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The European and South American football federations, UEFA and CONMEBOL, have shared the destination of the World Cup trophy since its inception in 1930. European teams are slightly out in front with 11 trophies; Germany (4), Italy (4), France (1), England (1) and Spain (1). Three countries from South America have gone all the way in a World Cup final; Brazil (5), Argentina (2) and Uruguay (2). It is probably fair to say that UEFA have had more recent success, with only two CONMEBOL country winners since 1990.
From the 32 nations that have already qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, what would the UEFA combined XI look like?
Note: This isn't a combined XI from the UEFA Champions League
UEFA - Manager and Formation
For the manager of the UEFA XI, it's very difficult to look beyond Pep Guardiola for what he has achieved in management in a relatively short career so far. The Catalan has claimed 23 trophies with three different clubs since the 2008/09 season, two of them coming this year, with Manchester City winning the EFL Cup and strolling to third Premier League win in the last 6 years, all while playing incredibly attractive football.
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Honourable Mentions: Jupp Heynckes, Jurgen Klopp, Maurizio Sarri
As is in vogue at the moment, 4-3-3 could suit the players available to the European selection. The goalkeeper and back four are conventionally set up, with a deep-lying protector sitting in front of them to screen attacks. The two more advanced central midfielders will have a little more liberty in the centre of the park, but their main job will be to supply the highly advanced attacking trident.
Goalkeeper
UEFA have a host of top quality goalkeepers at hand, but David de Gea might just be fingertips ahead of the rest. Arriving at Manchester United in 2011, de Gea endured a shaky start to his career for the Red Devils but has since gone from strength to strength. The former Atletico Madrid stopper has 17 clean sheets from 35 league appearances this season, and United have only conceded 27 goals in total in the same competition - only one more than the team with the least goals conceded, Manchester City.
Mourinho´s United are generally happy to sit back, seemingly very concerned with not conceding, which could partially reveal the high number of clean sheets. But considering the defensive line that has played in front of him all year, 17 clean sheets is nothing short of remarkable
Honourable Mentions: Jan Oblak, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Thibaut Courtois
Defence
Starting with the foundation of the defence, the two centre-halves - Sergio Ramos and Giorgio Chiellini. Sergio Ramos has made himself the ultimate big game player in the last number of year, popping up with important goals for Madrid when it matters most, none more crucial, perhaps, than the last minute equaliser against city rivals Atletico in the 2014 Champions League final. Ramos has scored a very impressive 52 goals from defence since moving to the Spanish capital in 2005, but it is his quick thinking, positioning, organisational skills which make him truly elite.
Chiellini, at 33 years old, is about to win his 7th Scudetto with the Old Lady, and is still an absolute rock in the heart of Juve's defence, with few able to match his leadership and ability to resolutely thwart a potent attack. The Juve man's contract is up this summer, but last February he assured fans that there would be "no surprises" in terms of his next move, and he is expected to extend his contract with the defending Serie A champions. Chiellini represents a dying breed of all-action centre-backs, and although he hasn´t played every minute of every game this season, he still warrants a place in the team.
Dani Carvajal and Jordi Alba make up the right back and left back positions. Both players are among the first names on the team sheets of Spanish behemoths Real Madrid and Barcelona, and at least Alba guaranteed a league winners medal this year as Barcelona won La Liga with relative ease - Carvajal will be hoping to add another Champions League winners medal to his collection.
Joshua Kimmich could feel aggrieved by being left out of this fictional team, and while there is no doubting his potential, Carvajal is a three-time Champions League winner and a consistent performer for years. Alba, in truth, only has strong competition from David Alaba, but the Barcelona man´s 8 assists and 2 goals in the league this season means the starting berth is his.
Honourable Mentions - Mats Hummels, Gerard Piqué, Joshua Kimmch, David Alaba
Midfield
N'Golo Kanté could fit into this system effortlessly, sitting in front of the back four and stopping attacks before they reach the final third. Much of Kanté´s work goes unnoticed, as his positional play and sensible use of the ball mean that more creative players in the middle can flourish. Having said that, the Frenchman also has a 90% passing accuracy rate, 71% of which have been forward passes, so he is by no means a passenger when his team have the ball.
In any other Premier League season, Kevin de Bruyne would have been quite comfortably regarded as the player of the season. However, Mo Salah's untouchable form has taken some of the limelight from what has been a stand out year for the Belgian. Still only 26, de Bruyne has scored 8 goals from central midfield for Manchester City this season, a good return, given his role. But he also leads the league in assists with 15, and his general play has been sublime - City are not the same without his influence.
Central midfield, like the goalkeeper, is a position in which Europe has incredible talent in abundance. Choosing a partner to work with Kevin de Bruyne in front of Kanté is no easy task, but this season Isco has really staked his claim as an elite midfielder, 6 goals and 6 assists coming in an unprecedented run in the starting XI of Madrid.
With Luka Modric not having as good a season as usual, and also not getting any younger at 32 years old, Isco may be the creative spark in Madrid´s midfield for years to come. 6 goals and 6 assists with an 89% passing accuracy in the league alone represents a milestone in Isco´s career - and there's no doubting the combination of Isco and de Bruyne in the engine room would be a joy to watch.
Honourable Mentions - Sergio Busquets, Toni Kross, Luka Modric, Thiago Alcantara
Attack
We have to keep reminding ourselves that Kylian Mbappé is still just 19 years old. In his breakout year with Monaco last season, where they humbled Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund in the knockout stages of the Champions League, the French winger plundered 26 goals and 14 assists in all competitions, albeit from a more central role than his current one - this was enough for PSG to make their move.
Although he has had to share the limelight with Neymar and Edinson Cavani this year and has been played wide right of the main striker, he has still managed 21 goals and 17 assists; the sky's the limit.
At 24, Harry Kane has already scored more than a century of Premier League goals, and he shows no signs of slowing down. The Tottenham player shows all the qualities of a complete centre-forward - he's excellent in the air, strong at holding up the ball, decent pace and of course, a natural eye for goal.
38 goals and 5 assists in all competitions this year is a slight improvement on his incredible scoring record of last season of 35 and 7 respectively. Considering his scoring prowess and his relatively young age, Kane's market value must be among the highest in the world for a centre-forward.
It would be impossible not to include Cristiano Ronaldo in this fictional team; very little needs to be said for Madrid's star man that hasn't been said already. We could look at his 120 goals in 150 Champions League appearances, or perhaps the 309 goals he has scored in 290 appearances for Madrid. This is a man with 5 Ballon d'Ors to his name - his inclusion on the left wing position in this team is, of course, a formality.
Honourable Mentions - Eden Hazard, Lorenzo Insigne, Robert Lewandowski, Antoine Griezmann
The Team
There you have it, one of the strongest possible teams for a combined UEFA XI. The back 5 has excellently solidity centrally, not to mention the goal threat of Ramos during set pieces, and boasts the attacking ability of both fullbacks.
The midfield would be a dream to watch, with Kanté prowling behind two of the most creative players on the plant. The front three, quite simply, are goal machines - the thought of them being supplied by de Bruyne and Isco would frighten any defence.
