All Time 11 From World Cup

[Tony247]

What are your all time starting 11 purely based on their performance in FIFA world cup? Excluding club performance, world cup qualifiers, continental competitions like Euros etc.

Who would you pick?

Here is my starting 11:

Ronaldo (Brazilian) Klose
Pele Maradona Pirlo Iniesta
Maldini Nesta Beckenbaur Cafu
Neuer​

Let me explain.

I am going for two strikers, a dynamic midfield and traditional back four. On paper it looks 4-4-2 but during the game it can be more flexible.

For stikers, on the basis of world cup performances, there is hardly any match for (real) Ronaldo and Klose. While Ronaldo 'the phenomenon' provides more dynamism on the left, Klose can be a perfect poacher in the box.

Ignore midfield formation I gave above. This is the most dynamic and fluid midfield I could imagine. Pirlo can drop back as DLP. Pele and Maradona can work in tandem and can go forward or stay back as playmaker as and when situation demands. Iniesta provides the disciplined balance in so much attack minded midfield as he can be very good in supporting Pirlo in starting attacks and also can be a defensive workhorse in pressing games.

Maldini and Cafu as RB and LB are no contest really. But I had to put some thought on picking a CB pair and I can't find more complimenting than Nesta and Beckenbaur. Both have amazing tackles, distribution, position awareness. Nesta as LCB and Beckenbaur as RCB can be a formidable pair.

Picking GK was a real challenge as there are quite a few legends to select from. But finally I went with a modern sweeper keeper Neuer. A perfect GK behind Nesta and Beckenbaur when I want to play a high line.
===

So there you go. What is yours?

 

[Gio]

Pele - Muller
Maradona
Brehme - Beckenbauer - Matthaus - Cafu
Cannavaro - Baresi - Thuram
Kahn​

 

[Revan]

Buffon

C. Alberto Baresi Beckenbauer Brehme

Matthaus Zidane

Garrincha Maradona Cruyff

Pele​

 

[Oranges038]

I'm going for the we're going to score more than you approach. This team would beat anyone.

Buffon
Cafu Lucio Cannavaro Roberto Carlos
Dunga
Zidane Rivaldo
Messi Ronaldo Ronaldinho


​

 

[NoPace]

Only watched since 1994, but my guess:

------------------Ronaldo(Brazil)-----------------------
----------------------------Pele-------Maradona--------
Garrincha-------Zidane---------------------------------
---------------------------Varela----------------------Cafu
-----Breitner---Thuram--Beckenbauer-----------
---------------------------Neuer-------------------------------

Breitner has a win, a goal in another final and boycotted the 1978 World Cup because it was held in a military dictatorship that's enough for me.

Varela never lost a World Cup match, was apparently the key to winning a World Cup in Brazil against Brazil, and his only blemish is that he got hurt celebrating once. Also need a proper DM with that midfield I chose to have a vaguely realistic team. It's how Brazil lined up today, really.

Cafu overlaps enough to play Maradona narrow on the right, Beckenbauer steps into midfield often with Garrincha wide left (could dribble so would be fine on the left even though he had a leg issue?) and Cafu wide right and Breitner more central.

Top-heavy, but still a good back 4 and holding midfielder and Thuram to clean up messes.

In some ways, France vs Spain in 2006 turned out to be a Xavi vs Zidane match for that spot and well, Zidane won.

My dad is a big Vava fan, I probably should have included him.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

Neuer
Thuram Baresi Beckenbauer Carlos
Matthaus Xavi Modric
Pele Maradona
Ronaldo

 

[Sky1981]

Question is.. who's the opponent that can make it an interesting match?

 

[SilentStrike]

Schweinsteiger’s performance in 2014 final Vs Argentina deserves some love.

Khedira injured right before match, his replacement Kramer got a concussion early in the match. Suddenly was the only Central midfielder, and put in a performance of the ages. Dominated the midfield all alone for 120 minutes. Cancelled out Messi, and ran the show for Germany.

that night, he was a true hero on the pitch

 

[Dirty Schwein]

Schweinsteiger’s performance in 2014 final Vs Argentina deserves some love.

