The FIFA World Cup is up and running in Russia and the action has been absolutely exhilarating to say the least. We have seen sensational goals, own goals, late drama and major upsets all through what has been a stunning tournament that has lived up to expectations.
At the start of the tournament, the top sides were expected to ease through to the second round, from where the real action was expected to begin. However, the smaller nations have made it tough for these superpowers, and this has made the tournament all the more difficult to predict.
With most of these sides boasting some of the top talent playing in some of the best European clubs from around the world, national team coaches find it extremely difficult to select the final 23 touring party, as they have to leave out quite a few quality players out.
It becomes even more harder to select the final playing XI, as quite a few of these players come into the tournament having made strong cases for themselves after good performances for their respective clubs.
If the decisions made by the manager fail to come off and if this sees the international team in trouble, they are heavily scrutinized. It has been the same case in this World Cup too as a few selections made by managers have failed to come off and fans have clamoured for changes to be made.
In this article, we list players who deserve a place in the starting XI for their respective countries in the final round of group stage matches, ahead of the players currently in the playing XI