At the now concluded 2018 World Cup in Russia, a certain group of players put their hands up and let their feet and heads do the talking.
This special group of players have all performed admirably for their countries and, in my opinion, deserve to be named in the Potchefstroom Herald’s dream team.
In this lineup, I have gone for three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards in a 3-5-2 formation.
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris (France)
My choice in goal is none other than France’s captain, Hugo Lloris, who had a stunning tournament, making a couple of great saves and always looking calm in goal. His save against Belgium’s Toby Alderweireld was top class and took France to the final. It was a tight call for this position as a few outstanding goalkeepers have taken to the pitch in Russia.
Thibault Courtois, who won the golden glove award, had a fantastic tournament for Belgium too and the same can be said for Croatia’s Danijel Subasic, whose heroics took Croatia to the final.

Defence: Raphael Varane (France), Domagoj Vida (Croatia), Harry Maguire (England).

This was another tough choice but these three defenders all played with heart at the back. Varane was a rock in the heart of a rock solid French defence alongside Samuel Umtiti while Vida also gave no quarter at the back.
Domagoj Vida, with his signature blonde ponytail, is another success story of the World Cup and his quarter-final goal against Russia was one of the great moments.
England’s Harry Maguire was one of the star young players in the tournament and surprised all and sundry with a gallant display. All three of these defenders are also scoring threats from set pieces, giving them something extra on an attacking level too.

Midfield: Eden Hazard (Belgium), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Luka Modric (Croatia), Ivan Perisic (Croatia), Antoine Griezmann (France).

This creative free-scoring midfield will see Eden Hazard operate on the right wing. Hazard leads Belgium by example on the park and had his best game against Brazil in the quarter-final. Kevin de Bruyne and the excellent Luka Modric will take control in the middle of the park with their magnetic passing abilities.
Modric had a brilliant tournament and took home the golden ball award for the best player of the tournament. His Croatian teammate, Ivan Perisic, will spark attacking flair on the left with his piercing runs and his goal-scoring ability. France’s, Antoine Griezmann will play as a number 10 in the midfield with his skill and trickery being some of his main assets.

Forwards: Kylian Mbappe (France), Harry Kane (England).

The winner of the World Cup’s golden boot for the top goalscorer could not be ignored and Harry Kane duly deserves a place in the lineup.
The mercurial striker had an excellent World Cup and he transferred his club form with Tottenham to the England shirt. Kane also captained the Three Lions to a brilliant fourth place, which exceeded expectation.
The young star of the tournament was undoubtedly France’s speed merchant, Kylian Mbappe, who ran the defences ragged. His two-goal performance against Argentina was one of the highlights of the tournament. Kane and Mbappe as a strike force will be one to be reckoned with.

Substitutes:
Thibault Courtois (Belgium)
Marouane Fellaini (Belgium)
Denis Chereyshev (Russia)
Philippe Coutinho (Brazil)
Samuel Umtiti (France)
Paul Pogba (France)
Romelu Lukaku (Belgium).