FIFA and FIFPro have revealed the 55 players who have been shortlisted for the 2018 World XI. The World XI will be announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards in London on September 24.
About 25 000 professional footballers from all over the world took part in the nomination process for the World XI. The players with the most votes ended up on four positional shortlists.
France, the FIFA World Cup 208 winner, have eight players in the shortlist. Former holders Spain have one more player than them in the shortlist. Ten players out of the last year’s World XI, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been named on the list. Spanish giants Real Madrid is the best represented club. They have 11 players in the list.
FIFA World Cup 2018 semi-finalists England have three nominations. Tottenham Hotspur’s pair Harry Kane and Kieran Trippier as well as Manchester City’s Kyle Walker are in the shortlist. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are the only two African nominees.
But suprisingly, Wales and Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has not make the shortlist. He scored twice in the Champions League final in May and helped Real Madrid to win 3-1.
Here is the list of all the 55 nominees :
Goalkeepers (5) :
Gianluigi Buffon – Italy, Juventus/Paris Saint-Germain
Thibaut Courtois – Belgium, Chelsea/Real Madrid CF
David de Gea – Spain, Manchester United FC
Keylor Navas – Costa Rica, Real Madrid CF
Marc-Andre ter Stegen – Germany, FC Barcelona
Defenders (20) :
Jordi Alba – Spain, FC Barcelona
Dani Alves – Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain
Daniel Carvajal – Spain, Real Madrid CF
Giorgio Chiellini – Italy, Juventus FC
Virgil van Dijk – Netherlands, Southampton/Liverpool
Diego Godin – Uruguay, Atletico Madrid
Mats Hummels – Germany, FC Bayern Munchen
Joshua Kimmich – Germany, FC Bayern Munchen
Dejan Lovren – Croatia, Liverpool FC
Marcelo – Brazil, Real Madrid CF
Yerry Mina – Colombia, FC Barcelona/Everton FC
Benjamin Pavard – France, VfB Stuttgart
Gerard Pique – Spain, FC Barcelona
Sergio Ramos – Spain, Real Madrid CF
Thiago Silva – Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain
Kieran Trippier – England, Tottenham Hotspur
Samuel Umtiti – France, FC Barcelona
Raphael Varane – France, Real Madrid CF
Sime Vrsaljko – Croatia, Atletico Madrid/Inter Milan
Kyle Walker – England, Manchester City FC
Midfielders (15) :
Sergio Busquets – Spain, FC Barcelona
Casemiro – Brazil, Real Madrid CF
Philippe Coutinho – Brazil, Liverpool/FC Barcelona
Kevin De Bruyne – Belgium, Manchester City FC
Eden Hazard – Belgium, Chelsea FC
Andres Iniesta – Spain, FC Barcelona/Vissel Kobe
Isco – Spain, Real Madrid CF
N’Golo Kante – France, Chelsea FC
Toni Kroos – Germany, Real Madrid CF
Nemanja Matic – Serbia, Manchester United FC
Luka Modric – Croatia, Real Madrid CF
Paul Pogba – France, Manchester United FC
Ivan Rakitic – Croatia, FC Barcelona
David Silva – Spain, Manchester City FC
Arturo Vidal – Chile, FC Bayern Munchen/FC Barcelona
Forwards (15) :
Karim Benzema – France, Real Madrid CF
Edinson Cavani – Uruguay, Paris Saint-Germain
Paulo Dybala – Juventus FC, Argentina
Antoine Griezmann – France, Atletico Madrid
Harry Kane – England, Tottenham Hotspur
Robert Lewandowski – Poland, FC Bayern Munchen
Romelu Lukaku – Belgium, Manchester United FC
Mario Mandzukic – Croatia, Juventus FC
Sadio Mane – Senegal, Liverpool FC
Kylian Mbappe – France, Paris Saint-Germain
Lionel Messi – Argentina, FC Barcelona
Neymar Junior – Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain
Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal, Real Madrid CF/Juventus FC
Mohamed Salah – Egypt, Liverpool FC
Luis Suarez – Uruguay, FC Barcelona
Some interesting facts :
- Andres Iniesta is on the list for the 12th consecutive time. He has previously made the World XI on nine separate occasions. Dani Alves and Sergio Ramos have also been shortlisted for the 12th consecutive time. They draw them level with Germany and Bayern Munich legend Philipp Lahm.
- Gianluigi Buffon was named goalkeeper in last year’s World XI. He has been on the list of nominees every season since 2004/05. Like Buffon, Cristiano Ronaldo has also been on the shortlist in every single year since 2004/05.
- Mario Mandzukic is back on the list for the first time since his only previous appearance, in 2013.
- Manuel Neuer was not nominated this year despite having previously made the World XI in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Zlatan Ibrahimovic also did not receive enough votes to make the shortlist for the first time in 12 years.
This is the 14th edition of the World XI, having been established by FIFPro, the World Players’ Union, in 2005. It later merged with FIFA in 2009. The World XI will be announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards in London on September 24.
Do check out : Luka Modric is UEFA’s player of the season 2017-18
For more information visit our site, TechnoSports. And download our app from the Google Play Store for more real-time updates. To download the app, click here.
