Manuel Neuer and Kevin de Bruyne in focus as we look at the flop 11 for FIFA World Cup 2022.
The world has just witnessed the dream of a footballing legend come true. Many congratulations to Argentina to win a hard-fought final for their legend, Lionel Messi. While the World celebrated the win for Messi, one must also not forget the brilliant performance of a Legend in the making, Kylian Mbappe.
FIFA WC has been a roller coaster ride for fans all around the world, with incredible goals, unexpected setbacks, and a lot of controversies. At the same time, the World Cup has also been about few setbacks and below-par performances by a few players.
So, in this article, we explore the top 11 players who just couldn’t make a mark at this prestigious event. We will call this a flop 11 for FIFA World Cup 2022. Make no mistake, our respect for these players is sky-high. The article only highlights the underperformance of a few players basis their potential.
Fifa World Cup 2022 Combined Flop 11 of the Tournament:
Goalkeeper:
Manuel Neuer [ Germany ]
It has been a tough WC for one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world, Manuel Neuer. The 36-year-old playing in his last world cup wouldn’t dream of such a disastrous outing. Neuer wasn’t able to keep any clean sheet in the WC, and with a save percentage of just 62%, he was among the worst-rated keepers of the tournament.
Defenders:
Homam Ahmed [ Qatar ]
The struggle by the hosts, Qatar was pretty evident from the first game itself. A lot was expected from their star defender Homam, but he was clueless in the defence. He left many runs unattended, and was dreadful with his deliveries as well. Hopefully, Homam bounces back in the coming few months.
Niklas Sule [ Germany ]
Germany going out in group stages might come as a shocker, but if you carefully look at their performances, it was pretty average. Their defence was poor and they conceded really easy goals. Unfortunately, Sule was already out of form coming to the WC, and his performance in this WC didn’t help either.
Francisco Calvo [ Costa Rica ]
The Costa Rican was the weakest link in the defense, and the 7-goal thrashing by Spain in the WC opener was a proof of it. He was neither able to hold the game at the back nor was able to help in any counterattacks. His long ball accuracy was as low as 36%.
Thomas Meunier [ Belgium ]
Looking at his cluelessness in the 2-0 loss against Morocco, the fans were furious. He not only gave away easy duels but also wasn’t accurate at passing the ball. The unavailability of any other good right-back option made it difficult for coach Roberto Martinez to replace him.
Midfielders:
Tajon Buchanan [ Canada ]
Tajon Buchanan was a part of all the 3 games for Canada, but wasn’t able to leave any impact on the game. His performance dipped in every game. His pass completion was disastrous with 71%. Tajon did get one assist to his name, but the errors he made in all the games have cost Canada heavily.
Abdulellah Al-Malki [ Saudi Arabia ]
Even with Saudi Arabia defeating the World champions Argentina in the opening game, they have been pretty average in the rest of their games. Al-Malki started 2 games for his team, but got one shot in total on the goal. Every time he lost possession, the recovery was really bad, resulting in him fouling the opponent.
Thomas Partey [ Ghana ]
The Arsenal midfielder, Thomas Partey was nowhere near his best for his country. He was slow and pale in his approach. The pass percentage was 83% only which somehow impacted the top-line deliveries in the game. He has lost possession very easily in the center causing trouble for the back line more often than not.
Forwards:
Kevin de Bruyne [ Belgium ]
KDB has disappointed a lot of fans with his performance in this WC. He was only able to leave any impact on the game, but his approach toward the game was also very lethargic. He has always been the one who builds the entire game around, but this time around, he lost the balls way too easily.
Romalu Lukaku [ Belgium ]
It won’t be an exaggeration to say, but Lukaku was the worst-performing player in this WC. He not only had a bad outing for himself but sank the entire Belgium team with his performance. Lukaku’s 4 vital chance misses in their 3rd group game against Croatia resulted in Belgium finishing third in the group and being knocked out of the tournament.
Sardar Azmoun [ Iran ]
A lot was expected of Sardar Azmoun, but he was a big disappointment this WC. Iran have done quite well in the past few years on the world stage, and they wanted to replicate the same in the WC. But the Iranian forward had absolutely no impact on the game. He missed crucial chances and had an almost nil hold on the ball.
FIFA World Cup 2022 – Flop 11 of the Tournament:
Manuel Neuer, Homam Ahmed, Niklas Sule, Francisco Calvo, Thomas Meunier, Tajon Buchanan, Abdulellah Al-Malki, Thomas Partey, Kevin de Bruyne, Romalu Lukaku, Sardar Azmoun
Thanks for reading! What’s your flop 11 for FIFA World Cup 2022? Please email your thoughts to footbalyticsofficial@gmail.com
ALSO READ: FIFA World Cup 2022: The Unlucky Players 11 to Miss the Tournament
Himanshu is an author at Footbalytics. He is a sports freak and Football is his first love. He is a National level football player himself. With the world full of Messi’s, Ronaldo’s and Gerrard’s fans, he is a die hard fan of Iker Casillas.
Though he is a Sales Manager by profession, he would never miss playing football with his mates.
[…] ALSO READ: Exclusive: Flop 11 of the Tournament for FIFA World Cup 2022 […]