World Cup 2010 - Best XI: Heroes of Japan

Sat, 26 Jun 12:09:00 2010

Find out who produced the best performances in the third round of group matches at the World Cup in our team of the round.

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We combine the expert rating assigned on the matchcast and the user rating at 0800 GMT the following day to formulate the team and here's our line-up.

It is a Japanese domination in the Best XI for the final round of fixtures in the group phase, and forward Keisuke 'Hero' Honda leads the way.

Six players from Takeshi Okada's side have received recognition, and just England's John Terry and the Ivory Coast's Yaya Toure prevent the entire defence and midfield being constituted by the Samurai Blue.

Honda was at the forefront of everything in the 3-1 win over Denmark, and midfielder Yasuhito Endo joined him on the scoresheet with a similarly inspired display.

Daisuke Matsui is also handed a midfield berth after dominating the play along with Endo, while Yuto Nagatomo, Yuki Abe and Yuji Nakazawa are all rewarded for consummate performances at the back.

Terry slips into the centre of defence after his heroic, body-on-the-line display against Slovenia, while another Group C stalwart Rais M'Bohli is between the sticks following a second blinder for Algeria.

Ivory Coast may have disappointed in the arduous task of attempting to progress from Group G, but Toure was exceptional in his side's win over North Korea.

Two unfancied sides are represented in attack, with the jet-heeled Katlego Mphela given recognition for his goalscoring performance in Bafana Bafana's win over France.

One side who have really confounded the bookmakers is Slovakia, and Robert Vittek's stunning form continued as he struck a brace to sink Italy, and the forward assumes the final spot amongst our distinguished array of stars.

Best XI (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper

GK: Rais M'Bohli (Algeria)

Defenders

RB: Yuki Abe (Japan)

CB: Yuji Nakazawa (Japan)

CB: John Terry (England)

LB: Yuto Nagatomo (Japan)

Midfielders

MF: Yasuhito Endo (Japan)

MF: Daisuke Matsui (Japan)

MF: Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast)

Forwards

FW: Keisuke Honda (Japan)

FW: Katlego Mphela (South Africa)

FW: Robert Vittek (Slovakia)

Coach

Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay)

Eurosport

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