The worst XI of the 2018 World Cup so far | OneFootball

There have been some dazzling performers at this summer’s World Cup, and there have also been some not-so-dazzling.

We’ve picked our best XI of the tournament so far, and now it’s time to name and shame our worst.

Some of the following players have been downright awful, while some have merely flattered to deceive.

Here goes nothing …

GK – Willy Caballero – Argentina: The veteran stopper was guilty of the biggest blunder of the summer so far in Argentina’s 3-0 defeat against Croatia and is unlikely to feature again at what will surely be the first and last World Cup of his career. Oh Willy.

LB – Milad Mohammadi – Iran: Became a household name for all the wrong reasons after his ludicrous attempt at an acrobatic throw-in in the dying moments of Iran’s 1-0 defeat to Spain. It genuinely gets funnier every time you watch it.

CB – Fidel Escobar – Panama: Was one of the Panama players who tried foolishly to rough up England and only succeeded in conceding a penalty. Naive, to say the least.

CB – Jérôme Boateng – Germany: Got himself sent off in Germany’s win over Sweden and was therefore unavailable for their humiliating defeat against South Korea. Is also side to be one of the players causing a divide in the Die Mannschaft dressing room.

RB – Michael Murillo – Panama: It seems harsh to include two Panama players in this line-up given getting to the tournament was an achievement in itself for them, but like Escobar, Murillo’s defending against both Belgium and England was amateurishly slapdash.

CM – Carlos Sánchez – Colombia: Picked up the second fastest red card in World Cup history for a laughable deliberate handball in Colombia’s 2-1 defeat to Japan. A former Aston Villa player if ever we’ve seen one.

CM – Javier Mascherano – Argentina: Has looked well past his sell-by-date for Argentina and is surely only there by virtue of the fact he’s mates with Lionel Messi. La Albiceleste are crying out for some younger legs in the middle of the park.

CM – Julian Draxler – Germany: Was either anonymous or abysmal when he featured for Germany in the Group Stage, depending who you speak to. He wasn’t the only German guilty of underperforming this summer, however.

ST – Neymar – Brazil: A controversial choice perhaps, especially considering he might not be 100% fit, but Brazil’s talisman has spent most of his time rolling around on the floor so far and needs to improve drastically if he’s going to lead his country to World Cup glory.

ST – Robert Lewandowski – Poland: Arguably one of the biggest disappointments of the tournament so far. Lewandowski was on fire in the qualifiers but looked a shadow of his former self in Russia. A real shame, especially if you’re Polish.

ST – Aziz Bouhaddouz – Morocco: Scored the best headed goal at the tournament so far when Morocco took on Iran in their first game. Unfortunately, it was in his own net. Oh mate.