The Best XI Players in Each Position in the Group Stage

The group stage of the 2010 World Cup has reached its conclusion.

As we await the drama of the second round, we pick the best starting eleven from the 32 teams who competed so well in South Africa.

Obviously there won’t be any French players on it.

Goalkeeper: Mark Paston (New Zealand)

Definitely the position with the fewest candidates, as nobody has suffered more than goalkeepers at this World Cup.

New Zealand’s number one Mark Paston gets the nod for an heroic performance in the 1-1 draw against Italy and a clean sheet in the scoreless draw with Paraguay.

Honorable mentions go to Julio Cesar for his usual solidity despite playing with a slight injury, and Vincent Enyeama for a spectacular series of saves to deny Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

The Nigerian would have been first choice had he not looked so shaky in his team’s subsequent games.

Right-back: Maicon (Brazil)

Easy choice here as the best right-back in the world showed why there were strong showings in Brazil’s opening two games.

I guess having the second best right-back in the world (Dani Alves) on the bench keeps you on your toes.

Maicon broke the deadlock in his country’s opener against North Korea with a brilliant finish from a tight angle that I’m pretty sure he meant.

An honorable mention goes to Paraguay’s excellent Carlos Bonet.

Also, kudos to Honduras fullback Sergio Mendoza, simply for not retiring from the game in tears after David Villa gave him such a torrid time during Spain’s 2-0 win.

Center-back: Diego Lugano (Uruguay)

As good with the ball at his feet as he is in the air, Lugano has been the main pillar of a Uruguay defense that has yet to concede a goal.

Honorable mention goes to New Zealand captain Ryan Nelsen for throwing himself in front of every ball Italy aimed towards the Kiwi goal.

Center-back: Lucio (Brazil)

Weirdly, the Champions League winning defender occasionally looked worried in the first half of Brazil’s opening match against North Korea.

However, Brazil’s captain has been imperious since then and easily dealt with Portugal’s star player Cristiano Ronaldo.

Plus he is more than capable of leading an attack when he strides forward with the ball at his feet.

Honorable mention to South Korea’s Lee Jung-soo, who has twice found the net for his team.

Left-back: Carlos Salcido (Mexico)

The Mexican left-back faces a tougher test in Mexico’s second round match with Argentina, but for now, he deserves credit for solid defensive displays.

Salcido likes to push forward as well and has unleashed a couple of decent long-distance efforts on goal.

Leo Messi may have noted how Uruguay’s attackers successfully used the space left behind by Salcido’s attacking forays.

Honorable mentions go to Chile’s Arturo Vidal and Paraguay’s Aurelaino Torres, who I think should start every game.

Right Midfield: Landon Donovan (USA)

When all looks lost and defeated, it's just a matter of time before great players step forward and refuse to accept the seemingly inevitable.

Who would have thought that Landon Donovan was one of those players?

For so long, Donovan was viewed as a mere pretty-boy marketing tool with the skills but not the character to become a top player.

After inspiring USA’s remarkable second half comeback from two goals down against Slovenia and scoring that crucial injury-time winner against Algeria, Donovan has revealed himself in a dramatic new light.

Winner, leader, inspiration. Who knew?

An honorable mention goes to Chile’s exciting young winger Alexis Sanchez.

And another to Denmark’s Dennis Rommedahl, because for the first time ever, he was spotted doing something useful on a soccer pitch during Denmark’s 2-1 victory against Cameroon and it didn’t even involve him running very very fast.

Central Midfield: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)

There are plenty of strong candidates for the central midfield berth, but the German has performed so well that his country hardly misses the injured Michael Ballack.

Strong in the tackle, intelligent with the ball at his feet, and possessing bags of energy, Schweinsteiger picked up a thigh injury in Germany’s final Group D match against Ghana.

The player may miss out on the second round match with England, which would be great news for Fabio Capello and his team.

Honorable mentions go to Spain’s Sergio Busquets and Mexico’s Rafael Marquez.

Left Midfield: Cristian Riveros (Paraguay)

Paraguay has gone about the business of topping Group F without much fanfare.

The team as a whole is generally more impressive than the parts of which it is composed, but Riveros has been the standout player.

He capped a fine performance against Slovakia by curling home a lovely goal as Paraguay won 2-0.

Honorable mentions go to Japan’s Daisuke Matsui and Germany’s Mesut Ozil, both of whom are not exactly left midfielders but have been impressive nonetheless.

Ozil especially can consider himself very unlucky not to have made the team.

Right Forward: Leo Messi (Argentina)

He may not have scored a goal, but the greatest player in the world has lived up to his billing so far with superb performances in Argentina’s games with Nigeria and South Korea.

Greece did its best to man-mark Messi out of the final Group B game, but the Barcelona player still managed to set up Argentina’s second goal.

Honorable mention goes to Robinho for being Brazil’s only forward on his game in the 2-1 opening win against North Korea.

Center Forward: David Villa (Spain)

For the three goals that lifted his team after a disastrous opening game defeat, Spain's David Villa just gets the nod ahead of Uruguay's Diego Forlan.

After all, Villa has scored two of the best goals we have seen so far in South Africa, with that mesmeric dribble against Honduras and the 50-yard lob against Chile.

Honorable mention to the aforementioned Diego Forlan for his inspirational performances for Uruguay, and to Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain for always being in the right place at the right time.

And lastly, another to Slovakia’s Robert Vittek for the two brilliant finishes that eliminated the holders, Italy.

Left Forward: Keisuke Honda (Japan)

Easily one of the most impressive players so far at the tournament, almost every Japan attack goes through the CSKA Moscow player.

Honda’s free-kick against Denmark was a stunningly subtle strike, matched only by the wonderful turn he employed to set up his team’s third goal in that match.

Honorable mention to USA's Jozy Altidore for never giving up the chase.

Coach: Diego Maradona (Argentina)

Who else?

His presence on the touchline makes this World Cup great and you can also see a sad longing in his eyes every time a ball rolls near his well-heeled feet.

His team has been great, but Maradona’s best contribution the 2010 World Cup so far was the press conference where he apologized to Michel Platini for previous comments he had made, whilst scratching his nose with his middle finger.

Honorable mentions go to Uruguay’s super-cool Oscar Tabarez and Slovakia’s Vladimir Weiss for inspiring the result of the tournament so far by beating Italy and sending the hosts home early.

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