World Cup Best XI After Group Stage

Here is our second edition of the World Cup Best XI, and this one comes right after the end of the group stages. Once again, so that I can fit as many top players as possible into the starting lineup, I will allow myself a small bit of leniency with the positions.

Guillermo Ochoa, Mexico, Goalkeeper - Ochoa features in the starting XI once again, as he had another brilliant game against Croatia, following two huge performances against Brazil and Cameroon. Ochoa's reflexes and decision-making have been absolutely superb thus far and Mexico will need him to stay at top form if they are going to slip past the Netherlands.

Serge Aurier, Ivory Coast, Right Back - The only person to make this XI from a team who has been eliminated, Aurier has not been incredible so far, but other right backs have been so underwhelming that there are almost no other options. Aurier had two assists in his first game against Japan, but was kept quiet against Colombia and Greece, although he still put in solid defensive performances.

Kenneth Omeruo, Nigeria, Center Back - Omeruo, like Aurier, is a beneficiary of the fact that there have been very few impressive defenders so far in the tournament. Omeruo has led a surprisingly fantastic Nigeria back line, shutting down Iran and then Bosnia (he man-marked Edin Dzeko for much of the game). Though he struggled at times to contain Lionel Messi and the Argentinian attack, his talent was still able to shine through a couple times, as he made several outstanding tackles and clearances.

Johan Djourou, Switzerland, Center Back - After France demolished Switzerland in their second group game, the Swiss back line looked as if they were in shambles. However, Djourou helped them regain form against Honduras, and he looked like the man who we saw in the Swiss opener against Ecuador. Excluding the game against France, Djourou has been undoubtedly the best center back in the tournament.

Daley Blind, The Netherlands, Left Back - Once again, there haven't been too many defenders that have impressed so far in the World Cup, but Blind has probably been the best of all of them. After dominating in the Netherlands' first game against Spain, Blind struggled a bit against Australia, but then was back to top form against Chile.

Arjen Robben, The Netherlands, Right Midfield - Arjen Robben has been, without a doubt, the best player in this World Cup so far. He has tallied three goals and an assist, all of which have been vital to the Netherlands' dominant performances in Group B. Robben's speed, dribbling, and shooting are all fantastic, but the most remarkable thing about Robben's game is that everybody knows that he can only go left but he continues to succeed in doing it.

James Rodriguez, Colombia, Center Midfield - Everybody knew J-Rod was good, but nobody knew he was this good. Rodriguez has three goals and two assists for Colombia and is the main reason why the team has been so incredibly impressive. Rodriguez just moved to Monaco for about 45 million dollars, but his transfer stock has to be rising even more with his performances in this World Cup.

Neymar, Brazil, Left Midfield - Neymar was left off of our previous XI because, even though he was scoring goals, he wasn't having the consistent effect on matches that we expect out of him. Well, in his last game against Cameroon, Neymar finally showed off all of his talents with a dominant performance all over the pitch and was rewarded with two goals.

Thomas Muller, Germany, Striker - Questions were being asked about the German striker position before the World Cup started, but Muller, who is not a natural striker, has really dominated the role for Germany. With four goals already this year, Muller now has 9 total World Cup goals and is on pace to become the greatest World Cup scorer of all time.

Lionel Messi, Argentina, Striker - Does anybody still think that Messi isn't the best player in the world? The last thing that Messi had to do was to perform for Argentina at the biggest stage, and he has certainly done that so far, with an impressive total of four goals. He wasn't in our last starting XI because he wasn't dominating every facet of the game like he should (much like Neymar) but in his most recent game against Nigeria, Messi showed us why many consider him to be the best.

World Cup Best XI After Match Day 2

Each team has played two games and the landscape of the World Cup now appears much different from what it was just a couple weeks ago. Thus, here are our updated picks for the best XI of the World Cup so far. Because I am trying to fit as much talent into a single XI as possible, I will give myself free reign over positional decisions - for example, even though Arjen Robben has played striker for the Netherlands, there have been many impressive strikers and fewer outside midfielders, so I will play him at right midfield, where he plays for Bayern Munich.

