Predicting the World Cup team of the tournament: Messi, Mbappé, Kane and Bellingham make the cut

The biggest World Cup ever has almost reached its conclusion. At the time of writing, across 102 matches, 297 goals have been scored, and over 6.6 million spectators have attended a game at one of the 16 hosts venues.

On the field, a total of 1,035 players have played at least one minute across the 48 nations, so we have attempted to pick out the 11 most outstanding, forecasting who will be named in the team of the tournament.

Goalkeeper: Vozinha (Cape Verde)

This might be wishful thinking, it'll probably be Unai Simón or Emi Martínez, but we believe Vozinha deserves to be the goalkeeper in this team of the tournament. Almost no one had ever heard of the 40 year old journeyman, who has previously plied his trade in Moldova, Cyprus and Slovakia. Ahead of the World Cup, his last outing came in Portugal's second-tier, with just 773 people in attendance.

Now though, Vozinha is a global superstar. He made seven saves as Cape Verde, in their first-ever World Cup match, held finalists Spain to a goalless draw. He then made a further eight saves as the Blue Sharks took the other finalist Argentina to extra time, before eventually being ousted. His rise to stardom is what the World Cup is all about; thanks Vozinha, you will not be forgotten.

Right-back: Pedro Porro (Spain)

Despite their back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the Premier League, it has been Hotspur Summer, with various Tottenham players excelling across North America. Pedro Porro has probably been the best of the bunch, not even starting the tournament as first-choice, but very much usurping Marcos Llorente throughout the competition.

He has scored crucial goals against both Austria and then France during the knockout stages, generally putting in consistent excellent performances. Before this, he had never scored for the national team. Arguably, most importantly, Porro's main strength is that he helps get the best out of the winger ahead of him Lamine Yamal, which could be key to Spain's hopes in the final.

Center-back: Cristian Romero (Argentina)

Tottenham are guaranteed to have a World Cup winner for the third edition in a row, with Porro set to be up against club teammate Cristian Romero at MetLife. Among defenders, Romero ranks fourth for interceptions and fifth in terms of tackles, as well as fifth for ground duels won and 12 when it comes to aerial duels won.

Put succinctly, he has been an absolute monster at the back and a key reason why Argentina has made it to back-to-back World Cup Finals. If Lionel Scaloni's side does manage to win four successive major tournaments, something no men's side have ever previously achieved, they will need Romero to once again be at his best

Center-back: Dayot Upamecano (France)

Alongside, we believe that France's center-back duo deserves some love. It could easily have been William Saliba, who seemingly played through a severe back injury all summer, but we've gone for his partner Dayot Upamecano. The Bayern Munich man, despite being one of the best players in his position on the planet, is more well known for high-profile errors that occur on a too-regular basis.

Well, there was none of that at the World Cup, with the 27-year-old seemingly realising his full potential. Upamecano departed the competition sixth for tackles, seventh for total duels won and joint-top for interceptions among defenders, alongside Spain's Aymeric Laporte.

Left-back: Marc Cucurella (Spain)

We've already asserted that Porro should be in this team, but he probably has not even been the most impressive Spanish full-back. That is merely to underline how impressive Marc Cucurella has been in every match for la Roja. On the day of their opening game, he completed a $63.5 million move from Chelsea to Real Madrid, and the Spanish giants are surely delighted they managed to get that signed a sealed early.

Cucurella has played every minute for Luis de la Fuente's team, creating three big chances, which is the second-most among defenders, as well as recording two assists. He has been a constant threat down the left side, which has been vital, given that Nico Williams is struggling for fitness, and deputy Álex Baena continues to do little more than a functional job in that role. If Spain do triumph in East Rutherford on Sunday, there is a serious argument to be made that he has been their most important player in a victorious campaign.

Midfielder: Rodri (Spain)

Another contender for this crown is Rodri. The midfielder won the Ballon d'Or two years ago, but this came after he had ruptured his ACL playing for Manchester City and, for the most part, he has never really rediscovered his previously formidable level since returning.

Well, perhaps the 30 year old has finally done just that during this World Cup. He has completed 705 passes, which is 133 more than anyone else, of which 93% have been accurate, playing the role of a midfield metronome to perfection. By around 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, depending on how long the half time show is, Rodri may well be hoisting the World Cup trophy aloft at MetLife.

Midfielder: Jude Bellingham (England)

Before the tournament, the talk in the British press was whether or not Thomas Tuchel should even include Jude Bellingham in his squad. Well, that discourse looks even more ridiculous now, doesn't it? Bellingham scored six goals at this tournament, a single-World Cup record for any England players, if you discount penalties.

This includes doubles against both Mexico at the Azteca and then Norway in the quarter-finals, underlining that, without the Real Madrid Galáctico, the Three Lions would not have gone anywhere near as deep as they managed to. Prior to the World Cup, Bellingham had only ever scored six times for his country, but then doubling that tally in the space of just 24 days, and this feels like his team now for the very first time.

Forward: Harry Kane (England)

England's other superstar this summer was Harry Kane. Between the two, it felt at one stage as if they were going to drag the Three Lions to glory, before they ultimately fell short in the semifinals. Kane too scored six times at this World Cup, with his late double against DR Congo in the round of 32 really digging England out of a massive hole at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

For club and country, he scored a frankly ridiculous 73 goals this season, across 65 appearances, which is not bad is it, even if he won't have any of the biggest trophies to show for his efforts?

Forward: Erling Haaland (Norway)

This summer was Norway's first World Cup appearance since '98 and the first time they'd qualified for any major tournament since Euro 2000. Given this context, it is pretty impressive that Ståle Solbakken's side made it to the quarter-finals, eventually ousted by England.

Well, spearheading the Viking Row all across the U.S. was Erling Braut Håland. He scored 16 times in eight qualifiers and then seven times at the World Cup itself, most memorably on target twice in the final ten minutes to dump out Brazil in the round of 16. Including all the qualifiers, the only match Håland did not manage to score in was Norway's last, but he still became America's most beloved soccer star, courtesy of his exploits both on and off the field.

Forward: Kylian Mbappé (France)

As has been his recent story at club level, Kylian Mbappé has scored all the goals but does not have the trophy to show for it. Across two seasons at Real Madrid, he has bagged 86 goals, with los Blancos winning no major silverware during this period. Well, World Cup Mbappé is the best version of Mbappé, netting four times as a teenager during les Bleus' victorious 2018 campaign, leaving Qatar with the Golden Boot, having scored eight times, as they lost out in the final on penalties.

Similarly, he scored eight times again this summer, including doubles against Senegal, Iraq and Sweden, before an anonymous performance as France was dumped out by Spain in the semifinals. In fairness, he was not alone in that fact. This takes Mbappé's tally to 20 World Cup goals, one behind someone we'll discuss in just a second, potentially set to inflate that tally in the third-place game.

Forward: Lionel Messi (Argentina)

At 39 years old, Lionel Messi remains the best player on the planet and, having been handed the award in 2014 and 2022, is set for a third Golden Ball following Sunday's final, whatever happens. By netting eight times this summer, Messi is currently the World Cup's all-time leading scorer with 21, of which 15 have come at the last two editions since his 35th birthday.

He also now has 12 World Cup assists to his name, a new record, setting up both goals as la Albiceleste fought back to beat England in Wednesday's semifinal right at the end. He has made the most World Cup appearances in history and will become only the second man to feature in three World Cup Finals, after Cafu, all of which is to say he is and remains the best to ever do it.

More World Cup news and analysis

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow