Brazil vs Argentina: All-time combined XI 

Forwards

Left-Wing forward: Pele (Brazil)

Pele posing with the Jules Rimet trophy in 1970

Edson Arantes dos Nascimento popularly known as Pele is a retired Brazilian player who is widely regarded by fans, the media, pundits, and ex-players as the best to ever play the game.

After witnessing the heartbreak caused by the loss of the 1950 World Cup final to Uruguay at the Maracana, a 10-year-old Pele made a promise to his father to bring home the World Cup and eight years later, a teenage Pele wrote his names into footballing folklore with his performance at the Mundal in Sweden.

The picture of a 17-year-old Pele being hoisted in the air by his teammates in celebration is one that would live forever and this was to be the first of three World Cup triumphs for the Brazilian legend.

The Minas Gerais native was unarguably the first global footballing superstar and generated media interest wherever he went, despite spending the entirety of his career with his boyhood club Santos.

In total, he represented Brazil 92 times and is the nation's record goalscorer with 77 goals. He is credited as the highest goalscorer in history with 1281 goals from 1363 games, but these include friendly fixtures played at club level.

His official goal count stands at 767 from 831 and sees him sit third on the list of highest scoring footballs of all time.

Substitute: Romario (Brazil)

Centre-Forward: Ronaldo Nazario de Lima (Brazil)

Ronaldo inspired Brazil to the World Cup in 2002

Ronaldo was a child prodigy who burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old and was part of Brazil's World Cup-winning squad in 1994 (despite not making an appearance).

He represented marquee clubs like PSV, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and AC Milan and in his prime was an unstoppable force of nature who scored goals for fun and terrorized opposition defenders and goalkeepers.

Ronaldo is arguably the most complete striker in the history of football, possessing beastly strength, pace, skills, holdup ability, dribbling, and finishing precision.

While his club career was in no way ordinary, injuries played a major role in robbing him of his best years and his defining moments came with his national team.

He represented Brazil 98 times, scoring 62 goals and was the driving force behind the World Cup win in 2002, as well as numerous other major titles including the Confederations Cup and Copa America.

Rather curiously, he never won the Champions League but was named the Ballon d'Or winner on two occasions and FIFA World Player of the Year on three. To date, he is the youngest ever winner of the two accolades.

Substitute: Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina)

Right-Wing Forward: Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Messi has suffered multiple heartbreaks on the international scene with Argentina

Unlike almost every other player in this feature, Lionel Messi is yet to taste success on the international scene, but his performance with Barcelona is enough to grant him immortality in the annals of football.

The Rosario native has been the standout player of his generation (alongside Cristiano Ronaldo) and despite his lack of success with Argentina, he has every right to be considered in the GOAT debate.

With five Ballon d'Ors and 34 club trophies, Messi is one of the most decorated players in history and his repertoire of abilities include, close control, passing accuracy and range, dribbling and of late, deadly freekicks.

Substitute: Alfredo di Stefano (Argentina)

Managers

Mario Zagallo (Brazil), Carlos Billardo (Argentina)

So, there you have it, a combined XI featuring the best players to have ever represented Brazil and Argentina, including a substitute for each position and two managers.