Guillerme Ochoa, Mexico, Goalkeeper - Put on one of the best individual performances by a goalkeeper that we have seen in a long, long time. He made three separate point-blank saves to help Mexico to a huge tie against Brazil.

Serge Aurier, Ivory Coast, Right Back - Was The Ivory Coast's best offensive outlet against both Japan and Colombia down the right flank. Aurier had two assists, both on beautiful crosses, against Japan and was equally as dangerous (but perhaps not as lucky) against Colombia.

Jalal Hosseini, Iran, Center Back - Iran's back line has been absolutely superb through two games against Nigeria and Argentina, and that is largely due to the play of Jalal Hosseini. Hosseini is the veteran man on the Iranaian back line, and it has showed, as he has made countless brilliant tackles and clearances.

Mario Yepes, Colombia, Center Back - Mario Yepes is 38 years old and still dominating on the 

world stage. Yepes dominates on the ground and in the air, both of which are expected of him, but also has been impressively ambitious in starting counter attacks and moving forward.

Daley Blind, The Netherlands, Left Back - Blind was not nearly as influential in the game against Australia as he was against Spain, but his two-assist game versus Spain is enough to get him into this starting XI.

Arjen Robben, The Netherlands, Right Midfielder - Without a doubt the best player in the tournament so far, Robben has three goals to his name, all of which were outrageous solo efforts. He has played at striker for the Netherlands so far but I'm using my creative license to move him to right midfield, where he traditionally plays for Bayern Munich.

James Rodriguez, Colombia, Center Midfielder - Rodriguez has been the midfield mastermind behind Colombia's recent success; he has two goals in two games as well as countless key passes and dribbles, but I'm not even sure if we've seen the best of him yet, which is a scary thought for Colombia's upcoming opponents.

Mathieu Valbuena, France, Center Midfielder - The French have great finishers and equally impressive holding midfielders, but the question coming into the world cup was whether anyone could connect the two. The answer: yes. The man: Mathieu Valbuena, who has been the most creative player for France thus far, registering a total tally of one goal and one assist.

Alexis Sanchez, Chile, Left Midfielder - Chile has experienced a surprising amount of success so far, and that is largely due to the fantastic play of Sanchez. He is not only the creator for this Chile team but is also the main finisher for them. He has played up top for Chile in the World Cup, but I'm putting him on the wing, where he traditionally plays for Barcelona.

Robin Van Persie, The Netherlands, Striker - He will be disappointed to have to miss the Netherlands final group game against Chile, but Van Persie had a brilliant first two games regardless. His diving header in the Netherlands' game against Spain is one of the best goals of the tournament so far and his total of three goals is tied for top in the tournament.

Karim Benzema, France, Striker - Benzema has a fantastic tally of three goals so far, but he should honestly have several more. He missed a penalty, was denied a goal against Switzerland due to the final whistle, and has refused to take a couple chances himself by passing them off to teammates (he has 2 assists). Benzema has been absolutely every where for France, who now look like legitimate title competitors.

World Cup Group C Update

Little was seen that we didn't already know about the teams in Group C, as both of the games yielded expected results. Colombia defeated Greece 3-0 and Ivory Coast were victors over Japan by a score of 2-1.

What We Learned About Colombia - As far as I saw, Colombia weren't even that impressive in their 3-0 win versus Greece, which is to say that we can probably expect even more from Colombia through the rest of this tournament. Colombia dominated the game early, but then sagged off of Greece for a large portion of the game and gave the ball away carelessly on the counterattack. James Rodriguez and Juan Cuadrado looked fantastic at times but then disappeared for much of the game. While Colombia's offense was on-and-off, the defense certainly was on point the entire game, which will be relieving to Colombian fans.
Colombia's Best Player - James Rodriguez, Attacking Midfielder - When J-Rod was feeling it, there was no doubt that he was the best player on the pitch, but he needs to maintain that level of play for the entire game.
Colombia's Worst Player - Carlos Sanchez, Center Midfielder - Colombia looked poor in the defensive midfield. They will need Sanchez to step up if they hope to have a better link between the defense and the attacking midfielders.

