Round 1 XI

Goal Keeper: Edwin Van Der Saar, Petr Cech, Lehmann, Pletikosa, Isaksson etc. have all got clean sheets. Coupet had nothing to deal with. So, I am not including him here. Van Der Saar saved wonderfully from Pirlo's free kick and dealt 1v1 against Toni late in the second half very well. His imposing figure did not allow Toni a proper sight at the goal. Lehmann showed good reflexes and positioning was decent. But both of their defenders contributed much. My vote goes to Petr Cech who was confident and well positioned between the posts with a comparatively nervy defence infront of him. They allowed 16 shots out of which 8 were on target. He saved ever one of them with ease. Great goal keepers just make it look simple.

Left Back: This position is inarguably bagged by Giovanni Van Bronckhorst who held the flag of total football proudly high. Clearing off the line and running the length of the field to supply a deep cross. Later running again to score a decent header was amazing. There was no other left back so far who contributed better than he did.

Centre Back: Playing 1-2 with the attackers, running into the box in open play was not a normal thing to be done by a centre back. You know who I am talking about. Yes, it is Pepe. He continues to keep his Real Madrid form. He was good in the air. He headed accurately but he was in an offside position. Undoubtedly he wins one of the two berths in the heart of the defence.

Centre Back: Normally people would expect Italians here. I am sorry, but - Italy - cannavaro/nesta = shaky ( as mentioned in whoateallthepies.tv ). Now the real debete starts. Metzelder, Mertesacker, Carvalho, all did well. Again, I am avoiding the French because they had no real threat to deal with. Mathijsen and Ooijer dealt with Toni well. But they didn't battle in the air with him. They let him against van der saar alone a couple of times. Toni should have finished well but, luckily for the dutch - he did not. I am not sure whom to put here. I will probably go with Carvalho because he dealt with better quality , confidently, than the rest of them.

Right Back: Philipp Lahm and Sergio Ramos were the ones who impressed most going forward as well as defending. Not because I am a German fan that I will choose Lahm but because he was full of passion and confidence. Ramos was a little precarious. Got beaten a few times. But Lahm was solid. So, Philipp Lahm it will be.

Left Midfield: Who do you expect to be here but Wesely Sneijder. One volley that comprehensively finished the conter attack and thus finishing off the Italians. He won't find a better birthday present.

Central Midfield: I would put Luka Modric at one of the midfield positions because of the all-round performance. He attacked well, defened well. He also looked comfortable when he was asked to play in the hole. If he had been allowed to attack in the second half too, I am sure there would have been atleast another goal.

Central Midfield: Michael Ballack, Van der Vaart, Xavi all impressed and would deserve a place here.Ballack and Frings were natural dictators in this area. It was as if they owened the place. They faced very little competition. Van der vaart faced tough opposition. But he was too attack minded. I agree he contributed massively in the attacks. But, the one we need here has to be a complete midfielder. For me, the one who stood out is Xavi with his presicion passing, distribution and attacking. He was just outstanding and was at the heart of almost every Spanish attack. He tackled well late in the match when the Russians really looked like they were going to come back which eventually never happened.

Right Midfield: Again this position raises questions on the selection. There is Freddie Ljungberg. He worked tirelessly all night, has been very clever in his passing. But it just didn't work out well on the receiving end. He burst forward and also urging his players to do so like a proper captain. And there is Dirk Kuyt who also impressed with his work rate and contributed two crucial assists and was so good on the counter. Again, considering the opposition, Dirk Kuyt wins this. But, special praise to Freddie.

Strikers: Every one will probably agree with me on this one. It's going to be Lukas Podolski and David Villa. Excellet double and a hattrick respectively. Villa worked very hard all through the match and scored truely deservered 3 goals. Podolski allowed little smile on his face as he had mixed emotions on scoring against his land of birth. Though he played on the left side of the midfield, he had few defensive duties and played as a massively attacking left midfielder and third striker.

Any arguments ?