RealGM

Thought it would be fun if we produced our own Best XI from the tournament. We'll start with selecting one goalkeeper. We'll then go on to vote for 4 defenders. After that, I'm thinking we should combine the 6 midfielders/attackers so that people can be more flexible with their favorite formation. The final formation will be decided on the players with the most votes. Any other suggestions are welcome, let's just do this the way we most enjoy it.

Manuel Neuer - Champion. 4 goals conceded in 7 matches. "Sweeper Keeper" sensation.

Keylor Navas - Quarterfinalist. 2 goals conceded in 5 matches. Penalty heroics v Greece.

Sergio Romero - Finalist. 4 goals conceded in 7 matches. Penalty heroics v Holland.

Tim Howard - Round of 16. 6 goals conceded in 4 matches. 15 saves v Belgium.

Guillermo Ochoa - Round of 16. 3 goals conceded in 4 matches. Heroics v Brazil and Holland.

Jasper Cillessen - 3rd place. 4 goals conceded in 7 matches. Strong performances in all games.

Julio Cesar - 4th place. 14 goals conceded in 7 matches. Penalty heroics v Chile.

Hard to pick against Neur.

He dominated against France and was fantastic all tournament.

Typified by this



(Howard for performance of the tournament)

Howard, he made as many saves in one game as most did all tournament.

Neuer is the easy pick for me here, but Navas and Howard were brilliant too.

Btw, i think Bravo and Ospina would have been more deserving nominees than Julio Cesar or Cillessen.

there have been some incredible performances in this tournament. my vote goes to neuer, because of the consistency. i dont think he had one off game and he actually couldn't have afforded one.

Julio Cesar. LOL. Him and Casillas tie for worst big name keepers in the tournament. Nigeria and Cameroon goalies tie Casillas for worst.

Algeria goalie deserves too see some love too, he was great although Ochoa and Neuer were the best.

Neuer.

But Ochoa, Navas and Howard deserve a mention.

Julio Cesar is a good one

and1GS wrote:Julio Cesar. LOL. Him and Casillas tie for worst big name keepers in the tournament. Nigeria and Cameroon goalies tie Casillas for worst.

That's pretty unfair to say of Cesar.

He's also the guy that saved them during penalty kicks. If it wasn't for him they would have been out earlier.

LittleOzzy wrote:

and1GS wrote:Julio Cesar. LOL. Him and Casillas tie for worst big name keepers in the tournament. Nigeria and Cameroon goalies tie Casillas for worst.

That's pretty unfair to say of Cesar.

He's also the guy that saved them during penalty kicks. If it wasn't for him they would have been out earlier.

Meh. PKs are flukey. One good performance does not dissolve the many many bad plays he made in the next matches.

One failure that was emblematic of his poor decision making was the second or third goal vs the Dutch. his defense was stupid and all collapsed in the 6 yard box during a cross, leaving a man at the 18. That guy then got the ball and Cesar, instead of commanding his defense or getting in position...tried to sprint out and tackle the player before he could get a shot off. In essence, he tried to cover 18 yards in 2 seconds. Didn't work, he fell on the ground for god knows why, and the rest is history. Obviously not his fault, but as a GK in that position you have to minimize risk.

He was poor. Not as bad as the last WC, but it's clear that his best days are far behind him. Can't command a backline and not very good as a shot stopper - if best GK was based off gimmicky talents then Tim Krul should be on this list and David Luiz should be nominated for golden ball thanks to his free kick.

ZUDAMAGIC wrote:Algeria goalie deserves too see some love too, he was great although Ochoa and Neuer were the best.

Saw a stat that he created more goal scoring opps than the rest of his team

I really, really wanted to pick one of the CONCACAF keepers, anyone one of them. Especially Ochoa for my homer pick. But it really is hard to pick against Neuer. Ill say Ochoa might have had the best saves, and Howard had the most saves, but Neuer was the best, period.

Navas, imo.

Got out of Uruguay, England, Italy and Netherlands alive without losing. Penalty shootout winner against Greece.

We saw a lot of good goalkeeping in the tournament, but this title has to go to Neuer imo.

Navas

He put the team on his shoulders and carried them into the Quarter-Final.

navas for me as well. neuer could've/should've cost his team the cup.

Navas for me. Neuer's the best keeper, but I think Navas had the better tournament. Incredible for Costa Rica

Hard to pick between Neuer and Navas, but Neuer for me

El Turco wrote:navas for me as well. neuer could've/should've cost his team the cup.

Come on he clearly hit the ball. It was hard surely but within the rules.
If anyone deserved a red card it was Höwedes for studs into Zabaletas knee & Mascherano for at least 4 yellow worthy fouls.