What We Learned About Greece - Greece have a reputation as a very defensively solid team that doesn't like to go forward, but after they let in a goal in the fifth minute, their entire mentality broke. Rather than continue to sit back and defend, Greece panicked and went on the attack, allowing for Colombia to counterattack as they wished. In a group with as much attacking power and creativity as this group, Greece may find that their defensive tactic will not work, but the most important thing is that they choose a tactic and not abandon it five minutes into the game.
Greece's Best Player - Panagiotis Kone, Attacking Midfielder - Was the most creative player in Greece's attack. Had in stunning shot that was nicely saved by Colombia's Ospina.
Greece's Worst Player - Theofanis Gekas, Striker - Was pretty much invisible except for when he headed a wide open header against the crossbar.

What We Learned About Ivory Coast - The most important thing that Ivory Coast will have learned from their game against Japan is that Didier Drogba needs to start. As soon as he was subbed on, he mad a few brilliant touches and within minutes the ball was in the back of Japan's net (twice). Ivory Coast actually played well for most of the game, but despite fashioning solid chances, their finishing was brutal. They should have scored at least one or two more goals but will be pleased with the result against a solid Japanese team.
Ivory Coast's Best Player - Serge Aurier, Right Back - Though he struggled a bit in the first half, that is understandable seeing as he is just 21 years old. In the second half he provided several brilliant crosses, two of which ended up in the back of the net.
Ivory Coast's Worst Player - Salomon Kalou, Winger - Started in front of Didier Drogba, but struggled to finish off several clear cut chances.

What We Learned About Japan - Japan started off the game looking very creative and were rewarded with a Kaisuke Honda goal, but after that they failed to muster any real chances. They were simply overmatched in terms of skill, physicality, and creativity for the entire rest of the game. Honda looked fantastic, but he will need other player, especially Shinji Kagawa, to step up if Japan want to exit the group. It is true that other teams are not nearly as physical as the Ivory coast, but Japan certainly need to manage teams with strength and pace much better.
Japan's Best Player - Kaisuke Honda, Attacking Midfielder - For much of the game was the best player on the pitch. Had a beautiful goal that gave Japan an early lead.
Japan's Worst Player - Shinji Okazaki, Striker - Was supposed to Japan's big scorer but was nowhere to be seen against Ivory Coast.

World Cup Group Predictions: Group C

First Team To Advance: Colombia

Second Team To Advance: Ivory Coast

Teams Heading Home: Greece, Japan

Group C is an incredibly interesting group in that there is no true powerhouse team but there also is not a team that sticks out as being below the rest of the group. Colombia probably would have been considered a lock to move on before the injury to star striker Radamel Falcao. However, even without Falcao, Colombia are a bit above the rest, as Jackson Martinez and Adrian Ramos can step in as adequate replacements and they will have excellent support from a star studded midfield cast including James Rodriguez and Juan Cuadrado. Though their defense is a bit lacking, Colombia's prolific offense should be enough to carry them past the group stages. Meanwhile, Greece, Japan, and Ivory Coast are all very even but the contrasting play styles as well as the inexperience of Greece and Japan leads me to believe that Ivory Coast will move on. Greece and Japan are very different in terms of tactics, as Greece tends to sit back and defend all game while Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa bring a more free-flowing attack style for Japan, but neither of them match up well with the quick, direct counter-attacking approach of Ivory Coast. Additionally, the likes of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure bring world cup experience to the Ivory Coast that is lacking in Greece and Japan. My prediction for the leading goalscorer of the group is Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba (dark horse candidate: Japan's Shinji Okazaki, who is currently in blistering form), while I expect Colombia's James Rodriguez to rack up the most assists.