Best Midfielder From Each of the 7 Continents

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Here are my views on the best midfielder from each of the 7 continents.

7. Asia – Shinji Kagawa

A pretty easy one to start off with we think, and yes, Son Heung-min is classed as a forward not as a midfielder. We’d give honourable mentions to South Korean duo Koo Ja-cheol and Lee Jae-sung, the latter of we’ve made no secret of being a big fan of, but clearly top spot has to go to Kagawa. A fine technician who can operate in either attacking or central midfield, Kagawa has spent the majority of his career with current club Borussia Dortmund. Now aged 29 and capped 95 times by Japan, Kagawa has won league titles in both England and Germany.

6. Africa – Naby Keita

Naby Keita of Liverpool battles for posession in the air with Dale Stephens of Brighton and Hove Albion during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at…

There are some really excellent African wide players, so all of the names probably swimming around in your head right now, yeah, we’ve classified them as forwards not midfielders. In the midfield department, the continent has slightly less to shout about, although there are still some really good holding midfielders like Victor Wanyama and Idrissa Gueye.

Our pick though is a slightly more varied central midfielder in the form of Naby Keita. The recently arrived Liverpool star also brings energy and dynamism to the middle of the park, but he’s a bit less destructive with an added element of creativity. A star for RB Leipzig in each of the last two season, Keita cost Liverpool a reported £62 million, but the Guinean looks to have settled in quickly at Anfield.

5. Europe – Luka Modric

No continent has more to offer in the midfield department than Europe, with the likes of David Silva, Toni Kroos, Sergio Busquets, Isco and arguably even French duo N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba all deserving honourable mentions.

Ultimately, though, it came down to a choice of two players for us – Luka Modric and Kevin De Bruyne. De Bruyne encompasses almost everything we love in the game, so it hurt to overlook him, but in the end we had to go for Modric. The Croatian World Cup finalist is just a really wonderful and complete midfield player.

A gifted and creative attacking midfielder at Tottenham, Modric had a tough first season at Real Madrid. The five that have followed, though – in which Real have won four Champions Leagues – have been nothing short of sensational. Modric now operates from a deeper role than the one he occupied at Tottenham, bringing energy, ability and supreme intelligence to the Los Blancos midfield with remarkable consistency.

4. North America – Andres Guardado

Andres Guardado of Real Betis Balompie looks on during the La Liga match between Real Betis Balompie and Levante UD at Estadio Benito Villamarin on August 17, 2018 in Seville, Spain.

This was a really tough one. As always with North America, Mexico, Costa Rica and the USA made up the bulk of the candidates, with the likes of Fabian Johnson, Michael Bradley, Jonathan Dos Santos, Hector Herrera and Bryan Ruiz all presenting viable options.

We’ve gone for Andres Guardado, though – who is a well-rounded, hard working and versatile midfield player. Equally capable in holding, central or on the left side of midfield – and perfectly adept in attacking midfield – Guardado brings a real energy and determination to a team midfield, as well as a cracking long shot and precise penalties.

3. South America – Arturo Vidal

This was another really tricky one and I’ve actually switched top spot a couple of times in the making of this video. We’ll start with a couple of honourable mentions, namely Casemiro and James Rodriguez, but the battle for top spot was between Arturo Vidal and Fernandinho. Fernandinho is arguably the single most important player in this current Manchester City team – excellent at stifling opposition attacks, reading the game and carrying the ball out from the back.

As with Europe, though, the Manchester City player is just overlooked in favour of a La Liga star. Arturo Vidal is a quite brilliant footballer and an even better athlete. An absolutely tireless runner who is so strong and aggressive in the tackle, Vidal is pure dynamite. Arguably the finest midfield enforcer of his generation, the Chilean international has previously turned out for Juventus and Bayern Munich, but he joined Barcelona at the age of 31 this summer. It’s a very difficult call, but Vidal gets the nod in the end for us.

2. Australia / Oceania – Aaron Mooy

Aaron Mooy of Huddersfield Town during the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City at John Smith’s Stadium on August 25, 2018 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom.

Given that we consider Aaron Mooy to be the finest footballer based on current ability from the continent of Australia (which we twin with the region of Oceania(, he has to come out on top in the midfield department too. Tom Rogic and Matthew Leckie may run him close, but Mooy is a quality operator who was key in both Huddersfield’s promotion to the Premier League and their successful bid to stay up last season.

Less physically impressive than some of the others in this seven, Mooy is still a hard working midfielder, but he is best known for his vision, technique and passing abilities. The glue that holds David Wagner’s Huddersfield team together, the Australian international is also capable of the occasional wonderstrike.

1. Antarctica – Steve Freeze

That’s right. The moment you’ve all been waiting for… alright, not all of you, but some of you, or one of you at least… It is the penguin, the myth, the legend that is Sir Steve Freeze. Given that we named Freeze as Antarctica’s best current player, and arguably their GOAT, it’s no surprise that he tops this midfield seven, having been converted into a deep-lying playmaker a couple of seasons ago by Gaetano Snowstorm.