The Best XI of World Cup 2014

Goalkeeper

Manuel Neuer (Germany)

Could it be anyone else? Keylor Navas (Costa Rica), Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico) and Tim Howard (United States) may have had more spectacular individual performances, but throughout this tournament, Neuer has fulfilled both his goalkeeping and defending duties to the tee. He has had to play sweeper, clearing with more confidence and certainty than many outfielders (here’s looking at you, Toni Kroos and Steven Gerrard).

The way he commands his penalty box and provides composure to Joachim Loew's side is unrivaled for a goalkeeper. How often do you see a goalkeeper come charging off his line yet remain on his feet for the longest time possible prior to a shot being made?

Rightback

Philip Lahm (Germany)

It had to take an injury to Skhodran Mustafi for Joachim Loew to revert Lahm back into his natural fullback position, and Philip Lahm demonstrated his class with outstanding performances, his partnership with Thomas Muller on the right flank being the most dangerous fullback/midfielder combination of the tournament, capable of beating opposition through technique as well as speed of thought and movement.

Leftback

Marcos Rojo (Argentina)

A strong and consistent force in both attack and defence, Rojo was part of an Argentinian back-four deemed by many to be a major weak point in the Albiceleste’s quest for a third World Cup trophy. How things have changed!

Germany attempted to overload Rojo’s flank, Muller and Lahm constantly probing and looking for gaps behind the Sporting Lisbon defender, but they found none.

His delicious cross to Rodrigo Palacio in extra time very nearly won Argentina the game, catching Mats Hummels out of position. A very consistent and steady performer, Rojo has more to offer than being tactically bound for Argentina.

Centreback

Mats Hummels (Germany)

A colossus at the back, Hummels's tough-tackling, no-nonsense approach to defending was supplemented by the threat of his aerial prowess going forward.

Jerome Boateng (Germany)

The calm to Mats Hummels’ storm, Boateng strolls through matches without putting a foot wrong, his sense of positioning and reading of the game making him the closest thing Germany have to a classic sweeper in the Franz Beckenbauer mould.

Midfield

Javier Mascherano (Argentina)

Quite simply, the Commander! Considered by his counterpart Schweinsteiger as being “the leader of a pack of wolves”, the Barcelona man dominated every midfield he came across, hardly a chance coming through the middle third for Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.

Mascherano's tackle on Arjen Robben in the penalty area will go down as one of the most perfectly timed tackles of all-time. Mascherano has now truly established himself as one of football's greats.

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)

Schweinsteiger has been inspirational. It seemed no injury could keep Schweini down for long, his ability to win the ball and quickly turn defence into attack through his formidable passing range the catalyst for many German attacking moves, Schweinsteiger is the "General" to Mascherano's "Commander"! Another great player!

Sami Khedira (Germany)

Then we have Khedira, who has just returned from a major knee surgery, and hardly having a game for Real Madrid this season.

Yet, Khedira's absence was clearly felt in the Final as replacement Christoph Kramer was taken off with a possible concussion, whereas Toni Kroos very nearly gifted Argentina a goal while being incapable of linking up the defence and midfield to the attack in the biggest match of his career.

Rumours of Real Madrid willingly looking to sell Khedira and to bring in Toni Kroos will be akin to the departure of Claude Makelele during the Galactico era – making unnecessary changes to a balanced squad as Khedira’s engine and off-the-ball running is far superior.

Khedira is simply the best Number 8 in the world (by the way, that is a position not a mere numeral).

Forward

Lionel Messi (Argentina)

His selection as the Golden Ball winner was not without its detractors. Cases can be made for multiple players, but no individual has been as integral to his team’s success since Diego Maradona and the Argentina of 1986.

Which other footballer can claim to be marked by at least two players any time he found himself in possession?

Dragging his team to the knockout stages and turning provider, Argentina will be ruing their inability to finish as the main reason the Albiceleste failed to lift the trophy this time around.

Yet the blame for failure will still be on Leo Messi’s shoulders – such are the standards he has set for himself.

Messi dragged defenders into central positions but Argentina were too narrow for him to spread the ball wide. He laid on a goal for Angel di Maria against Belgium as an illustration to how he could have been more effective with wide players.

James Rodriguez (Colombia)

Rodriquez is the only player not from Argentina or Germany in my World Cup Best XI.

The Monaco playmaker lit up the World Cup with brilliant performances until he and his Colombian side crashed out amidst a proper kicking (literally) by the Brazilians.

Comfortable on the ball in tight situations, and capable of threading passes through the eye of a needle as well as scoring stunners (his chest-and-volley goal against Uruguay going down as one of the most technically-perfect strikes of all time), the 22-year-old looks to entertain for years to come.

Thomas Muller (Germany)

Muller, the man who coined the word Raumdeuter (or "interpreter of space"), strikes again. Scoring another five goals in this World Cup took Thomas Muller’s career World Cup tally to 10 goals, and at the tender age of 24, it seems just a matter of time until he overtakes Miroslav Klose as the highest goalscorer in World Cup history.

His ability to play anywhere across the attacking third and off-the-ball movement is what sets him apart from the rest, and when coupled with his astonishing work rate, we have the perfect poster-boy for German football today – hardworking, skillful and ruthlessly efficient.

Special mentions

Neymar (Brazil) – How cruel the beautiful game can be. A nasty back injury cut Neymar’s World Cup short at the quarter-final stage, and the Selecao will be left ruing at what might have been if he was available for "that" game against Germany.

Fulfilling every expectation in this World Cup, Neymar disappointed few as he turned in brilliant performance after brilliant performance to guide Brazil into the semi-finals, and the Brazilians looked devoid of ideas when playing without him.

Arjen Robben (Netherlands) – The standout performer for the Dutch was Robben. Villain four years ago for failing to beat Iker Casillas in the final against Spain, in a one-on-one situation with acres of space, Robben certainly turned on the style four years later. His direct running and burst of pace striking fear into the hearts of every defender he faced. Pity about the theatrics, as cheats do not deserve place in this team!

Just a side note here... it puzzles me to see how venerated this Dutch side is by many, whereas the runners-up squad of 2010 were slaughtered for their less than savoury tactics in the final back then. Whereas, this Netherlands side committed the most fouls of any team at the World Cup and is considered a success back home. If only Bert Van Marwijk (coach of the 2010 team) was filled with self-confidence like Louis Van Gaal, then perhaps the media would have gotten off his back.

Alexis Sanchez (Chile) – The Chileans' elimination at the Round of 16 stage was the only reason Sanchez failed to make it onto my best XI. Showcasing a wider range of ability than his right-wing duties at Barcelona allow, Sanchez thrived in a more central attacking role, dropping deep to pick up the ball and orchestrate attacks with his incredible ball control and balance.

Miroslav Klose (Germany) – Unbelievable ability to lead the line with intelligent positioning and running, Klose is a text book study for central strikers. If only Gonzalo Higuain and the extremely lazy Sergio Aguero had half of Klose brain, Argentina would have been world champions.

Overall, it has been a thoroughly entertaining World Cup with truly great games and great players, with some new ones too. – July 15, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.