When selecting the best XI of any tournament a dilemma is always faced.
Are the eleven most eye-catching players picked, with only passing thought given to their position? If so, that can often lead to a team stuffed full of headline-making strikers.
Or is formation faithfully adhered to, which inevitably results in stand-out players unfairly missing out.
Here we’ve gone for the latter option, focusing on a balanced 4-3-3, and this means some brilliant talents in Qatar reside on our sub’s bench. These include Bruno Fernandes, Richarlison, and the timeless Oliver Giroud.
This team though. This team would have won the World Cup at a canter.
GK – Emi Martinez (Argentina)
Croatia’s Dominik Livakovic can count himself unfortunate to be nudged out late on but how can we omit a keeper whose spot-kick heroics secured La Albiceleste a third world crown?
The Aston Villa stopper had already aced a penalty shoot-out against Holland before he again rose to the occasion on the biggest stage of them all, anticipating Kingsley Coman’s placement and diving at full stretch.
But it was a 123rd minute save from Randal Kolo Muani in the final that is most deserving of praise.
With the French forward clean through and striking the ball well, Martinez stuck out a leg in unorthodox fashion, a reflex that changed the footballing history of two nations.
RB - Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
Forever offering classy support going forward, the PSG defender was most of all an unpassable force at the back for the tournament’s high-achievers, as evidenced by his nullifying of club team-mate Kylian Mbappe in an epic semi-final duel.
No-one else got the better of the future Ballon d’Or winner. No-one else came close.
One-fifth of the most impressive rearguard witnessed at a World Cup in modern times, Hakimi also conjured up the assist of the tournament against Canada; an audacious, searching ball that was just begging to be hit.
CB - Romain Saiss (Morocco)
The Wolves centre-back returns to Molyneux with his reputation greatly enhanced having played a pivotal role in his team’s cancelling out of Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
By turns a leader, at other times a one-man barricade, Saiss epitomized Morocco’s fight and resilience but to highlight only the spirit behind the shut-outs would do the Atlas Lions – and their captain – a disservice.
All tournament long this was an intelligent collective who offered up a masterclass in defending.
At one stage, unfancied Morocco were short-priced in the World Cup winner odds. So much of that was down to the 32-year-old and his enormous contribution to Qatar ’22.
CB - Josko Gvardiol (Croatia)
Ladies and gentlemen, the next Virgil Van Dijk.
Gvardiol had long been tipped by those in the know as a future defensive superstar but few could have expected the scale of his impact in Qatar, a series of imperious displays that saw the 20-year-old stand head and shoulders above his peers.
The RB Leipzig centre-back’s reading of danger is disarming and even in tight spots, he makes every aspect of his difficult craft look so, so easy.
Unsurprisingly, there is already a desperate clamour for his signature, with astronomical sums being mooted.
LB - Theo Hernandez (France)
Granted, the AC Milan left-back may be somewhat suspect when under attack but going forward he was a constant threat for Les Bleus, scoring an acrobatic opener in France’s semi-final against Morocco and assisting twice in the group stages.
Hernandez was thrown into the fray just 13 minutes into Qatar ’22 when his brother Lucas sustained a serious injury, and immediately his harmonious relationship with Mbappe down the left flank became a huge plus for Didier Deschamp’s stellar side.
CM - Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco)
If anyone had predicted pre-tournament that the Atlas Lions would have three representatives in a team such as this, that person would have been unceremoniously laughed out of town.
Yet here we are, with the Fiorentina midfield anchor making it a trio of Morocco stars before we’ve barely got to the centre-circle.
And quite possibly, Amrabat is the best of the bunch, a player who deals with danger before it manifests as a serious threat and always in an unfussy, no-nonsense manner.
CM – Jude Bellingham (England)
A Rolls-Royce of a midfielder, Bellingham’s World Cup was an announcement, that here was a generational talent doing generational things while still a teen.
Much has been made of the Dortmund star’s age yet it still amazes that a 19-year-old can dictate the tempo of a high-stakes game and do so with the accomplished ease of a seasoned great.
England’s 21st century Gazza can end 56 years of hurt. He’s that good.
CM – Casemiro (Brazil)
It was very easy to be enamoured by Brazil this winter, with their 4-2-4 set-up an exciting throwback to their most glorious days and Richarlison scoring bicycle kicks for kicks.
At the heart of it though, making all of the adventure possible, Casemiro gave a clinic in box-to-boxing, averaging 2.56 tackles per game while always available - and in space – in the attacking third.
A late winner vs Switzerland may be the high-point of his tournament but he did the dirty work immaculately.
RW - Antoine Griezmann (France)
Though stationed on the right in this line-up, Griezmann would have the freedom to roam, a licence he would take full advantage of for sure.
Because there is not a blade of grass in Qatar the Atletico schemer didn’t cover and given that he is France’s second most technically gifted star that is a sizable reason for Les Bleus reaching a consecutive World Cup final.
No other player put in more successful crosses. Only Messi created more chances.
CF - Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Hellbent on completing his sublime legacy, the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of boots went to Qatar on a mission and it showed in every influential, instrumental performance.
Seven goals, three assists, and a tournament-high of 31 shots undertaken, Messi orchestrated proceedings throughout and consistently defied the sports betting that dared to doubt his destiny by first having Brazil down as favourites, then France.
In hindsight, his triumph was inevitable.
LW - Kylian Mbappe (France)
The competition’s Golden Boot winner and the first player since 1966 to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, Mbappe can be justifiably proud of his personal feats in Qatar, even if the loss to Argentina will hurt for a lifetime.
His electrifying pace and rare ability saw him top any number of charts, from most dribbles completed to the most coveted of all, in leading the goal-scoring.
Ultimately, it was all in vain but his standing among the elite has only been further enriched.