Khedira injured right before match, his replacement Kramer got a concussion early in the match. Suddenly was the only Central midfielder, and put in a performance of the ages. Dominated the midfield all alone for 120 minutes. Cancelled out Messi, and ran the show for Germany.

that night, he was a true hero on the pitch

Yeah I was gonna say this. One of my favourite "lone ranger" performances.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Yashin​

Thuram Cannavaro Beckenbauer Carlos
Matthaus Zidane
Cruyff Maradona
Pele L.Ronaldo


​

 

[Rasendori]

Schweinsteiger’s performance in 2014 final Vs Argentina deserves some love.

Khedira injured right before match, his replacement Kramer got a concussion early in the match. Suddenly was the only Central midfielder, and put in a performance of the ages. Dominated the midfield all alone for 120 minutes. Cancelled out Messi, and ran the show for Germany.

that night, he was a true hero on the pitch

One performance from that game which was largely forgotten about was Jerome Boateng's as the media attention was on Schweinsteiger who himself put in a great performance.

 

[Jimble]

GK. Rene Higuita
RB. Cafu
CB. Franz Beckenbauer
CB. Bobby Moore
LB. Roberto Carlos
RM. Diego Maradona
CM. Lothar Matthaus
CM. Zinedine Zidane
LM. Ronaldinho
ST. Miroslav Klose
ST. Gary Lineker

 

[Gavinb33]

I'd have Charlton in there in 66 he was vital in the QF and Semi final for England

 

[Skills]

2006 onwards

---------------David Villa (2010)
Iniesta (2010)------------------------Robben (2014)
-------------------Zidane (2006)
----------Xavi (2010)-----Schweinsteiger (2010-2014)
---Abidal (2006)----Cannavaro (2006)---Varane (2018)---Lahm
-----------------------Neuer (2014)

 

[kafta]

Buffon
Cafu
Cannavaro
Beckenbauer
Grosso
Pirlo
Zidane
Iniesta
Maradonna
R9
Pele

 

[harms]

Damn, I was writing a ridiculously long explanation of my World Cup Final-only XI before realizing that this is about the whole final stage of the tournament. It's makes it easier though.

Pelé - Gerd Müller - Garrincha
Diego Maradona
Franz Beckenbauer - Lothar Matthäus
Paul Breitner - Bobby Moore - Franco Baresi - Cafu
Oliver Kahn​

Pelé — Mr. World Cup. Enigmatic match-winner in 1958 as a teenager, literally kicked out of the next 2 tournaments and that the legendary campaign in 1970 as a main creative hub of arguably the greatest international team ever
Gerd Müller — however great Luis Ronaldo and other candidates were, I'd pick Müller for his consistency. Unstoppable in 1970 and key to the win in 1974 — a pattern quite similar to Ronaldo (1998 -> 2002), but without the spoilt final
Garrincha — before Maradona in 1986 his 1962 campaign was widely considered to be the most influential individual performance in World Cup's history
Diego Maradona — no explanation needed. His 1986 World Cup was simply the best individual World Cup performance ever and then you can add other impressive campaigns on top of it
Lothar Matthäus — one of the players with the most tournament appearances ever and the man who came the closest to stopping Maradona in 1986
Franz Beckenbauer — played two of his tournaments in midfield before assuming the libero role in 1974. His 1966 campaign was out of this world
Paul Breitner — a key component to West Germany's unlikely win against the Dutch totalvoetbaal juggernaut who also has a brilliant 1982 campaign (as a midfielder though) under his belt
Bobby Moore — impeccable in both 1966 and 1970 in a distinctly different roles. His master-class against Brazil in 1970 has a claim to be the greatest individual defensive performance in tournament's history...
Franco Baresi — ... challenged by the 1994 World Cup final by Franco Baresi. Coming back from an injury only to stop Romário in the form of his life. He was also the key member of Italy's defensive unit from the 1990, which until this day remains the greatest in history of competition
Cafu — played in 3 successful World Cup finals, winning two of them. He's the greatest right back ever in my book, so he takes his rightful place
Oliver Kahn — his miracles from 2002 has to be one of the highest praises for goalkeeping in general. Rarely before or after, if ever, a keeper was so crucial to the success of his side

Germany: 5, Brazil: 3, Italy: 1, Argentina: 1, England: 1.

