FIFA World Cup 2010: Best Eleven Players of the Quarter Final Round
the quarter finals for the FIFA World Cup of 2010, which are being held in South Africa, ended on Saturday with Spain being the last team to qualify for the semi finals, where they will play Germany. The other semi-final match will be played between the Netherlands and Uruguay. A lot of players in the quarter finals featured prominently for their respective teams. Let’s take a look at the players who were the best in their positions throughout the round.
The goal keeper in this line up is Fernando Muslera from Uruguay. The South American goal keeper was brave and strong in his performance against Ghana for Uruguay in the quarter finals. His heroics during the penalty shootout earned his team a place in the last four of the competition.
At the right back position, the German captain Philip Lahm was impressive. Inspiring Germany to a historical 4-0 win against their rivals Argentina, Lahm not only organized his defense brilliantly but also played a crucial role by making offensive runs into the Argentinean half. His man-marking job on Carlos Tevez in the second half and Higuain in the second half only strengthens the belief that Lahm is one of the best full backs in the world right now.
One of the best center backs of the tournament so far has been Heitenga. The Dutch defender was solid in the win over Brazil and did a remarkable job at keeping Luis Fabiano quiet throughout the game. In the first half when the Dutch were under siege by the samba boys, Heitenga kept his cool and dealt with everything that came his way.
Another center back who has been fantastic so far is the German defender Friedrich. Friedrich who was instrumental against England in keeping Wayne Rooney away from the German goal has been arguably the best defender of the tournament so far. Against Argentina in the quarter finals, Friedrich had to face the likes of Tevez, Messi and Higuain. The defender not only helped his goal keeper keep a clean sheet but also did extremely well to get on the end of an attacking move as well and score for his national team.
At the left back position during the quarter finals, the most stirring player was Jorge Fucile of Uruguay. The versatile full back did well for Uruguay in their quarter final tie against the African stars of Ghana. In a match that eventually ended in a penalty shootout win for the Uruguayans, Fucile was given the responsibility of keeping Ghanaian winger Kevin-Prince Boateng under control. Fucile performed this task impeccably.
In central midfield, the most prominent player during the quarter final stages was Iniesta from Spain. The Spanish midfielder played a crucial part in the goal that put Spain in the semi finals of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Iniesta was brilliant in taking on two players before laying the ball off to Pedro who hit the post, the rebound from the post was then converted by David Villa.
Another player that has been consistent in his performance during the tournament and came to the rescue of his team during the quarter final stage is Wesley Sneijder for the Dutch. The Dutch midfielder scored two goals against the mighty Brazilians to earn his team a 2-1 win over the samba kings. Sneijder scored the first one from a free kick which was deflected off Felipe Melo, his second came from a corner kick.
The last midfielder on this list is the German youngster Schweinsteiger, aged only 25 the Bayern Munich midfielder was successful in keeping Messi at an arm’s length during the quarter final match between Germany and Argentina. His contribution to the German attacks was also noteworthy.
David Villa of Spain is one of the three strikers in this line up. The Spanish striker was outstanding against Paraguay and scored the only goal of the match to fix a semi-final tie against Germany for the Spanish. David Villa is also the highest goal scorer in the tournament so far and has scored in every match that Spain have won so far in the tournament.
The second striker in this line up is Diego Forlan from Uruguay. The Uruguayan captain not only scored for his team from a magnificent free kick against Ghana but also took one of the first penalties in the penalty shootout which followed after extra time. He kept his cool and converted his penalty during the shootout as Uruguay eventually won the match after Ghana failed to score on three of their five penalties.
The last striker in this best 11 lineup is from Brazil, Robinho who scored against Netherlands for Brazil in the quarter final between the two countries was thrilling during the match for the five time world champions. Robinho was a threat throughout; he has been one of the most stand-out players for Brazil. It is a pity that we won’t be able to see him play again in this World Cup as Brazil lost their quarter final match 2-1 to Netherlands.
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