Around the world, and particularly here in England, there’s an age old argument which crops up every time a major international tournament comes around. How would the national side perform in our top league?
Yesterday at SBOTOP we looked at the La Liga stars who are shining in World Cup 2022 and today it’s the turn of the Premier League…but one team alone. Manchester City weren’t even at the top of the English league at the advent of the World Cup, trailing Arsenal by five points.
Star striker Erling Braut Haaland didn’t even travel to Qatar while the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Manuel Akanji already on their way home. But with 11 players still in the competition Manchester City have a team capable of taking on the best in the world.
And we have every place covered with a back three, attacking wing-backs and a midfield diamond behind the lone striker. It looks pretty good to me!
Goalkeeper: Ederson – Brazil
He may not be the first pick for Brazil head coach Tite, but with 19 caps to his name Ederson stands alongside Liverpool’s Alisson as the two best keepers on the planet. His distribution
is second to none and Samba fans would have no worries if he takes the goalkeeping job again over the next couple of weeks.
Centre back: John Stones – England
Once capable of dropping a clanger in the big moments, Stones has become the rock of reliability at the heart of England and City’s defence and his 83 caps testify to that. He’s a shoo-in for the Three Lions.
Centre back: Ruben Dias – Portugal
The Premier League’s best defender in 2021/22 has had the odd annoyance with injury but he’s back to his best now and, with his superb positional sense, tough tackling and passing range he is the complete defender.
Centre back: Nathan Ake – Netherlands
A few eyebrows were raised when the Sky Blues shelled out a cool £41m on the Bournemouth centre back as the Cherries were never really known for the defensive prowess. But Ake has grown in stature and had formed an impressive partnership with Virgil Van Dijk for the Netherlands.
Left Wing-back: Joao Cancelo – Portugal
Cancelo’s defensive and attacking prowess have wowed fans in the Premier League as he has provided some of the best goals and assists for City over the past couple of years. And he is a key part of Portugal’s quick-passing, creative strategy.
Right Wing-back: Kyle Walker – England
England are set to face France in the quarter-finals on Saturday and the man with the biggest job for the Three Lions is Walker, who will be up against Kylian Mbappe. The duel will be one of the big World Cup 2022 highlights of the quarter-finals and Walker’s pace is a huge asset. If he can somehow keep Mbappe quiet, he’ll win man of the match.
Defensive midfield: Kalvin Phillips – England
Phillips has suffered terribly with injury over the last two campaigns but, even with less than an hour of football in his locker this season, Gareth Southgate has stacks of faith in the defensive midfielder and he could still play a huge part in the England campaign.
Right wing: Bernardo Silva – Portugal
The creative Silva will have a big role to play in unlocking Morocco’s defence when the two teams meet this weekend. His poise on the ball, lighting change of pace and superb delivery make him a big threat, and he knows where the goal is, with 31 strikes for City and eight for his country.
Left wing: Jack Grealish – England
The Three Lions’ mercurial talent can cause havoc on his day and the fans will be off their seats when he makes a run in the quarter finals. He seems to have been around for ages but, at 27 years of age, the best is yet to come from Grealish.
Number Ten: Phil Foden – England
Surely England’s best player, the 22-year-old Foden must start against France. He’s the complete package, able to play on either flank or though the middle and he’s the nearest thing older City fans have seen to the great Colin Bell. This could be Foden’s time.
Striker: Julian Alvarez – Argentina
With two goals already in this competition Alvarez has shown he can be one of the best strikers in world football. He scored the crucial second in Argentina’s Round of 16 victory over Australia and, at 22 years of age, he is learning from the best player in the world, Lionel Messi. And that can only be good news for City fans.
So there you go….City’s 11. What would the World Cup 2022 betting odds make of this team? I’d bet they would be somewhere in amongst Brazil, France and Argentina at around 6.00…but we’ll never know.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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