Notable mentions:
GK: Manuel Neuer, Gigi Buffon, Lev Yashin
RB: Djalma Santos, Carlos Alberto, Philipp Lahm
CB: Fabio Cannavaro, Elías Figueroa, Daniel Passarella
LB: Paolo Maldini, Nílton Santos, Andreas Brehme
CM: Xavi, Didi, Obdulio Varela
AM: Bobby Charlton, Zinedine Zidane, Andrés Iniesta
FW: Mario Kempes, Johan Cruyff, Thomas Müller
ST: Luis Ronaldo, Paolo Rossi, Mario Klose

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

Schweinsteiger’s performance in 2014 final Vs Argentina deserves some love.

Khedira injured right before match, his replacement Kramer got a concussion early in the match. Suddenly was the only Central midfielder, and put in a performance of the ages. Dominated the midfield all alone for 120 minutes. Cancelled out Messi, and ran the show for Germany.

that night, he was a true hero on the pitch

Great final performance but Toni Kroos was better over the tournament.

 

[harms]

with Garrincha wide left (could dribble so would be fine on the left even though he had a leg issue?)

Come on, man!

 

[paulscholes18]

Buffon
Cafu Moore Beckenbauer Carlos
Pirlo
BFS Zidane
Maradona
Klose (fat) Ronaldo

 

[Tony247]

Damn, I was writing a ridiculously long explanation of my World Cup Final-only XI before realizing that this is about the whole final stage of the tournament.

Haha. Edited my post to avoid confusion.

I am asking 11 from world cup final stages, not just from final matches.

 

[Red the Bear]

To be honest it might as well be an all time top 11.

Pele - Muller
Maradona
Brehme - Beckenbauer - Matthaus - Cafu
Cannavaro - Baresi - Thuram
Kahn​

Pretty much this.

Although khan did mess up the final so perhaps buffon is a more appropriate pick.

 

[Gio]

To be honest it might as well be an all time top 11.

Pretty much this.

Although khan did mess up the final so perhaps buffon is a more appropriate pick.

Yeah, fair point. Kahn was the only elite keeper I could recall having a busy tournament where he was called upon to make lots of key saves. The benefit of Buffon is his 2006 tournament was flawless, albeit without having to do that much in comparison.

 

[Rasendori]

Damn, I was writing a ridiculously long explanation of my World Cup Final-only XI before realizing that this is about the whole final stage of the tournament. It's makes it easier though.

Yeah I think most people read it that it referred to finals only. Anyway before you edited your post, which players were in that haven't made it to your adjusted version?

 

[harms]

Yeah I think most people read it that it referred to finals only. Anyway before you edited your post, which players were in that haven't made it to your adjusted version?

Kempes, Iniesta, Zidane. No Kahn, obviously.

 

[Red the Bear]

Yeah, fair point. Kahn was the only elite keeper I could recall having a busy tournament where he was called upon to make lots of key saves. The benefit of Buffon is his 2006 tournament was flawless, albeit without having to do that much in comparison.

The op is a bit confusing about whether it only refers to finals or if it means post group stage Performances , khan has a much better case for the latter as he basically dragged his team to the final but even then his blunders in final sully that record a bit.

Buffon also has that great tip of the hand save against Zidane's header so it really was a flawless Performance, only 2 goals conceded with one being an own goal and the other a pen.

 

[Tony247]

The op is a bit confusing about whether it only refers to finals or if it means post group stage Performances

Damn. I don't know why I made it so complex. Edited again.

 

[Red the Bear]

Damn. I don't know why I made it so complex. Edited again.

It's ok mate, it happens
yeah that changes things, now players like khan have a much better chances of getting in.

 

[Gio]

Kempes, Iniesta, Zidane. No Kahn, obviously.

Aye same 3 for me, Final only I'd go for:

Muller
Kempes - Zidane - Iniesta
Breitner - Schweinsteiger
Andrade - Baresi - Buchwald - Vogts
Maier​

Maier was the only keeper who I could think that more than 1 big save.

