Ranking some of the best players who could appear in Atlanta in World Cup
The World Cup draw, when the teams will be placed into 12 groups of four, is scheduled for Dec. 5 in Washington, D.C.
The actual schedule, when host cities such as Atlanta, which will have eight matches, is scheduled to come out some time after the draw.
Until then, it’s fun to imagine the teams and players that will come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Eighteen men’s national teams have qualified so far: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Paraguay, South Korea, Tunisia, United States, Uruguay and Uzbekistan.
Here are the 18 best players (in order), one from each national team that has qualified, who could appear in Atlanta:
Alphonso Davies
Age: 24
Country: Canada
Position/club: Left back/Bayern Munich
Appearances for country: 58
Among trophies won: Two-time CONCACAF player of the year, four-time Bundesliga team of the season.
Goals scored for country: 15
Country FIFA rank: 26
Comment: Davies would be ranked much higher but he is returning from an ACL injury suffered last year.
Omar Alderete
Age: 28
Country: Paraguay
Position/club: Centerback/Sunderland
Appearances for country: 31
Among trophies won: Swiss League team of the year
Goals scored for country: 3
Country FIFA rank: 37
Abdukodir Khusanov
Age: 21
Country: Uzbekistan
Position/club: Central defender/Manchester City
Appearances for country: 22
Among trophies won: Under-20 Asian Cup champion
Goals scored for country: 0
Country FIFA rank: 54
Ellyes Skhiri
Age: 30
Country: Tunisia
Position/club: Central midfield/Eintracht Frankfurt
Appearances for country: 70
Among trophies won: Tunisian player of the year
Goals scored for country: 3
Country FIFA rank: 46
Jackson Irvine
Age: 32
Country: Australia
Position/club: Central midfield/St. Pauli
Appearances for country: 76
Among trophies won: Bundesliga II champ, Scottish Premiership champ, Australian men’s player of the year.
Goals scored for country: 11
Country FIFA rank: 25
Musa Al-Taamari
Age: 28
Country: Jordan
Position/club: Right wing/Rennes
Appearances for country: 70
Among trophies won: Asian Cup runner-up, Asian Cup team of the tournament.
Goals scored for country: 21
Country FIFA rank: 62
Mehdi Taremi
Age: 33
Country: Iran
Position/club: Striker/Olympiakos
Appearances for country: 100
Among trophies won: Three-time Portuguese Cup winner, UEFA Champions League runner-up, two-time Iranian player of the year.
Goals scored for country: 57
Country FIFA rank: 21
Kaoru Mitoma
Age: 28
Country: Japan
Position/club: Left win/Brighton & Hove Albion
Appearances for country: 29
Among trophies won: Japan League champ, Emperor’s Cup, Japanese Super cup
Goals scored for country: 8
Country FIFA rank: 19
Chris Wood
Age: 33
Country: New Zealand
Position/club: Striker/Nottingham Forest
Appearances for country: 84
Among trophies won: Championship winner, Championship runner-up, Oceania Football Confederation Nations Cup
Goals scored for country: 44
Country FIFA rank: 83
Moises Caicedo
Age: 23
Country: Ecuador
Position/club: Central midfield/Chelsea
Appearances for country: 56
Among trophies won: UEFA Conference League, Club World Cup, Under-20 Copa Libertadores
Goals scored for country: 3
Country FIFA rank: 24
Raul Jimenez
Age: 34
Country: Mexico
Position/club: Striker/Fulham
Appearances for country: 119
Among trophies won: Two-time Gold Cup champ, CONCACAF Nations League, CONCACAF Nations League Finals best player
Goals scored for country: 42
Country FIFA rank: 14
Christian Pulisic
Age: 27
Country: U.S.
Position/club: Right wing/A.C. Milan
Appearances for country: 80
Among trophies won: Three-time CONCACAF Nations League winner, four-time U.S. player of the year
Goals scored for country: 32
Country FIFA rank: 16
Son Heung-min
Age: 33
Country: South Korea
Position/club: Left wing/LAFC
Appearances for country: 135
Among trophies won: UEFA Europa League, UEFA Champions League runner-up, Asian Cup runner-up
Goals scored for country: 51
Country FIFA rank: 23
Luis Díaz
Age: 28
Country: Colombia
Position/club: Left wing/Bayern Munich
Appearances for country: 66
Among trophies won: Premier League champ, FA Cup, Copa Colombia, Copa America runner-up
Goals scored for country: 19
Country FIFA rank: 13
Achraf Hakimi
Age: 26
Country: Morocco
Position/club: Right fullback/Paris Saint-Germain
Appearances for country: 86
Among trophies won: UEFA Champions League winner, Olympic Bronze Medal, Serie A champ
Goals scored for country: 11
Country FIFA rank: 11
Federico Valverde
Age: 27
Country: Uruguay
Position/club: Central midfield/Real Madrid
Appearances for country: 71
Among trophies won: Three-time La Liga champ, two-time UEFA Champions League winner, two-time Club World Cup winner
Goals scored for country: 8
Country FIFA rank: 15
Vinicius Junior
Age: 25
Country: Brazil
Position/club: Left wing/Real Madrid
Appearances for country: 41
Among trophies won: Three-time La Liga champ, two-time UEFA Champions League winner, two-time Club World Cup winner, Copa America runner-up
Goals scored for country: 7
Country FIFA rank: 6
Lionel Messi
Age: 38
Country: Argentina
Position/club: Right wing/Inter Miami
Appearances for country: 194
Among trophies won: World Cup winner, eight-time FIFA world player of the year, 10-time La Liga winner
Goals scored for country: 114
Country FIFA rank: 3
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