The Frankly Football World Cup XI

Amazing that nearly a month has past and we are descending upon the final in Soccer City on Sunday, preceded of course by the usually entertaining 3rd place match. I don't expect any developments from those games to impact the team I am putting forward now, and as you will see, this edition is dominated by the final four nations.

And why not? They were the most consistent teams in the competition, in terms of how they sought out to play and the success with which they played with. The fun part is that this is a World Cup XI that is missing the marquee names. Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kaka, Wayne Rooney, none of these played to the standard that we expect to see from them for club week in and week out (might be a little harsh on Messi as he did have 15 shots on target).

Let's dive into it, shall we?



GOALKEEPER: Iker Casillas, Spain
I was being given a compelling argument by a friend that Martin Stekelenburg of Holland belongs here, but I'm going with the Spaniard on this one. He made a couple of strange decisions, but by and large had the best box presence of all the goalkeepers, and I thought his distribution in the tournament was particularly strong.




RIGHT BACK: Phillip Lahm, Germany
The German captain played with a tireless work rate and a combative spirit. In attack, you could find him bombing down the right hand side in support, as well as do the dirty work in defense. Lahm epitomized German efficiency throughout the competition.




CENTER HALF: Carlos Puyol, Spain
An absolute lionheart in the center of defense, scorer of the winner against Germany and played a big part in keeping Miroslav Klose quiet. Tremendous in defense with his tackling and ability to win aerial battles.



CENTER HALF: Gerard Pique, Spain
I'm not crushing on Spain, really I'm not (though I think they will win the Final). However Pique has been an exceptional complement to Puyol throughout the competition. Pique arguably has good enough technical qualities to play in midfield, very composed on the ball and like a defender, not afraid to make the hard challenge.

LEFT BACK: Maicon, Brazil
He makes my team but he has to move over to the left because Lahm outperformed him in this tournament (though Lahm has more experience from the left hand side, I can always swap them in the run of play). Despite Brazil's disappointing quarterfinal exit, you can't question his work ethic throughout. If you want someone who actually played left back in the World Cup, I wouldn't argue with you if you put Holland's Giovanni van Bronckhorst here (largely because of that goal), or Portugal's Fabio Coentrao (someone from that Portugal backline should get in for shutting out Ivory Coast and Brazil).

RIGHT WINGER: Arjen Robben, Netherlands
Scored what is becoming his trademark goal against Slovakia (running inside from the left and striking from distance with his left foot), and headed the Dutch into the Final. A complete nuisance to Brazil's defense in the quarterfinal as well.

CENTER MIDFIELD: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany
Martin Tyler referred to him as "boss" in the Argentina game. You could probably also describe him as that in the England win too. Per fifa.com, Schweinsteiger has covered the most distance in this tournament (68.69 km total, or just over 7 miles a game). He did everything from protecting the back four to running to higher positions off the ball to taking on defenders 1v1 (or 1v3 against Argentina).

CENTER MIDFIELD: Xabi Alonso, Spain
Another midfield policeman who has been responsible for protecting the Spain rearguard as much as keeping possession and staring attacks for his country. Should be credited just as much for Spain's goals against record (2 allowed; that fluke against Switzerland and 1 against Chile when their place in the next round seemed confirmed) as Casillas, Puyol, and Pique.

LEFT WINGER/FORWARD: David Villa, Spain
Most effective in this position, and that was evident by him being kept rather quiet in the semis against Germany when asked to lead the line up front. Tied for the lead on 5 goals, and has scored them in a variety of ways, from poaching to creating his own chances.

ATTACKING CENTER MIDFIELDER: Wesley Sneijder, Netherlands
Level with Villa on goals, the most notable with his head against Brazil, something he is not totally known for. Winning the World Cup on Sunday will cap a dream year for the Inter man, and will have him squarely in the World Player of the Year discussion. Tremendous vision, passing, and of course finishing.

FORWARD: Diego Forlan, Uruguay
Carried his strong form with club right into the World Cup. Put his country on his back to make an improbable semifinal run. Came up with clutch goals against Ghana (arguably the best free kick of the tournament) and Holland. Also functioned quite nicely as a playmaker when Luis Suarez was in the team.

So there's the 11. Who's yours?