World Cup 2010: A magnificent seven

And so to the best of the tournament. The selection below is comprised of players who were outstanding for their teams and helped them to go further in the competition than they would have otherwise.

Keisuke Honda (Japan)

Honda is one of very few players who could expect a move to a big club because of his performance at the World Cup. He, almost single-handedly, made Japan an attacking and creative threat during the tournament and rarely gave the ball away. His balance, first touch, technique and determination made him great to watch, and he even scored a long-range free kick with the seemingly untameable Jabulani. Better was still to come in that match against Denmark, with Honda tricking his way past the last defender, committing the goalkeeper and selflessly squaring the ball to a teammate who passed into an open goal for Japan’s third. It was a shame for him and the tournament that Japan couldn't beat the less entertaining Paraguay on penalties.

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)

Schweinsteiger played in a slightly more defensive role for Germany than in previous tournaments and this allowed a more combative side of his game to shine. He was always quick to the tackle and put in a commanding performance to help the Germans thrash Argentina in the quarter-finals. Despite the tag of ‘midfield enforcer’, Schweinsteiger finished as the player with the most assists for the tournament, the best of which was his run for Germany’s third against Argentina where he beat three men to play in Friedrich. Thomas Muller may have won the golden boot but he did so by profiting from a system that had Schweinsteiger as its linchpin.

Wesley Sneijder (Holland)

Sneijder followed a great season at Inter Milan with a terrific tournament for the Dutch. He was Holland’s best attacking player and his creative passing was even more effective when Robben finally returned to the line-up. Capped a great team performance by scoring the winner against Brazil when Holland came from 1-0 down. He must feel a heightened sense of frustration after the final, knowing he could have won the golden boot if Holland hadn’t gone so negative against Spain.

Diego Forlan (Uruguay)

The poor lad had a shocking time of it at Man Utd but he seemed to forget all about that a while ago and it’s perhaps time we tried to as well. Joint top scorer for the tournament, Forlan was integral to Uruguay’s unexpected success and was named the Golden Ball winner at the end of the competition. His confidence and technique made him the best striker of the ball from distance and it was cruel to see his last shot of the World Cup clip the German crossbar in the last minute of Uruguay’s 3-2 loss. Looked sharp and threatening whenever he played.

Xavi Hernandez (Spain)

There is clearly a case to be made for including Villa or Iniesta instead of Xavi in this list but that would, for one thing, make this truly awful Daily Mail headline in 2009 less relevant - it’s particularly delightful given everyone else pictured with Xavi flopped at this World Cup. Moronic journalism aside, Xavi is the heartbeat of a Spanish side that conquered the world this summer by sticking to the slick passing and possession game that has brought them success for the last few years. Those at Opta reckon he touched the ball every 46 seconds in Spain’s World Cup matches and his close control, vision and accurate passing were crucial to Spain’s success.

Alexis Sanchez (Chile)

Sanchez was one of few exciting players in the early group stages, making some dazzling runs with his pace and quick, tricky dribbling. Like Honda for Japan, he was clearly his team’s standout player and rumours suggest the likes of Real Madrid and Man Utd are interested in signing him from Udinese. These rumours are quite probably rubbish but it illustrates the high regard in which he is now held. At 21 he is a very promising talent.

Fabio Coentrao (Portugal)

Even in an overly conservative Portugal team, Coentrao managed to shine with some rampaging runs down Portugal’s left side. His speed was matched by a work ethic that saw him up and down the left wing for most of Portugal’s matches. His defensive positioning and tackling was also impressive considering he is a predominantly attacking left back and used to be a winger. If Queiroz had been prepared to commit more Portugese players to the opposing team’s box, more of Coentrao’s crosses might have ended up in back of the net.

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World Cup 2010: Seven under par

Over and done with for another four years then; these seven flops will be reasonably pleased.

Wayne Rooney (England)

Very few will have had him down as a bottler before the tournament started but this, like everything else concerning England, is now up for revision. Rooney cut a frustrated and occasionally apathetic figure on the pitch, leading to rumours about both his fitness and happiness during the tournament. Irrespective of the alleged disillusionment in the England camp and the reasons for the lacklustre team performances, Rooney’s touch and passing were poor throughout and he displayed little of the determination that makes him such an intimidating prospect in the Premier League.

Fernando Torres (Spain)

Torres must be starting to wonder if he’ll ever be fully fit again after another important competition passed him by due to injury. He, like many other Premiership players this summer, did not look fit from the beginning and he remained rusty throughout, labouring with and without the ball. After coming on as a substitute in the final, his last minute groin injury meant that, while Spain saw out the remainder of extra time, he was lay prone on the grass, covering his face with his hands. Football and the future must have seemed pretty bleak as he received treatment for yet another injury while his compatriots celebrated victory at the final whistle.

Steven Pienaar (South Africa)

Heralded by every TV commentator as South Africa’s hero, it became impossible for Pienaar to touch the ball without a pundit reminding us of ‘what a season he had at Everton’. Unfortunately, while they waxed lyrical about the tackles he made away at Bolton last season, Pienaar was being outpaced as he made futile attempts at beating his marker. Pienaar looked slow and ineffective in all South Africa’s World Cup matches and was overshadowed by more dynamic team-mates like Siphiwe Tshabalala. He may well have had a decent season with Everton last year but, without Cahill or Arteta alongside him, he looked as average as his club side.

Nicklas Bendtner (Denmark)

After Denmark quietly bowed out at the group stage, the self-proclaimed greatest striker on the planet revealed he was carrying an injury at the World Cup. Arsenal will, in a perverse way, be hoping Bendtner isn’t just making excuses, as he was totally mediocre for the Danish. It would hardly have taken a virtuoso performance to look good playing up front with a decrepit John Dahl Tomasson but Bendtner often looked the least threatening out of the two and contributed little more than several miscued shots and some uninspiring back-passes. His optimistic assessments of his own ability mean he’s subject to added scrutiny, which, particularly on this occasion, is unfortunate.

Vincenzo Iaquinta (Italy)

Italy looked conservative and toothless in attack throughout their group games and it was baffling that Iaquinta played so much despite Lippi having Quagliarella in the squad. Iaquinta was slow, his first touch was consistently terrible, and he forced Italy to play a fruitless long ball style on numerous occasions. The sort of pace, craft and technical ability Quagliarella had to offer became evident during the second half of Italy’s match against Slovakia, when he played in his only game of the tournament. Iaquinta will be too old to play in Brazil 2014 and he was too inept to have played any major role in World Cup 2010.

Humberto Suazo (Chile)

There was always likely to be a certain level of curiosity, if not firm expectation, about a player who has been named The World’s Top Goal Scorer in the past, even if his 52 goals from 54 games in 2006 were scored in the Chilean league. Ultimately, Suazo’s tournament was compromised by a hamstring problem but in two appearances he committed unnecessary fouls and fluffed several good chances. Alexis Sanchez was the real spearhead of a fast, attacking Chilean side and Suazo looked more like hindrance than help whenever he got involved.

France

Even without Zidane, the French team was still good enough on paper to compete at a World Cup. Having players like Evra, Malouda, Anelka, Gallas, Sagna, Abidal, Ribery, Cisse and Henry should have ensured much better performances than France gave in Group A. No-one expected much from the French side but they still underachieved. Domenech should have been sacked years ago, it’s just a shame for the French people that members of their football federation were the only ones who didn’t see it.