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.

Top 10 Players Of The World Cup So Far

1. Arjen Robben, Striker, Netherlands - Nobody expected the performance that Robben put on against Spain. Sure, we all knew that he was a good player, but Robben looked like a man possessed, as evidenced by his final tally of two goals on the night. Even when he wasn't directly putting the ball in the back of then net he looked outstanding; with the time wearing on late in the game, Robben recieved a bouncing ball about 5 yards outside the box. I'm not sure there is a single soccer player who could have put the hit on this ball the way Robben did, as he smashed the ball with venom towards the upper left corner. Granted, Iker Casillas made a great on the shot, but at that point it became clear that Arjen Robben is currently in top form.

2. Robin Van Persie, Striker, Netherlands - With cries of "World Cup under-performer" ringing in his ears, Robin Van Persie went out and put on an absolute masterclass performance against one of the more highly regarded defenses in the world. He scored to goals altogether, but it was the first that was truly special and may be the goal that this World Cup is remembered by. Netherlands' left wing back Daley Blind played a perfect ball over the top to Van Persie, who dove with incredible grace to head the ball over the keeper. It will certainly be exciting to see if him and Robben can maintain their form for the rest of the World Cup.

3. Thomas Muller, Striker, Germany - There go Germany's striker problems... With no true striker in the roster outside of 36 year old Miroslav Klose, Germany stuck Muller up top in a false-9 formation that is reminiscent of Spain's formation with Cesc Fabregas up front during the 2010 World Cup. Muller came through, registering a hat trick that included a penalty kick goal and two goals from open play. Though none of his goals were particularly incredible, there is something to be said for him being in the right place at the right time. If Germany have aspirations of winning the cup, they are going to need Muller to remain in form at the striker position.

4. Oscar, Brazil, Attacking Midfielder - While Brazil as a whole played poorly against Croatia, Oscar enjoyed an outstanding game. He had the pass which led to Fred's "penalty," had the assist on Neymar's goal, and managed to score a beautiful goal late in the game. Being a fan of the EPL and watching him at Chelsea, it was incredible to see the difference between his play for Chelsea and for Brazil. For Chelsea, Jose Mourinho employs him behind the striker in his preferred role, but allows him no freedom and insists that he track back on defense. For Brazil, Oscar was allowed to roam wherever he pleased, as evidenced by his 7 completed dribbles (his highest total for Chelsea is 4). Oscar was a big question mark coming into the tournament, so Brazilian fans will be pleased to see that he seems to be on top form.

5. Joel Campbell, Costa Rica, Striker - Arsenal have a real star in Joel Campbell if they ever choose to use him. Campbell's incredible dribbling skills and pace were showcased all night as he tore up the Uruguayan defense, but what was most impressive was his monstrous left foot. Campbell let several very long distance efforts fly on the night and all of them were absolute rockets that missed the net by just inches. On his only goal, Campbell fired the ball back across the goal giving the keeper no chance at a save. With the game winding down, Campbell completed his brilliant night with a beautiful pass in behind the defense that resulted in Costa Rica's final goal. If Campbell continues to play this way, Group D may be even more of a "group of death" than we originally thought.

6. Mats Hummels, Germany, Center Back - Hummels didn't have a ton of defending to do against a 10-men Portugal team, but what little he did have to do was done expertly. The real reason he ends up on this list was his fantastic headed goal. Hummels went up against two mammoths for center backs in Pepe and Bruno Alves, managing to out-jump the two of them and fire the ball into the back of the net. Hummels will have harder tests to come, but the way he played against Porugal certainly makes him deserving of a spot on this list.

7. Karim Benzema, France, Striker - Like Germany, France didn't have too stiff competition, as they were going up against a 10-men Honduras side. However, as soon as Honduras went down to ten men, they immediately packed it in on defense, so it is a testament to Benzema's ability that he still managed to find enough open space and bag two goals. Both goals were clinically finished, the second being a very impressive effort from a tough angle that he simply powered over the goalkeeper's hands. It is also worthwhile to mention that Benzema brings much less baggage than French strikers of the past, which will be a relief to French fans after the fiasco at the South African World Cup.

8. Daley Blind, Netherlands, Left Wing Back - Being a wing back, Blind had a lot of responsibilities to manage, as he needed to provide width in the attack and track back to support the wide areas on defense. He preformed both of these jobs solidly, but what set him apart was his passing. Who knew Daley Blind was going to be the next Andrea Pirlo... His two long balls to Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben both resulted in goals and were both so incredibly directed that I'm not sure they would have ended up in goals if he had even been a foot off in any direction. Many left backs struggle to make any noticeable impact in attack but that was not the case for Daley Blind against Spain - he fueled the Netherlands' attack.

