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#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Nobody else was expected to be atop this list, was there? Possibly the greatest number 10 in world football since his fellow Argentine GOAT; Maradona hung up his boots, this feels like the defining tournament of Messi’s illustrious career.
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La Pulga Atomica (The Atomic Flea) has won everything (at least twice) at club level and has been victorious as well for the Albiceleste at junior level (U-20 World Cup and Olympic Gold). However, he alongside his soccer-mad compatriots have had to endure final heartache trice in a row (World Cup 2014, Copa America 2015 and Copa America Centenario 2016).
It is expected that Russia 2018 will be his final World Cup and one of the more interesting sub-plots will be if he can drive his subpar team to glory in a manner similar to Maradona in 86.
His close control, amazing passing, supreme goalscoring abilities alongside his many otherworldly talents are expected to be among the highlights of the tournament. It would not be an exaggeration to say an image of Messi lifting the World Cup on July 15th would be one of the most welcome images of 2018.
Let us know what you think about the list in the comments section below.
