As you might expect, given that Senegal and the Netherlands are clear favourites to progress from Group A, our combined XI is very much a two-team affair. In fact, there is not a single Qatar player who comes close to forcing their way in.
Ecuador have a handful of stand-out talents – Villarreal left-back Pervis Estupinan, Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie and Brighton dynamo Moises Caicedo – but it speaks volumes about the strength in depth available to Louis van Gaal and Aliou Cisse that there is also no room for the likes of Ismaila Sarr, Matthias de Ligt or Cody Gakpo.
In goal, Edouard Mendy is an obvious pick over Jasper Cillessen or Tim Krul. Chelsea’s Champions League-winning shot-stopper was named FIFA Men’s 2021 Goalkeeper of the Year after all.
We can say the same about Denzel Dumfries, a rampaging right-back who’s forward forays are so dizzying that even the most experienced of commentators can struggle to keep up. He is surely a guaranteed starter at the World Cup. Things are similarly straightforward on the opposite flank, with Daley Blind providing poise and purpose as Ajax claimed another Eredivisie title in 2021/22.
There is rather more competition for a starting berth at centre-half, however. Kalidou Koulibaly may not be the irrepressible force of old – Carlo Ancelotti once labelled him the planet’s premiere central defender – but he remains a colossal presence even on the wrong side of 30. Stefan de Vrij partners Koulibaly and Virgil van Dijk, edging out Matthijs de Ligt due to his superior performances for club and country.
No Matthias de Ligt or Gini Wijnaldum
Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and PSG’s Idrissa Gana Gueye start together in a midfield boasting guile and grit in equal measure. That is despite Nampalys Mendy’s outstanding form for the 2022 African Cup of Nations champions. Gini Wijnaldum’s dreadful debut season in France – he was left out of Van Gaal’s squad for June’s Nations League fixtures – makes the inclusion of Parc des Princes team-mate Gueye easier than it might have been.
On the right, Steven Bergwijn’s ongoing difficulties in Tottenham colours have not yet translated onto the international stage. He’s been in scintillating form for the Oranje, capping an effervescent display with a long-range screamer in the 4-1 thrashing of Belgium’s crumbling ‘Olden Generation’ recently. Cody Gakpo is another option, but he is yet to spark for the national team. Sarr, meanwhile, did his reputation few favours as a dreadful Watford side crashed out of the Premier League at the first time of asking.
In Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Barcelona’s Memphis Depay, two of the world’s finest forwards will go head-to-head in Group A. Mane, who could be at Bayern Munich by the time the whistle blows in Qatar, is Senegal’s all-time record goalscorer. Memphis, meanwhile, plays a similarly talismanic role for the Netherlands.
Put simply, when Memphis is at his sparkling best, so are the Dutch.
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