2014 World Cup XI after Last 16

Does this World Cup have a "chill" mode?? No?! FANTASTIC! 5 extra-time periods in the Last 16 Round, 2 thrilling penalty shoot-outs (well done to Costa Rica and Greece for only missing one out of 9 penalty kicks), late winners from Argentina and Netherlands, rousing performances from the underdogs, but at the end of the day, it is the 8 group winners that make the quarter-finals - which might be the biggest surprise of all in this world cup full of pleasant surprises.

Calm down fellas, it's only a game!

Among this drama were some brilliant individual performances which made picking a World Cup XI super difficult. So difficult, that I've gone for a funky 3-2-4-1 for the XI - mostly because I cannot pick 11 goalkeepers for the team (I could try to) but also to give credit to all the attacking talent flourishing in this world cup. Note that the team is based on performance in the world cup overall and not just the previous round (which is why some players already at home are in this team). So tweet me @ThalaMsutu77 should you want to engage in banter about this, herein find my World Cup XI:

Goalkeeper - (almost) ALL OF THEM! - Actually Tim Howard (USA)

Itumeleng Khune is honoured to be compared with all of the goalkeepers at the world cup

154 goals in the 56 matches played so far in Brazil (2,75 goals per match) eclipses the 145 goals scored in the whole tournament (64 matches) in South Africa in 2010. The 18 goals scored in the Round of 16 would have been a LOT more, had it not been for the efforts of some of the goalkeepers that featured in the Last 16. There were a total of 74 saves in the Round of 16 matches (9,25 per game) and there were some top performances from the glove-men. From Diego Benaglio's 7 saves for Switzerland against Argentina and Sergio Romero following his good group stage performances with 4 saves at the other end (only conceding 3 goals in the 4 games). David Ospina made some for Colombia to keep Uruguay at bay (he has only conceded 2 goals in 4 games), and Belgium's Thibaut Courtois has done just as well conceding 2 goals in 4 games. German Manuel Neuer has become the sweeper/keeper of the tournament rushing out of his box to make 4 effective clearances. Julio Cesar (Brazil) and Keylor Navas (Costa Rica) made some vital saves in their respective penalty shootouts - Navas has kept out a tournament-high of 87,5% of all shots at him in the tournament.

Sadly the 4 best goalies in the tournament are all going home home - Rais M'Bolhi kept Algeria in the match as long as he could until Germany broke the deadlock in extra time to go with his stellar performance against Belgium; Guillermo Ochoa could only keep out the goals from Mexico's net for so long until he conceded 2 goals in the dying minutes of the match against the Netherlands; Vincent Enyeama of Nigeria kept the African flag flying high and he had the most saves in the tournament with 22 saves (including 10 saves against Argentina), well most until Tim 'US Secretary of Defence' Howard made 16 saves against Belgium, the most saves in a world cup game since the statistic was recorded. He somehow managed to deny Belgium for so long until his club-mate Romelu Lukaku managed to find a way through the Great Wall of America. Howard's performance could be the best individual performance in a match in this world cup.

Right Back - Serge Aurier (Cote d'Ivoire)

Where did all the right backs go?

Really hasn't been the World Cup for right backs, has it? With Pablo Zabaletta and Dani Alves below par, Serge Aurier stays in the World Cup XI - while lounging at home. 2 assists from his lovely crosses, 4 key passes, 6 dribbles and 85% pass succession showed his value in attack which is complemented by his 8 tackles, 8 clearances and 9 interceptions in the tournament to show his contribution on both sides of the park. Certainly one of the young players of the tournament who has set himself up for a move to Arsenal.

Bubbling under - Paul Aguilar (Mexico) had a great tournament as part of probably the most impressive defence of the world cup. 16 clearances and 7 tackles (including a game-high 3 tackles in the Croatia match) showed the great contribution he made defensively. Watch out for Juan Camilo Zuniga (Colombia), probably the best right back on form that is left in the tournament, as shown by the 2 dribbles completed (2nd highest in the game) and 2 accurate long balls, along with 2 tackles made against Uruguay in the Last 16 match.

Centre Back - Ron Vlaar (Netherlands)

Will throw his body anywhere for the cause

Another mainstay of this XI (Aurier, Vlaar and Robben have been in the team since week 1), Vlaar put in another great performance at the centre of the Dutch defence against Mexico. He added Oribe Peralta to his striker collection, along with Diego Costa, Tim Cahill and Alexis Sanchez (can he keep them?) He won 4 aerial duels (game high) along with 10 effective clearances (2nd highest in the game) in the Last 16 match. Vlaar also has the 2nd highest clearances per game out of the players left in the tournament (8,8 clearances per game).