 

[Scriblerus]

Banks
Carlos Alberto Moore Maldini Breitner
Beckenbauer
Maradona Zidane
Jairzinho Cruyff Pele

Most speak for themselves....Jairzinho gets in there based on the criteria of World Cup performances, because he was electric in Mexico 1970.

 

[Josh 76]

This so hard to call, so I’ve gone for players who have won the World Cup and also played in more than one World Cup. (1970 onwards).

Buffon

Cafu
Beckenbauer
Passerella
Roberto Carlos

Matthaus
Zidane
Maradona

Pele
Ronaldo (Brazilian)
Muller

 

[al.gabiru]

For an edition:

Neuer (2014)
Arce (2002), Passarella (1978), Thuram (1998), Junior (1982)
Beckenbauer (1974), Didi (1958)
Maradona (1986), Pelé (1970), Eusébio (1966)
Cruyff (1974)

For a career in world cups:

Gylmar
Lahm, Maldini, Bobby Moore, Breitner
Matthaus, Beckenbauer
Maradona, Pelé, Ronaldo
Muller

 

[Steffa Barnesa]

'94 onwards serious team:

Manuel Neuer

Cafu
Lilian Thuram
Franco Baresi
Roberto Carlos

Dunga
Zinedine Zidane
Arjen Robben

Romario
Ronaldo
Miroslav Klose


'94 onwards more obscure / fun team:

Jorge Campos

Jorginho
Hong Myung-bo
Carlos Gamarra
Robert Jarni

Mustapha Hadji
Gheorghe Hagi
Yordan Letchkov
James Rodriguez

Tomas Brolin
Davor Suker

Special mentions: Marcio Santos, Michael Laudrup, Cuauhtemoc Blanco

 

[PSV]

Lighthearted team off the top of my head:

Ochoa
--
Thuram
Cannavaro
T. Silva
R.Carlos
--
Lahm
--
Robben
Zidane
Rivaldo
--
Ronaldo
Klose

I feel all of these have had a solid run in at least two of the last seven tournaments.

 

[General_Elegancia]

Damn, I was writing a ridiculously long explanation of my World Cup Final-only XI before realizing that this is about the whole final stage of the tournament. It's makes it easier though.

Pelé - Gerd Müller - Garrincha
Diego Maradona
Franz Beckenbauer - Lothar Matthäus
Paul Breitner - Bobby Moore - Franco Baresi - Cafu
Oliver Kahn​

Pelé — Mr. World Cup. Enigmatic match-winner in 1958 as a teenager, literally kicked out of the next 2 tournaments and that the legendary campaign in 1970 as a main creative hub of arguably the greatest international team ever
Gerd Müller — however great Luis Ronaldo and other candidates were, I'd pick Müller for his consistency. Unstoppable in 1970 and key to the win in 1974 — a pattern quite similar to Ronaldo (1998 -> 2002), but without the spoilt final
Garrincha — before Maradona in 1986 his 1962 campaign was widely considered to be the most influential individual performance in World Cup's history
Diego Maradona — no explanation needed. His 1986 World Cup was simply the best individual World Cup performance ever and then you can add other impressive campaigns on top of it
Lothar Matthäus — one of the players with the most tournament appearances ever and the man who came the closest to stopping Maradona in 1986
Franz Beckenbauer — played two of his tournaments in midfield before assuming the libero role in 1974. His 1966 campaign was out of this world
Paul Breitner — a key component to West Germany's unlikely win against the Dutch totalvoetbaal juggernaut who also has a brilliant 1982 campaign (as a midfielder though) under his belt
Bobby Moore — impeccable in both 1966 and 1970 in a distinctly different roles. His master-class against Brazil in 1970 has a claim to be the greatest individual defensive performance in tournament's history...
Franco Baresi — ... challenged by the 1994 World Cup final by Franco Baresi. Coming back from an injury only to stop Romário in the form of his life. He was also the key member of Italy's defensive unit from the 1990, which until this day remains the greatest in history of competition
Cafu — played in 3 successful World Cup finals, winning two of them. He's the greatest right back ever in my book, so he takes his rightful place
Oliver Kahn — his miracles from 2002 has to be one of the highest praises for goalkeeping in general. Rarely before or after, if ever, a keeper was so crucial to the success of his side

Germany: 5, Brazil: 3, Italy: 1, Argentina: 1, England: 1.

