By Frank Dalleres
The knockout rounds are almost upon us, so have been the standout players from the group stage of this World Cup?
To answer that question we asked football data experts Delphlyx to pick an XI using only the best performing players in each position.
The presence of Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi may come as little surprise, but Switzerland pair Yann Sommer and Silvan Widmer may raise some eyebrows.
Goalkeeper Sommer and right-back Widmer have helped Switzerland to the brink of qualification for the last 16, beating Cameroon and only losing 1-0 to Brazil.
France left-back Theo Hernandez, who has replaced his injured brother Lucas at left-back, Spain’s Aymeric Laporte and Brazil’s Marquinhos complete the back four.
Casemiro, who scored against Switzerland, is the other Brazilian in the XI, lining up in midfield alongside Croatia’s Mateo Kovacic.
With two goals so far, Messi makes it into the team, playing behind a front three comprised of Mbappe, France team-mate Ousmane Dembele and England’s three-goal Marcus Rashford.
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