Bubbling under - With Rafael Marquez being Robben'd in the Last 16 match and conceding THAT penalty, it was Francisco Rodriguez (Mexico) that came out as the top defender in the Mexican backline making a game-high 2 interceptions and blocking 1 shot. Rodriguez also has the 3rd most offsides won in the tournament with 5. Raphael Varane (France) has slowly been rising up as one of the defenders of the tournament with 7 effective clearances and 2 blocked shots against Nigeria. France has only conceded 2 goals when Varane has been on the field.

Left Back - DaMarcus Beasley (USA)

The man with a name that belongs in the NBA has been very consistent in this world cup campaign. Against Belgium he completed 3 dribbles, 4 accurate long balls, a team-high 2 accurate crosses and was fouled a game-high 7 times going forward, while making 5 tackles and 4 effective clearances at the back as well. Beasley's commitment in attack and defence has made him shine above his American teammates in Brazil.

Bubbling under - Although Daley Blind (Netherlands) did not have the best game playing in the midfield against Mexico, he has still had a good tournament overall with the 2nd most assists (3) and the 9th highest tackles made per game (4,5) in the tournament.

Central Midfielders - Luiz Gustavo (Brazil) & Hector Herrera (Mexico)

The Designated Driver

Probably Brazil's most important player in the team (yes, even more than Prince Neymar), Luiz Gustavo has been the designated driver of the Brazilian defence while his rowdy team-mates - such as Dani Alves, Marcelo and David Luiz - have been out on the town. The numbers say Gustavo has made the most interceptions in the tournament (18), has won the 3rd most aerial duels in the tournament (16) going with the 11 tackles and 13 clearances made in defence. Gustavo's 90,5% pass success rate is also a great attacking weapon for the Selecao - he has completed 20 out of 21 accurate long balls in the 4 matches and created an assist in the Cameroon game. Along with a man-of-the-match performance against Mexico, the above shows why Gustavo will be a big miss against Colombia in the quarterfinals due to suspension.

The OTHER Herrera, United fans.

Hector Herrera has had a fantastic world cup. He's been all-action in this world cup with an average of 2,75 key passes a game, 2,75 accurate long balls per game (11 out of 18 in total), 2 dribbles per game culminating in 1 assist made against Croatia. Defensively, Herrera won 2,5 aerial duels per game, made 1,5 clearances per game and 1 tackle per game. His performances against Croatia and Brazil have shown that he is the type of box-to-box midfielder a certain team in Manchester probably needs.

Bubbling under - Blaise Matuidi (France) hasn't stopped running in Brazil and made a game-high of 7 dribbles, 2 key passes and 2 tackles against Nigeria in the Last 16 game. Yohan Cabaye (France) has put in disciplined performances at defensive midfield, such as the 3 tackles (game high), 2 interceptions (team high), 4 effective clearances and 1 shot blocked along with a of his own shot that hit the bar against the Nigerians.

Right Wing - James Rodriguez (Colombia)

Worst newspaper headline, ever!

Don't know why people are talking about a former Porto, 45 million-Euro Monaco player as the "new find of the world cup", but anyways it is #0010 (no, stop it!) that is the top scorer of the world cup after his brace against Uruguay. Along with his 5 goals (scoring in every game so far), he has managed 3 assists to have the 2nd highest assists in the tournament as well - Hah-mes, therefore, has directly contributed to the most goals in the tournament so far. This, along with the goal-of-the-tournament contender he scored against Uruguay, has probably made him the most talked-about attacking midfielder in the tournament. With his mix of goalscoring, attacking vision and good dribbling, he might be on the radar of the biggest clubs in the world - since, you know, living in Monaco is such a drag.

Bubbling under - Mathieu Valbuena (France) is about the size of a door-stop, but you can insert any cliche about the magnitude of his performances contrasting with his rather short size. With the highest number of effective crosses per game (3,7) and the 5th highest key passes per game (3,7) in the tournament, it was his game-high of 3 tackles against Nigeria that was the most impressive part of that performance, showing utility at both ends of the field.

Attacking Midfielders - Arjen Robben (Netherlands) & Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Robben's best attribute - diving

Unfortunately WhoScored does not measure dives per game because he would probably lead this stat as well, but Arjen Robben has been at his best in this tournament. He might not have scored any goals against Mexico, but his incessant dribbling (and diving) against Marquez in particular finally won the Dutch a last-minute penalty. Along with the 2nd highest goals scored (4), Robben has completed the 5th highest dribbles (18) and has had the 6th highest fouls committed against him (13) in the tournament showing how much of an absolute nuisance Robben has been for defences. Robben has won 4 Man of the Match awards in his 4 matches for the Dutch so far in this tournament, which is the same number of Man of the Match awards as...

Marado... Sorry, Messi!

