Marcotti's Best World Cup Group Stage XI
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Marcotti's best XI is anchored by Thibaut Courtois in goal, Virgil van Dijk and 19-year-old Pau Cubarsí at center-back, Bruno Guimarães and Declan Rice in midfield, Vinícius Júnior and Michael Olise on the wings, and Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé up front — his picks from 72 group-stage games.
- Messi is both the top scorer at this World Cup and the all-time leading scorer across men's and women's World Cups combined, surpassing Miroslav Klose's mark, while Cristiano Ronaldo scored in a record six straight World Cups.
- Vinícius Júnior earned Marcotti's winger nod after showing 'maturity and selflessness' not always visible at club level, stepping up as Brazil's main attacking threat with Raphinha sidelined.
- Group-stage upsets saw Cape Verde, DR Congo, and South Africa advance while Uruguay, South Korea, and Türkiye went home early, reshaping the knockout bracket.
- The 48-team format devotes 70% of the tournament's matches to eliminating just one-third of the field — a structure Marcotti defends because 'I like football, so I enjoyed it,' even as BBC coverage explicitly questions whether the new format works.
- Honorable mentions spanned multiple continents — Vozinha (Cape Verde), Zion Suzuki (Japan), Alex Freeman and Chris Richards (United States), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco), and Erling Haaland (Norway) — reflecting how spread-out the standout performances were across the expanded field.
Why it matters: The expanded 48-team format puts 70% of matches before the knockout round, giving fringe nations like Cape Verde and South Africa real stage time while also flooding the Best XI conversation with candidates from five continents — Marcotti's list spans Europe, South America, Africa, and North America, signaling how the format itself is redistributing where World Cup stardom gets discovered.
