Russia, the Croats were led to the final by the more experienced Daniel Subašić, who announced the end of his international career immediately after the tournament. And it turned out that he was replaced by the no less worthy Dominik Livakovich, who had an excellent world championship.
On average, he made fewer saves per game than Wojciech Schensny, Andries Noppert and some other goalkeepers, but firstly they played fewer games and secondly Livakovic had a bigger impact on the game. He led the national team in penalty shootouts against Japan and Brazil, and in total in three playoff games he made 17 saves. fantastic result.
Defender: Ashraf Hakimi (Morocco), Joshko Guardiol (Croatia), Romain Saiss (Morocco), Luke Shaw (England)
Much was expected of Ashraf Hakimi, but he exceeded expectations. I think he became the best right-back of all his teammates in the championship, even ahead of the representatives of Argentina and France. He was too good in all parts of the field. It was Hakimi who shut Killian Mbappé out of the game in the semi-final match, which was not possible for any defender in the tournament.
Romain Saiss – the opening of the tournament. The 32-year-old central defender from Besiktas, who never shone in the big European leagues, lived the best month of his career. It is a pity that the Moroccan could not appear from the first minutes in the match with France, because if this happened, it is far from a fact that the French would only have jumped to the final.
Joshko Guardiol had a lot of fun after his disastrous performance at the time with the passing of Lionel Messi, but any player, and especially a defender, must be properly assessed from a distance. And here everything is fine:
Interceptions – 11 (1st place among all players in the tournament);
Takeaways – 37 (1st place);
Hits Blocked – 4 (4th place);
Qualifiers Won – 9 (5th place).
Perhaps Guardiol was not always stable and visible on the pitch, but he did his best to ensure that Croatia conceded as few goals as possible. And in the match for third place, he even scored a goal, finally assuring the correctness of his inclusion on this list.
On the left is a small selection. There could be another Moroccan Nussair Mazraoui, but still, Luke Shaw held a more even tournament, even if his team was knocked out too early. The Manchester United left-back has traditionally been well connected in attack, making him the most effective cornerback in the championship in terms of chances created, but he hasn’t forgotten about defense either, where he has also made dozens of clearances, tackles, interceptions and other useful actions.
Midfielder: Sofian Amrabat (Morocco), Luka Modric (Croatia), Bruno Fernandes (Portugal)
Moroccan defensive midfielder Sofyan Amrabat is not an entirely unknown player, but it was impossible to imagine that he would become one of the best in his position in Qatar. The 26-year-old impressed with his diligence and hard work, making him a cruel and tenacious midfield lion, chewing up opponents’ attacks. He went seven World Cup games without substitutions, running an average of 11.76 km per game. It’s no surprise that he is being paired with a number of Premier League clubs, where such a resilient defensive midfielder will come in handy.
Luka Modric showed everyone everything a long time ago, but in the 2022 World Cup he continued to work for himself and for that guy. At 37 years old, he tirelessly ran on defense, and in a second he was able to carry the ball through midfield. This time he did not make it back to the final, but he finally became an example of professionalism for the entire young generation of midfielders.
Bruno Fernandes was eliminated in the quarterfinal stage, but he definitely deserved to be in our ranking. The Portugal midfielder, in the absence of a leader on the field, took over the game, which he handled almost perfectly. In four games, the playmaker scored two goals, provided three assists, and also ranked in the top 5 of all players in the championship in terms of key passes, assists expected, and other notable metrics.
Forwards: Ivan Perisic (Croatia), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Harry Kane (England)
Among the best could be Vinicius Junior, Dani Olmo, Sofian Bufal or another, but Ivan Perisic was better, who, like Modric, showed something incredible at 33, and even on the attacking flank. In seven games he has scored one goal and given three assists for 11 goals and assists in the last three World Cups, and only Lionel Messi (18) and Killian Mbappé (14) have higher figures.
Although it is a small step forward, Cody Gakpo still deserves to be on this list. The Dutch talent, in fact, on his shoulders, led the team to the playoffs, scoring three goals in three straight games. He also played the ⅛-final game happily, and only against Argentina was the game not entirely. Not bad for a 23 year old.
Harry Kane was headed to Qatar to once again be the World Cup’s top scorer, but his team failed to reach the finals. In fairness, it should be noted that the Tottenham striker made the most of the tournament. Two goals and three assists in five games is fine, but it could have been even more if it wasn’t for that missed penalty against France. And yet this mistake should not cloud the impression of Harry’s game, because the striker showed football of the highest level.