9. Alexis Sanchez, Chile, Striker - For the first twenty minutes of Chile's match against Australia it looked as if the final scoreline was going to be outrageous in Chile's favor. That is a testament to how easily Alexis Sanchez sliced open the Australian defense at the start of the game. Sure, the game settled down a bit and Sanchez found considerably less space to penetrate, but those first few minutes gave us a glimpse of how good Alex Sanchez can be. In the end, he registered a goal and an assist, both in the first twenty minutes, and will be the key player for Chile if they manage to make it out of the group.

10. Guillermo Ochoa, Mexico, Goalkeeper - I'm kind of cheating by adding Ochoa here because his incredible game against Brazil technically wasn't in the first round of games, but his performance was simply too good to ignore. Even in his first game against Cameroon he was brilliant, but against Brazil he was on another level of brilliant. By my count, he made four incredible saves from point blank range and 6 saves in total, both outrageous tallies. His save on a Neymar header early in the game was the best save we had seen yet in the tournament, but he may have trumped it with another save later in the game on a wide open Thiago Silva header. Most importantly, though, he helped gain a huge point for Mexico that will be crucial to their group stage endevours.

World Cup Group E Update

Though Group E is generally considered to be one of the less talented groups, the first two games were fairly entertaining, as Switzerland emerged victorious over Ecuador 2-1 with a late goal and France beat Honduras by a score of 3-0 after an early red card caused Honduras to play the remainder of the game with ten men.

What We Learned About Switzerland - The Swiss did not play well enough against Ecuador, that is, if they wish to live up to their lofty world ranking. Despite having possession for much of the game, they looked very uncreative in attack and fashioned very few clear cut chances. Despite their offensive shortcomings, they were solid in defense (Ricardo Rodriguez had 2 assists as left back and Johan Djourou was a wall) and the midfield held the ball extremely well (Inler and Behrami were fantastic). Switzerland will need their offensive stars like Josip Drmic and Xherdan Shaqiri to start performing if they wish to go anywhere after the group stages, but us neutral fans cannot complain with the exciting finish we got to see from the Swiss against Ecuador.
Switzerland's Best Player - Johan Djourou, Center Back - Was the best player on the pitch all game long, making clutch tackle after clutch tackle.
Switzerland's Worst Player - Stephan Lichtsteiner, Right Back - Was decent defensively but struggled immensely with the final product. Didn't produce a single quality cross - understandably, each of Switzerland's goals came from the opposite (left) side of the pitch, where Ricardo Rodriguez had a fantastic game in contrast to Lichtsteiner.

What We Learned About Ecuador - The big hit on Ecuador coming into this game is that they are very one-dimensional, playing almost exclusively through Manchester United's Antonio Valencia. However, against Switzerland they proved that they are much more than just that, regardless of the final result. Jefferson Montero was explosive and inventive down the left wing and Enner Valencia provided a target up front for a team that usually sees its offense transpire down the right side of the field. Not only did they look decent on offense, but the defense also absorbed pressure very well and goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez was a true bright spot. Their chances of getting past Switzerland and France are still slim, but that's not to say that they can't make it tight.
Ecuador's Best Player - Enner Valencia, Striker - Was a powerful force up front and popped up all over the place. Also detached from his man on a set piece to score Ecuador's only goal.
Ecuador's Worst Player - Cristhian Noboa, Center Midfielder - One of Ecuador's few European players, but failed to do anything positive for Ecuador against Switzerland. Sloppy in possession and fairly invisible.

What We Learned About France - As far as their performance on the field, they looked pretty impressive, which isn't saying too much seeing as they were up against a 10-men honduras side. However, French fans will be even more enjoyed to see that the off the field problems of the previous world cup don't seem to be present this year. Many of the players from that 2010 fiasco have been replaced, but even those that have remained, like left back Patrice Evra, seemed extremely invested in the team as a whole. France took care of business against Honduras and now have to be considered clear favorites in a fairly weak group.
France's Best Player - Karim Benzema, Striker - Great finishing and extremely useful up top. Also provided good passes to his wingers on either side.
France's Worst Player - Mamadou Sakho, Center Back - Had a couple nervy moments although you never truly expected France to be beaten.

What We Learned About Honduras - Considering the relative success of CONCACAF teams so far in the World Cup, people were expecting that Honduras might make some noise against France. Instead, Honduras put together an incredibly poor effort where they spent more time making rash challenges than actually trying for a goal. They were punished for their poor tactics when they earned an early red card that really took them out of the game. Costa Rica showed how a smaller team can overcome a world power in their game against Uruguay, but Honduras failed to follow in their steps and should, frankly, be embarrassed.
Honduras' Best Player - Roger Espinoza, Attacking Midfielder - Easily Honduras' best player going forward, which may not be saying too much.
Honduras' Worst Player - Wilson Palacios, Center Midfielder - Stupid, stupid, stupid play early in the game that caused him to be sent off and put Honduras in a huge hole.