World Cup 2018: Best South-American XI

South America consists of fascinating football teams which play entertaining and mesmerizing football. Their style of play is known as 'The Beautiful Game' as described by Pele. They have won 9 World Cups in total with Brazil winning 5 times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002) which is most by a single nation. The teams which are going to represent South America at 2018 FIFA World Cup are Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru.

Brazil are a dominant side in football not only due to their unique style but also because of the legendary footballers they have produced. The present Brazilian side is equally good in all three departments i.e. defence, midfield, and attack. Having a blend of experience and talent, the nation has high expectations from this current team and hence are one of the top contenders for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Argentina are the second most dominant South American side, winning the World Cup twice (1978 and 1986). The current side is a one-man army led by Lionel Messi. Due to his presence, Argentina are considered one of the top sides in the World Cup.

Uruguay have also won the World Cup twice - the first ever World Cup held in 1930 as hosts and the second in Argentina in 1950. The current team is quite competent and has experience in the defending and attacking department. Uruguay are capable of reaching the Semi-finals in Russia.

Colombia's best performance in the World Cup was reaching the Quarter-finals in 2014. The current side has good quality players, having the ability to power their team to the Semi-finals in Russia.

Peru are the surprise package in the World Cup, capable of upsetting big sides.

It will be a fascinating contest between the strong South American and European sides in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Let us form the best South American XI of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Formation: 4-3-3

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GK: David Ospina (Colombia)

David Ospina

David Ospina is one of the most experienced goal-keepers at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He is a good communicator, has got good reflexes and is one of the best in one-on-one situations.

Ospina conceded the least goals in the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers. Having represented Colombia in 86 matches, Ospina played a crucial role in Colombia reaching the quarter-finals in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He conceded only four goals in the whole tournament.

Among all South American goal-keepers, Ospina seems to be the best option and hence he has been picked in this XI to don the gloves.

Centre-backs:

Thiago Silva (Brazil)

Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva is probably the best defender in the world right now. He is athletic, agile and also is excellent at tackling and breaking the opposition's attack. He is a great tactician and is never caught out of position. Silva is also phenomenal in the air and hence is a threat to the opposition in their penalty area during set-pieces.

A shrewd campaigner, Silva is currently the captain of Brazil. Having represented Brazil in 70 matches and scoring 5 goals for them, Silva will play a crucial role in marshaling the defence of this side. Due to his great defensive performance in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Silva was named the third best central defender in the World Cup by FIFA.

He will play the role of a right central-back for this side. His experience will prove to be crucial for this side.

Diego Godin (Uruguay)

Diego Godin

Diego Godin is a veteran defender in Europe and South America. He is strong, agile, is a good man-marker and has still got the hunger to go in for a rough tackle. Being a tall person, Godin is good in the air and hence is a potential goalscorer for his team from set-pieces.

A leader of men, he is the captain of Uruguay at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He has represented Uruguay in 117 matches and scored 8 goals for them.

Since he likes to defend deep, it will be difficult for the opposition to penetrate the defence of this team. He will stand like a rock in between the opposition's attackers and the goal-keeper. He will play as a left-central back for this team and will form a good defensive pair with Thiago Silva.

Full-backs:

RB: Danilo (Brazil)

Danilo

Danilo is normally deployed as a right wing-back in Brazil's line-up. He has got pace, awareness, is good at keeping possession and switching the play for one wing to the other.

Danilo's positional play is perfect, is good at crossing the ball and is an expert in playing the long ball and finding his teammate with pinpoint accuracy. Danilo's defensive as well as offensive skills will come in handy for this team.

He will be responsible for switching the play, delivering the perfect long ball across the field for the attackers and whip in an excellent cross in the box whenever he has the opportunity. He will play as the right-back for them and would join the attack for the team.

LB: Marcelo (Brazil)

Marcelo is probably the best left-back in the world right now. Blessed with raw pace, Marcelo is an extremely good offensive player, is also efficient in tracking back and helping the team during opposition's counter-attack and is an asset for any team to have in its side.

Marcelo is also a powerful distance shooter, is one of the best crosser in the world and is a nightmare for the opposition on his day. Having represented Brazil in 52 matches and scored 6 goals for them, Marcelo is one of the key players for this team.