Notable mentions:
GK: Manuel Neuer, Gigi Buffon, Lev Yashin
RB: Djalma Santos, Carlos Alberto, Philipp Lahm
CB: Fabio Cannavaro, Elías Figueroa,
LB: Paolo Maldini, Nílton Santos, Andreas Brehme
CM: Xavi, Didi, Obdulio Varela
AM: Bobby Charlton, Zinedine Zidane, Andrés Iniesta
FW: Mario Kempes, Johan Cruyff, Thomas Müller
ST: Luis Ronaldo, Paolo Rossi, Mario Klose

Antonio Cabrini deserves to be in the list of notable mentions: He played 18 consecutive games, won the best young player award, won the world championship with Italy and was in team of the tournaments twice consecutively( 1978,1982).

 

[Josh 76]

Antonio Cabrini deserves to be in the list of notable mentions: He played 18 consecutive games, won the best young player award, won the world championship with Italy and was in team of the tournaments twice consecutively( 1978,1982).

Wow. He needs more than a notable mention, he needs to be in the best ever World Cup team!

 

[General_Elegancia]

Pelé --- Gerd Müller ---- Garrincha
Maradona
Beckenbauer -- Matthäus
Maldini -- Moore --- Baresi --- Cafu

Gordon Banks


-My team is similar to other fellas here, I'm hesitant about Ronaldo and Muller but in the final second, I choose Gerd Muller due to his peak and unstoppable form in 1970( 2 hattricks in that world-cup) and in 1974, especially the final that he beat Ruud Krol near the post and sent Germany to the world championship.

-Maldini due to his unmatched consistency. Although you can't deny that Maldini's performances in World Cup weren't the best form of him(especially in 2002), he still performed well and got 2 all-star appearances. He also played 23 matches which are still number 3 in the ranking of highest appearances.

-Although Kahn's performances in 2002 are regarded as the best performance from any gk, I think Banks deserves to be a starter for the all-time team. Banks delivered one of the best performances in 1966 WC too. In 1970, he still performed superbly and produced a magic save against Pele. On the other hand, Oliver only played as a starter in 2002 ( in 2006, he was a reserved gk).

Spoiler: Banks's save

-You can change Baresi for someone like Cannavaro but his performances as an organizer and leader of the "GOAT backline" in 1990 were still unmatched. In 1994, he came back to shut down Romario and co.

 

[NoPace]

Come on, man!

I was genuinely asking the oldtimers/history buffs. You can't leave Garrincha out of team and I figured Maradona made more sense on the right than the left.

 

[Foxbatt]

You can't drop Cruijff. Without him Netherlands would have never played in the 74 Finals. Plus he drops into midfield.

 

[Michaelf7777777]

GK: Sepp Maier
RB: Victor Rodriguez Andrade
CB: Franco Baresi
CB: Elias Figueroa
LB: Antonio Cabrini
CM: Lothar Matthaus
CM: Obdulio Varela
AM: Diego Maradona
RW: Garrincha
ST: Gerd Muller
LIF: Pele

Rest of 26-man Squad: Oliver Kahn, Gordon Banks, Cafu, Bobby Moore, Franz Beckenbauer, Lilian Thuram, Paul Breitner, Dunga, Luis Monti, Didi, Eusebio, Ronaldo, Johan Cruyff, Miroslav Klose, Ronaldinho

 

[Red Pumpkin]

1998-2022, can't speak about the rest. I tried to make a XI of players that performed well at least 2 world cups and that is tougher than said.

GK: Guillermo Ochoa
RB: Cafú
CB: Lilian Thuram
CB: Fabio Cannavaro
LB: Philipp Lahm
CM: Bastian Schweinsteiger
CM: Javier Mascherano
AM: Zinedine Zidane
RW: Robben
ST: Ronaldo
LW: Rivaldo

After this world cup: Mbappe
Honorable mentions: Roberto Carlos, Gio van Bronckhorst, Javier Zanetti, Neymar, Maldini, Modric, Klose, van Persie