Lionel Messi. The Argentinian team has not been impressive at all and Messi himself has only showed brief moments of his usual brilliance, but he has carried Argentina to the quarterfinals through moments of the aforementioned brilliance in key moments. From game-winners against Bosnia and Heinz-ketchup and that beautiful curler he scored in the last minute against Iran, to the brace he scored against Nigeria (including a great free kick), Messi's best moment so far might be the brilliant assist for Angel Di Maria's goal in extra time against Switzerland in the Last 16. He certainly can't be faulted for not trying - 4,5 key passes per game (2nd highest in tournament), 6 dribbles per game (highest in tournament), 2,8 fouls per game and 4 shots per game show how busy he is orchestrating the Argentine attack. Messi, along with Robben and James, must be up there for the Golden Ball for best player in the tournament, but he is clearly setting his sights on emulating his hero Diego Maradona by leading his country to world cup glory.

Bubbling under - Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland) had a rough start against Ecuador and France, but after a hat-trick against Honduras Shaqiri finally #LittUp in the tournament. Shaqiri was the Swiss' most dangerous attacking weapon (a Swiss knife, so to speak) against Argentina as shown by his 4 shots, 6 key passes, 3 dribbles and being fouled 5 times. This adds to his tournament numbers of  5 shots per game (5th highest in the tournament), 4,3 key passes per game (3rd highest) and he was fouled 4 times per game (5th highest). And yes, he is a bench player for Bayern Munich - blimey! Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) has also grown as this tournament has progressed (couldn't get worse than his first half against Algeria). The Prince Harry-lookalike put up unreal numbers against the Americans - 10 key passes (he now has the most key passes per game in the tournament with 5), 6 shots and 4 accurate long balls somehow only managed to produce 1 goal and 1 assist for De Bruyne.

Left Wing - Juan Cuadrado (Colombia)

The Robin to James Rodriguez's Batman has provided the most assists in the tournament with 4 assists. Cuadrado has been a big threat on the left for Colombia with his ability to run with the ball, combine with his fullbacks Zuninga and Pablo Armero and cut in to provide the killer pass (1,8 key passes per game) or even get a goal himself like he did against Japan. In the Uruguay game, along with completing 1 assist, Cuadrado completed a game-high of 3 dribbles, 2 accurate long balls and chipped in with 2 effective clearances defensively. Cuadrado also seems to be the leading dancer for the Colombian team's goal celebrations.

Bubbling under - Neymar (Brazil) has been a bit up-and-down with his performances in the world cup. With a brace in each of the games against Croatia and Cameroon, Neymar was thwarted by stronger defences against Mexico and Chile. That did not stop him from getting 4 shots away, 3 key passes and completing 4 dribbles in the Last 16 match. He also coolly scored the winning penalty in the shootout to keep his Brazilian teammates alive for another day (literally).

Striker - Thomas Muller (Germany)

He loves a world cup!

Another great performance in a world cup game by Thomas Muller. Muller put in another industrious performance against Algeria by creating the assist for Schurrle's goal, taking 6 shots himself (game high), 3 key passes, completing 6 dribbles (game high) and winning 6 aerial duels (game high). Muller is lurking in 2nd place for the tournament's golden boot with 4 goals and has 2 assists to add to that. His experience of scoring in world cup games could serve the Germans well in the latter stages of the tournament.

Bubbling under - Karim Benzema (France) has had the most shots in the tournament (24) and will be a bit concerned that he only has 3 goals to show for it (and no goals since the second game against Switzerland). Benzema's reputation as a no-show in the big games will be put to the test in the quarterfinal against Germany where, surely, he has to show up if France are to advance further. It will be interesting if Didier Deschamps plays him on the wing again with Olivier Giroud in the centre or he plays Benzema in the centre with Antoine Griezmann on the left.

Manager - Jose Pekerman (Colombia)

Pekerman looks as old as most of those trees in the Amazon, but he has guided this Colombian team to the world cup quarterfinals and to be the unlikely favourites against the hosts Brazil in that match. Colombia's rise shows how the footballing world is moving away from possession-dominated football, as they have had only 46% possession per game and taken 11,5 shots per game (12th lowest in the tournament). Instead, Colombia has relied on the likes of Rodriguez and Cuadrado on the wings (only 25% of Colombia's play goes through the middle - 9th lowest in the tournament), along with their fullbacks, to break away and score goals on the counter attack. Colombia's attack has been lethal, scoring 11 goals, even though they have not taken as many shots as other teams. Colombia has also only conceded 2 goals this whole tournament even though it has conceded the 5th most shots per game. Pekerman's trust in the uncool 4-4-2 system and a pensioner like Mario Yepes is proving wise so far - winning the world cup is not a ridiculous notion.

2014 World Cup XI after Round 2: http://sportandotherdrugs.blogspot.com/2014/06/2014-world-cup-xi-after-round-2.html
2014 World Cup XI after Round 1: http://sportandotherdrugs.blogspot.com/2014/06/2014-world-cup-xi-after-round-1.html

(Stats from WhoScored.com)