Post your World XI

dirtynine

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Dec 17, 2002
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Philly
Having just finished wading through a ton of high-level soccer (and with withdrawal symptoms about to hit) this is a pretty good time to take stock of what we're seeing. So: imagine we were putting together a soccer Space Jam team to battle the aliens in late summer 2021. List your:
• World XI
• optional: preferred 3-5 subs
• optional: preferred formation
• optional: preferred manager

On the personal side, even after 20+ years of watching the game I'm still a relative novice about formations, shapes, tactics and even player attributes. Listening to you all discuss that in these threads has been fantastic and very eye opening. I plan to use this thread to educate myself about some of that stuff. So, I'll hang up and listen.
 

coremiller

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Jul 14, 2005
5,846
The problem with these exercises is always the temptation to cram in too many attackers at the expense of tactical balance. Not sure I got it right.

GK: Jan Oblak

LB: Andy Robertson
CB: Virgil Van Dijk (assuming he's healthy)
CB: Raphael Varane
RB: Kyle Walker

CM: N'Golo Kante
CM: Joshua Kimmich
CM: Kevin De Bruyne

F: Leo Messi
F: Harry Kane
F: Kylian Mbappe

Manager: Pep Guardiola
Bench: Allison, Robert Lewandowki, Neymar, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo
 

Zososoxfan

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Jul 30, 2009
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South of North
I'm going to use current form as part of this because I think it's impossible to do it any other way.

Alisson
Robertson-Dias-Marquinhos-Walker
Verratti-Kante-KDB
Neymar-Lewa-Messi

Bench (essentially HM):
Keeper: Ederson, Oblak
CB: VVD, de Ligt
FB: Gosens, Zinchenko, Carvajal
DMF: Casemiro, Kimmich
CMF: FDJ
AMF: Pedri, Havertz
Wing: Mbappe, Salah
CF: Kane, Haaland

Manager: Pep. Staff: Zizou, Conte.

Keeper was tricky as I initially wanted Donnarumma in there, but I really value consistency and Donnar is there yet. Oblak is so so good but his distribution holds him back. Ederson is dinged because he slightly misplayed Di Maria's goal in the Copa finals. I believe Alisson had an injury or personal issues last year so I'm willing to give him a pass and I feel very confident with him net.

LB was one of the hardest positions and any of my 3 LBs could start. Robertson gets the nod for being at it longer and being slightly more physical than the other 2. Lots of other good options (Hernandez's, Digne, Mendy, etc.) left out.

CB was also brutal as Marquinhos was my only no doubter. VVD is on the bench because he was by far the best before injury. Dias gets the nod over de Ligt based on club season performance. Varane is one of my favorite players but he's slipped down a notch in a real way this season. Lots of young exciting players maybe ready to push into the true elite though, with Kounde, Upamecano, Gimenez, Skriniar, etc. all knocking.

RB is all Walker's at the moment, but there's a fun group just behind him. Carvajal makes the bench as he's the seasoned vet with the highest ceiling for 1 match, but he starts on the bench due to injuries. TAA, Cancelo, Pavard, James, and Bissaka are all close.

A wealth of riches at DMF and if you wanted to play a double pivot Kimmich is easily one of the 2 as he's the best of the 3 going forward. Casemiro brings height and physicality, and despite both of those guys being insanely good, I don't think it's even much of a question that the job is Kante's.

CMF is a weird one as there's some good players at the position but not a lot of settled ones. Verratti gets the nod for being excellent for club and turning it up another notch for the Euros. He was commanding in the MF. FDJ looks about ready to step into the #1 here over the next year or 2. Llorente, Valverde, and Barella may have something to say about that. If Pogba was a bit better for club, he'd be on the squad.

AMF was rather easy as no one holds a candle to KDB. Pedri has been wonderful and I can't wait to watch his career, but he's still just 18. Havertz also looks like he's ready to start delivering the goods but still might be a season or 2 away. HM to Bruno Fernandes and Dani Olmo.

Lots of interesting options at left wing, dominated by the PSG pair of Ney and Mbappe. Ney gets the nod because he can drop into MF when necessary and still has the ability to destabilize a defense. Hard to leave Mbappe on the bench but he can be shut down occasionally whereas Neymar can only be moved around, not stopped. If I was actually building a team, I might need Mbappe's speed on the field.

