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FIFA has released the shortlist of players that will make their World XI this season.
A total of 16 Premier League players have made the list, dominated by Manchester United, Liverpool, and Manchester City players. Surprisingly, the Premier League Champions, Manchester City, have only three players on the list.
The entire Real Madrid starting XI from the UEFA Champions League finals against Liverpool were included in the list. Majority of the players from France starting XI against Croatia in the finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup made the list.
Some of the most prominent players who have failed to make it to the list are Gareth Bale, Hugo Lloris, Mesut Ozil, Sergio Aguero, Roberto Firmino, Christian Eriksen, Jan Oblak, and Jordan Pickford.
The list was compiled from the votes of 25,000 footballers from 65 countries. The final XI of players will be revealed during the 2018 Best Fifa Football Awards on 24th September in London.
Though a majority of the players deserves their place on the shortlist, some inclusions were very much questionable.
On that note, let’s take a look at the 5 players whose nomination for the 2018 FIFAPro World XI should be questioned.
#5 Arturo Vidal
The former Bayern Munich star is one of the 15 midfielders to be named on the FIFAPro World XI shortlist and one may feel the Chilean international must be really lucky to be on the elite list.
Though his performances haven’t been poor this season, it wasn’t great either. He has made only 17 starts for Bayern in Bundesliga last season and also failed to help Chile qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
The 31-year-old definitely has a lot to offer and his move to Barcelona this summer justifies his abilities. But with an abundant of midfield talents in European football, the inclusion of Arturo Vidal is a contentious one.
Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen has done extremely well last season and deserved a place on the shortlist.
#4 Yerry Mina
For a player who has played only five La Liga games for Barcelona last season, a place in the 55-man FIFAPro World XI shortlist was really a controversial one. The 23-year-old Colombian international has played only 370 minutes of league football last campaign and spent most of his time on the bench.
Though he was lively in the 2018 World Cup with three goals from three appearances for Colombia, he definitely has not done enough to be nominated for the FIFAPro World XI. Though he is young and possesses great abilities as a centre-back, his inclusion ahead of some of the other accomplished defenders does not seem the right one.
#3 Thiago Silva
The Brazilian international is one of the most accomplished defenders in world football. The 33-year-old helped Paris Saint-Germain to Ligue 1 and Coupe de France title last season. Silva has made only 24 Ligue 1 starts for PSG during the 2017/18 season. Though he was consistent and solid at the back, he wasn’t spectacular.
Kalidou Koulibaly was brilliant for Napoli last season and arguably Serie A’s best defender. Though Napoli was not able to dethrone Juventus, they have played some excellent football. Also, though many Argentina fans may disagree, I have to say, Otamendi was one of Premier League’s best defenders last season. He has played a vital role in their title success with some solid displays at the back. One of these two could have been a great choice instead of Thiago Silva.
#2 Karim Benzema
The Real Madrid striker finds a place in the 55-man shortlist after their success in the UEFA Champions League last season. Though the Frenchman has scored only 12 goals in 47 appearances for Real Madrid during the 2017/18 campaign, he somehow managed to grab a spot in the FIFA shortlist.
Some of the prolific forwards like Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, and Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale were excluded from the shortlist and it has raised many eyebrows. Firmino, in particular, was spectacular last season and Benzema’s inclusion at the expense of the Brazilian was really a bad decision.
#1 Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon was a surprise inclusion on the 55-man long list ahead of Jan Oblak. FIFA named five goalkeepers and Juventus’ shot-stopper Gianluigi Buffon was one of them. There was no place for Manchester City’s Ederson Moraes or AS Roma’s Alisson Becker. Alisson was phenomenal for Roma in Serie A and UEFA Champions League while Ederson produced assured performances under Pep.
The Italian international has started only 21 Serie A game for Juventus last season and wasn’t at his usual best. He also failed to take Italy to Russia as the European giants failed miserably in the qualifying campaign. Though the 40-year-old is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world, 2017/18 was nowhere close to his best season.
