Best in the world

LUKE TAYLOR picks one player from eleven different countries to build his super side

A unique dream team

Am I building the best XI in the world? Probably not but here is the rule: I have picked 11 countries from the world and the key part of this is that I am allowed to pick only one player from each country chosen to make an XI out of them. Interesting? Yes.

Now, the countries are the hard part. Obviously the countries who are considered the best in the world are in there, the likes of Spain and Brazil but not all of them are the best countries. A couple of them are actually only average countries doing average things on the international stage. But their players are something else.

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for…the countries! 1. England 2. Spain 3. Brazil 4. Denmark 5. Italy 6. Belgium 7. Netherlands 8. Colombia 9. Ivory Coast 10. Germany 11. France

Clearly the less obvious choices were Ivory Coast, Colombia and Denmark but I have managed to actually select one player (somehow) to make an XI. Now, this seems easy but trying to make the team pleasing to others and to make it a high quality XI is actually quite difficult because of the high quality among many of the 11 teams.

A formation choice has also been made – 4-5-1 will be deployed, with two attacking centre midfielders and one normal centre midfielder being played in the middle. This offers some attacking options but allows me to choose one centre midfield who is the engine of the team.

Some of you will probably – no definitely – disagree with a few of the choices but for me, this team could win the World Cup if managed and coached right (not getting too excited!). Goalkeeper

Hugo Lloris First choice, obviously, the goalkeeper. The man between the sticks, the cat. The first country eliminated is France because Spurs’ first choice goalkeeper is a outstanding shot stopper who can keep goals conceded down to a minimum with the correct defence in front of him. He is a top class goalkeeper and the right choice for me. right back philipP lahm Bayern Munich and Germany captain speaks for itself...an excellent right back going forward and defending who led Bayern Munich to European dominance and most are tipping his Germany to win in Brazil 2014. Arguably the best full back in the world right now, the German offers solidity going forward and backwards. Centre back

Vincent Kompany The choice from Belgium. The best centre back from Belgium and the best centre back in the Barclays Premier League. He was a certainty on this team sheet. This choice rules out the choice of Belgians like Eden Hazard or the two lads up top, Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku but this choice is justified because of the outstanding performances he has put in the last couple of seasons, especially the title

winning season for City. Centre back Giorgio Chiellini Italian. Juventus. Rock solid centre back who offers pace, defensive awareness and brilliance in the back four. Many base his ability on the FIFA video game but in real life he is still a good player. Left back Leighton Baines Comparing England players to the other countries’ players, Leighton Baines was the only one able to fit into this XI because of his excellent ability at left back. No other England player could beat other countries’ players to any other position, but that isn’t the only reason he is in this team. Attacking prowess and defending ability are two reasons why he fits. He can also hit a sweet dead ball. Centre midfielder

Yaya Toure City’s midfield engine and maestro. The Ivorian will be the engine room of my team, the heartbeat if you want. He is outstanding in attack but can put a shift in tackling and winning the ball back. Superb for Man City over the last few years and exact-