In the middle, it's Lewa by a hair over the remarkably consistent Kane and bigtime up and comer Haaland. Kane and Lewa are just about even for me, but Lewa's success with Bayern nudges him ahead.

On the RW, Messi gets one of his final starts at RW. Salah is only just behind him along with Gnabry and Mahrez. Lots of exciting young players in the future here with Sancho, Chiesa, and Pulisic!

The only manager that could corral this group is Zizou, as the threat of a KO headbutt will scare anyone into line. But Pep has shown that he's the best at getting the most of an all-time talented squad. I also had Zizou as the main manager first with Pep there to give him all the zany ideas, but ultimately I think Pep's longer resume wins out. I also didn't want a manager with a specific system like Klopp, Bielsa, or Poch. Simeone is too defensive. Same goes for Tuchel. Nagelsmann and Flick are close but I want to see more success from them first. Conte has shown tactical flexibility and has had great success, so he gets the opportunity to push Pep for expressiveness/absurdity on the touchline.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Jul 2, 2006
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Mbappe ———-Kane—— -Messi
———————- KDB ————————
—————Kante - Kimmich ————
Shaw - VVD - Marquinhos - Hakimi
——————Alisson ———————-
 

Ale Xander

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Oct 31, 2013
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Mbappe ———— C Ronaldo
——————Messi
Hazard —— KDB———Torres
——————-Kante
Zinchenko Varane Azpilicueta
———————Allisson
 

Tangled Up In Red

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Bernal
Mbappe ———— C Ronaldo
——————Messi
Hazard —— KDB———Torres
——————-Kante
Zinchenko Varane Azpilicueta
———————Allisson
Wowza, is this a 3-1-6 formation with fullbacks (one true CB)? I'd buy a ticket.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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Mbappe ———— C Ronaldo
——————Messi
Hazard —— KDB———Torres
——————-Kante
Zinchenko Varane Azpilicueta
———————Allisson
JFC that front 6 is scary. I guess you only need 3 defenders because you’re never losing possession.
 

triniSox

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Oct 27, 2008
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Mbappe -- Lewa -- C Ronaldo
Messi -- KDB -- Kante -- Frenkie DeJong
Ruben Dias -- VVD -- Kimpembe
Donnarumma
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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Trying for a diamond midfield. There’s just so much attacking talent out there that it’s easy to go with a 1-1-8.

—Lewandowski—-Messi—
————-De Bruyne————
Kimmich—————Kroos
—————-Kante————-
Alaba—VVD—Marquinhos—TAA

Edit: My midfield is in 4K.
 
Last edited:

teddykgb

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Jul 16, 2005
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Chelmsford, MA
Neymar—Haaland —Messi
De Jong—De Bruyne — kante
Davies — VvD — Dias — TAA
Oblak

Haaland is a bit of a reach but that guy was just a dominant force. Fullbacks are so weak, there are many names who are all fine but nobody dominating that position. I even considered AWB at RB because his defensive stats are off the charts but I’m not sullying my XI with United trash. The third midfielder is a tricky one and maybe a member of Atletico belongs here but I think FDJ is as good as it gets. Madrid midfielders have gotten too old and slow.

At CB I’d like to see VvD come back strong and I think Dias has only one season on his resume. I originally had Varane there as I think he has everything but there aren’t a lot of CBs seemingly dominating a match these days. Dias has at least done that.

Mane, Salah, Robertson all make my bench before the Liverpool supporters freak out. It’s strange that there are no Serie A players but while there are a ton of good Italians there aren’t many who separate from the pack. CR7 at this point hurts his clubs in equal measure to how he helps and maybe there’s someone else I’m missing but nobody springs to mind
 

Tangled Up In Red

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Davies — VvD ...
My heart skipped a beat when I thought gentle Ben got a vote.
Seems like KDB and Kante are the only unanimous picks thusfar, which seems reasonable. Also would probably depend a little on whether you're prepping world XI for a one-off match against next best world XXII or if a season dominating, say, the Prem or La Liga. Could be different rosters.