World Cup: Messi, Mbappe, Fernandes make best group stage XI but zero England players make the cut!
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World leading superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are the biggest names in the best team of the World Cup group stage.
PSG’s teammates were instrumental in inspiring Argentina and France, respectively, to the round of 16.
Y couch scorerevealing his best-performing XI from the group matches at the Qatar tournament, he named Bruno Fernandes the standout player with a rating of 8.6 out of 10, but did not include any England players in the line-up.
The French forward Kylian Mbappé appears in the best XI of the group stage of the World Cup
Portugal star Bruno Fernandes is the standout player, with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10
Portugal and Manchester United star Fernandes is one of three players to receive an average rating of more than eight out of 10, along with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and Frenchman Antoine Griezmann.
The attacking midfielder played 90 minutes in the first two matches of the tournament for Fernando Santos’ men, helping his side beat Ghana 3-2 in their opening game before scoring twice in a 2-0 win against Uruguay .
With Portugal already qualified for the round of 16, they were then rested for the final group game, a 2-1 loss against South Korea that saw the Asian team advance to second place in Group H.
Messi, with a rating of 7.93, was a talismanic figure for Argentina as they also advanced as group champions, scoring a penalty in their 2-1 loss at the hands of Saudi Arabia before scoring the opener in a 2-2 win. -0 over Mexico.
The best XI of the group stage sees Leo Messi named in a stellar line-up. Chart by: sofascore.es
Messi, 35, has scored two penalties in the World Cup and has been fundamental for Argentina
He was also excellent in the 2-0 win against Poland that secured their place in the round of 16, despite seeing a penalty saved.
Mbappe (7.53), meanwhile, netted three times in Les Bleus’ first two games, wins against Australia and Denmark, before being used as a substitute in a 1-0 loss to Tunisia.
Elsewhere, there are a couple of surprises, with SofaScore’s clarification that only players who had played 60 per cent of the minutes in the group stage were eligible.
Between the sticks, Poland and the Juventus goalkeeper, Szczesny (8.2), score the pass after keeping two clean sheets, in the 0-0 draw against Mexico and the 2-0 win against Saudi Arabia, before saving a penalty from Messi against the South. american side.
Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (left) is inside after his fantastic save of Messi’s penalty.
Manchester United midfielder Casemiro (left) is also named after his impressive goal for Brazil
The centre-backs are the only two players in the XI to play in knockout teams, with Dane Andreas Christensen (7.53) and Jean-Charles Castelletto (7.75) forming a strong defensive pairing at the back.
Cameroon’s Castelletto scored in a 3-3 draw with Serbia and kept a clean sheet against Brazil, while Barcelona’s Christensen and Denmark conceded just three goals in the group stage, scoring against France with a header from point-blank range.
As a full-back, Achraf Hakimi (7.4) was a key part of Morocco’s defense who conceded only once, through a Nayef Aguerd own goal against Canada.
Frenchman Theo Hernández (7.85), who replaced his injured brother Lucas at left-back, is also inside.
Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands, the joint top scorer in the tournament, is in front alongside Mbappe
In a 4-1-3-2 formation, Man United star Casemiro (7.8) is named at the base of midfield after a surprise win against Switzerland.
Fernandes and Messi line up in front of him and the Frenchman Antoine Griezmann (8.13) completes the offensive midfield.
Joining Mbappe up front is Cody Gakpo (7.57), who has scored in every game for the Netherlands in the tournament so far and is the leader of the Golden Boot race at the time of writing, along with Mbappe, Álvaro Morata, Marcus Rashford and Enner. Valencia.
No Three Lions stars were named despite strong performances from Harry Maguire, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane as Gareth Southgate’s side sailed to the round of 16 as group winners.
No England stars were named despite excellent performances from the likes of Harry Maguire (left)
In the worst XI, Fernandes’ Portugal team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading name after posting an average rating of just 6.37.
Four Qatari players make it in, along with Costa Rica’s breakaway central defensive pairing of Francisco Calvo and Oscar Duarte.
Saudi Arabia’s Abdulelah Al-Malki was disappointing in midfield, with Canada defender Alistair Johnston named right-back after three losses out of three for John Herdman’s side.
Johnston’s teammate Tajon Buchanan and Australia’s Mathew Leckie may not be lucky enough to be included, with Buchanan looking menacing at times and Leckie scoring the crucial game-winner against Denmark that sent the Socceroos through to the round of 16. final.
Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo was included in the worst XI. Chart by: sofascore.es