2010 FIFA World Cup: All-Tournament Team

This World Cup has had some real stand-out performers, and narrowing them down to the best 11 is difficult to say the least. Star names that we expected to appear did not perform to their own high standards, while the best performances came from some of the most unexpected sources. 

Here is my World Cup best 11 team, as well a few noteworthy mentions. 

Goalkeeper:

In my mind no keeper was as busy and as successful as Eduardo of Portugal. His reflex saves saved his team from defeat more than once, and he was unlucky with David Villa's shot, which he saved before it rebounded to the striker. 

Eduardo was a relative unknown before the World Cup, but now there will be some interest in him around Europe. 

Centre Backs 

Carles Puyol has had his critics, me included, but he had a great World Cup. He scored the vital goal against Germany when his team did not look like it could keep them down, and he offered good protection ahead of his keeper despite not always looking 100 percent confident. 

Lucio of Brazil had a good tournament, marshaling his defense effectively. He remained calm throughout the tournament but was ultimately let down by his teammates, who he tried to keep calm but could not.

Wing Backs

Mister dependable Philipp Lahm occupies the right hand side of my Cup 11, as his impeccable defensive duties were complemented by his attacking flair and his wonderfully accurate distribution. 

The left is taken by veteran Giovanni van Bronckhorst for scoring the goal of the tournament while also playing well on defense, where his mass of top-level experience offset his flagging pace.

Central Midfield

As was most likely expected, Xavi holds one of these positions. As usual his distribution was near perfect, and his movement and quick-thinking caused opposing defenses and midfields to split open. Make no mistake, he is an absolute key reason that Spain won the World Cup.

The other central position is given to Bastian Schweinsteiger, who is rapidly approaching the point where he can challenge Xavi for the title of world's best deep-lying playmaker. Following his first ever season in the position, Schweinsteiger improved by leaps and bounds and he has at least one more, quite possibly two, attempts to lift the coveted World Cup trophy.

Wingers  

On the left is tournament silver-boot winner David Villa. He was very impressive with his pace, trickery, and finishing. Without his five goals Spain would not have made up the difference the misfiring Fernando Torres or the inexperienced Fernando Llorente to make up the difference. 

On the right I have placed Arjen Robben, whose guile and skill helped Holland through some very difficult encounters. His goals were vital and well-taken, and the only black mark was his return to his old way of diving for free kicks. He will forever remember what might have been as he went one-on-one with Casillas, but aside from that he still had an excellent tournament.

Strikers

Going into the tournament no one could have thought that Diego Forlan would command a spot in anyone's team of the tournament, but now I would be surprised to see him missing from any. He quickly mastered the apparently unruly Jabulani ball and scored five wonderful goals, several from long range. His drive and ambition carried Uruguay to a respectable fourth-place finish, while his last gasp free kick against Germany nearly levelled the game. 

The other striking position is a difficult one to fill, as several strikers put on brilliant performances, but I think that because of the form he showed all season, the remarkable transformation of Miroslav Klose earns him a place on the team. 

Following a mere three goals all season for Bayern, Klose entered the tournament with something to prove. Boy did he prove his doubters wrong. He scored four goals and only injury and a ridiculous red card stopped him from bettering Ronaldo's all-time World Cup goals record. He still is in an impressive second place, ahead of the likes of Pele, Maradona, and Hurst. 

Substitutes

Thomas Mueller entered his first World Cup and overachieved. He won the Golden Boot, being directly responsible for eight goals, and also won the Best Young Player award. He's one to watch, and he may well take Klose's lone front man roll.

Maicon, did he mean it or not? Either way he showed himself to be a very good wing back with immense stamina and strength. It is only by virtue of being captain of third-placed Germany that Lahm takes the starting berth.

Maarten Stekelenburg allowed Forlan's shot to somehow get past him, but he played a blinder in the final. He made several key saves and was unlucky that Iniesta's shot powered through his hand.  

Speaking of which, Andres Iniesta had a great tournament and is only a substitute because of his tendency to throw himself to the ground at the slightest touch, only to bounce back up moment later brandishing an imaginary card at the referee. 

Keisuke Honda surprised everyone with his industry and skill. Japan overachieved this World Cup, and he is one of the major reasons why. The "Blue Samurai" helped his squad overcome teams that on paper should have outclassed it, and Honda earned a place in the squad of the World Cup 11 as a result. 

Ultimately there will never be a team which satisfies everyone. Have I missed out anyone deserving of mention, or should any of these players be dropped from a World Cup 11? Let me know below.