The team will look up to Marcelo to lighten up the left wing and torment the opposition defenders with his amazing pace. They will also expect him to deliver crosses in the box and track back to help the defenders during opposition's counter-attack. He will play the role of a left-back for this side.

Midfielders:

Javier Mascherano (Argentina)

Javier Mascherano is normally deployed as a centre defensive midfielder in Argentina's line-up. Mascherano is one of the most experienced central defensive midfielders in this World Cup. Being tactically shrewd, he has the ability to anticipate the mindset of the opposing player and react accordingly.

He is a ruff tackler, has the capability to keep possession and has the vision to pick out his teammates perfectly. In the 2014 World Cup, he recorded the most tackles by any player in the tournament (30) and the 3rd most passes (576 at a success rate of 89%) and hence played a crucial part for Argentina in reaching the finals.

Having represented Argentina in 143 matches and scoring 3 goals for them, Mascherano will be a key player for this side. He will stand like a rock in front of the defence and his experience will be of great help to the team's defenders. He will play as the central defensive midfielder in this South American XI team.

Coutinho (Brazil)

Coutinho is generally deployed in the midfield in Brazil's line-up. Having decent pace, Coutinho is an excellent dribbler, has good stamina, is agile, has good awareness of the game and has the vision to thread a perfect pass in order to penetrate the opposition's defence.

He is also an excellent long-range shooter, is good at keeping possession and has the ability to pick out a player with pinpoint accuracy. He has represented Brazil in 35 matches and scored 9 goals for them.

He will play as a right central midfielder in this side. It will be his duty to keep possession for the side and try to provide a perfect ball to the strikers which will break the opposition's defence.

James Rodriguez ( Colombia)

James Rodriguez is often deployed as a central attacking midfielder in Colombia's starting line-up. Being gifted with a good vision, Rodriguez has great dribbling abilities, is good at keeping possession and has the competence to provide a perfect ball to penetrate the opposition's defence.

He is probably one of the best long-distance shooters in modern day football, is a good crosser and is a world-class assist provider. He has represented Colombia in 62 matches and scored 21 goals for them. At the 2014 World Cup, Rodriguez scored 6 goals and helped Colombia to reach the Quarter-finals.

He was awarded the golden boot for scoring the most goals at the 2014 World Cup. His link-up play, game awareness and his ability to create an opportunity out of nowhere is an invaluable asset. He will play as a left central midfielder in the side and will be responsible for taking set-pieces for the side.

Attackers:

LW: Neymar (Brazil)

Neymar is probably the most talented player in the world right now. Being blessed with tremendous amount of pace, he is also the most fascinating dribbler to watch out for, is acrobatic, flexible and is excellent in one-on-one situations.

Neymar is a powerful distance shooter, likes to drift inside from the wing, free-kick specialist of great caliber and has the capability to single-handedly torment the opposition's defence. Having played for Brazil in 85 matches and scored 55 goals for them, Neymar won the bronze boot as the tournament's 3rd top goal-scorer at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Neymar's dribbling skills, vision, pace and his link-up play with teammates will be crucial for this team. Being one the best player in the squad, it will be Neymar's responsibility to motivate and lead his team to glory from the left side of the attack.

RW: Messi (Argentina)

Lionel Messi, as we all know is a legendary football player. He has got pace, agility, amazing dribbling abilities and the capacity to single-handedly destroy the opposition's defence. His short stature helps him to turn quickly and easily get past the tackler.

Messi has the ability to shoot from distance, is probably the best free-kick taker in the world and is a dangerous player for any opposition to face. Having appeared for Argentina in 124 matches and scoring 64 goals for them, Messi is an automatic choice in this XI.

Messi will play on the right side of the attack because of his pace and dribbling abilities, which will be used to penetrate the opposition.

CF: Suarez ( Uruguay)

Luis Suarez is one of the most prolific goal-scorer in the world today. Being a shrewd campaigner, Suarez has decent pace, good match awareness, flexible and is a fitness freak. He also has the ability to press the opposition's defence and pressurize them to clear the ball.

Suarez is one of the most fearful and dangerous players for the opposition to defend against. Having represented Uruguay in 98 matches and scoring 51 goals for them, Suarez has proved that he is one of the most indispensable players in the continent of South America.

Hence due to prolific goal-scoring ability, Suarez is the first-choice striker of the team. He will play centrally in the 3-man attack in this side.