Real Madrid's current and former players at 2022 World Cup Finals
This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams. This blog was one of them. It was my Russia All-Time Team here. His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014. His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017. His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014. He also copied many many of my blog entries.
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index
Real Madrid
Real Madrid All-Time Team Under Florentina Perez
Real Madrid All-Time Team Under Miguel Munoz
Real Madrid Argentine Best XI
Real Madrid Castilla Greatest All-Time
Real Madrid All-Time Team for Spanish Players
Atletico Madrid All-Time Team for Foreign Players
Real Madrid All-Time Team Under Florentina Perez
Real Madrid All-Time Team Under Miguel Munoz
Real Madrid Argentine Best XI
Real Madrid Castilla Greatest All-Time
Real Madrid All-Time Team for Spanish Players
Atletico Madrid All-Time Team for Foreign Players
Real Madrid is the most successful club in soccer's history. They have won more titles in Europe than any other clubs. Of course, they had plenty of good players. I select a 26 member squad from the teams at the 2022 World Cup Finals in Qatar. All players must have appeared for Real Madrid at one point in their career.
The World Cup Finals are held from 20 November to 18 December 2022. This is the first World Cup to be held in the Arab world, and the second World Cup held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.
At the end of the World Cup, I will set a table for all players selected based on fantasy points.
Team(26 members)
GK: Thibaut Courtois (Beglium)
GK: Thibaut Courtois (Beglium)
Thibaut Courtois joined Chelsea from Genk in 2011, but he was sent away to Atletico Madrid immediately. He won the Europa League in his first season and then, a Copa del Rey in his second season. In his final season, Atletico Madrid reached the Final of the Champions' League, but lost to Real Madrid. He was the starting keeper for Belgium at World Cup 2014 and 2018, and Euro 2016.
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| Thibaut Courtois |
GK: Keylor Navas (Costa Rica)
After starting out at Saprissa Keylor Navas moved to Albacete in 2010, and then to Levante in La Liga. After a great performance with Levante, he won the La Liga Keeper of the Year award for 2014 with Levante. Then, he led Costa Rica to the quarter-final of the World Cup in Brazil. After the World Cup Finals, he earned a transfer to Real Madrid. With Real Madrid, he won three Champions League title as their starting keeper. He also played in the 2018 World Cup Finals.
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| Keylor Navas |
GK: Alphonse Areola (France)
An academy graduate of PSG, he spent the early parts of his career on loan, enjoying spells with Lens, Bastia and La Liga side, Villarreal. During his stint with the latter, Areola broke the club record for the longest period of play without conceding a goal, remaining unbeaten for a period of 620. He also spent a season with Real Madrid. Since 2016, he has returned to PSG. He served as France's backup keeper at the 2018 World Cup Finals.
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| Alphonse Areola |
Dani Carvajal went through Real Madrid's academy. In 2012, he was sold to Bayer Leverkusen. In his only season there, he established himself among the best fullback in Bundesliga. He returned to Real Madrid in a buyback clause. He was a contributor as Real Madrid won four Champions' League in his first 5 seasons. At the time of writing, he is a member of the national team. He played in the 2018 World Cup Finals.
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| Dani Carvajal |
RB: Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
Achraf Hakimi came through Real Madrid's youth academy, but he first made a name with Borussia Dortmund while on loan from Real Madrid. He later played for Inter Milan for a season. In 2021, he joined PSG in France. He won the Lion d'Or African Footballer of the Year in 2019. Born in Spain, he was eligible to play for them, but he chose Morocco where his parents came from. He played for them at the 2018 World Cup Finals.
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| Achraf Hakimi |
Militão began his career at São Paulo, playing 57 matches over a span of two years before transferring to Porto. In 2019, after one season in Portugal, he joined Real Madrid for a reported transfer fee of €50 million. He won two La Liga titles, and the Champions League in 2022. Militão made his senior international debut for Brazil in 2018. He was part of their squads that won the Copa América in 2019 and came runners-up in 2021.
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| Eder Militao |
Born in Brazil, Pepe moved to Portugal playing for Maritimo. In 2004, he moved to Porto while he established himself as one of the best defender in Portugal. In 2007, he earned a dream move to Real Madrid. At the time of writing, he won two Champions' league with them. Although born in Brazil, he chose to represent Portugal. At Euro 2016, he emerged as one of Portugal's best player as Portugal won their first ever international trophy. He earned the Man of the Match in the Final against France.
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| Pepe |
CB: Antonio Rüdiger (Germany)
Antonio Rüdiger began his career at VfB Stuttgart. In 2015 he joined Roma, He was signed by Chelsea in 2017, where he won the UEFA Europa League in his second season, and the Champions League in 2021. In 2022, Rüdiger signed for European champions Real Madrid. He made his international debut for Germany in May 2014. He played in the 2018 World Cup, and later also took part at UEFA Euro 2020.
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| Antonio Rüdiger |
Varane started with Lens. After one season with the French club, as a professional footballer, Varane joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2011. With Real Madrid, he won 3 Champions League in 4 years. In 2012, he made his international debut. He went to the World Cup Finals in 2014, where he was nominated as the Young Player of the Tournament. He missed the 2016 European Championship through an injury.
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| Raphaël Varane |
LB: Theo Hernandez (France)
Theo Hernandez joined Atlético Madrid's academy in 2007 where his father played. But after an loan move to Alaves in the 2016-2017 season, he joined rival Real Madrid in 2017. On 10 August 2018, he was loaned to Real Sociedad for a season. In 2019, he joined AC Milan, where he finally made a name. He earned his first French cap in 2021. His brother Lucas played for Bayern Munich and was a part of the team that won the World Cup.
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| Theo Hernandez |
Aurelien Tchouaméni made his first team debut for Bordeaux in 2018. He joined AS Monaco in 2020, where he made a name. He was named UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year for 2020–21 season. He was on the Team of the Season the following year. He was a top player in La Ligue. In 2022, he joined Real Madrid, where he displaced long time starter Casemiro. In 2021, he earned his first cap for France. He was eligible to play for Cameroon where his parents came from.
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| Aurélien Tchouaméni |
After starting off at Fluminense, he transferred to Rio Ave in 2012. He spent his entire time there out on loan, first at Real Madrid Castilla, and made one substitute appearance for the first team. He spent five years at Monaco. In his debut season at Liverpool he won the UEFA Champions League. He won the UEFA Super Cup in 2019 and also played a key role in guiding Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2020, the club’s first league title in 30 years. Fabinho made his international debut for Brazil in 2015, and was part of their squads at the Copa América in 2015, 2016 and 2021.
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| Fabinho |
Casemiro started with Sao Paulo, where he played for three seasons. In 2013, he joined Real Madrid B team(Castilla), where he would be eventually called to the first team. For the 2014-2015, he was sent to Porto on a loan. After a year, he returned to Real Madrid and quickly established as a major contributor as the club won three straight Champions' League. He would win five Champions' League with the club. In 2022, he moved to Manchester United. At the time of writing, he earned 32 caps. He played in the 2018 World Cup Finals in Russia.
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| Casemiro |
CM: Mateo Kovačić (Croatia)
Kovačić began his career with Dinamo Zagreb, before joining Inter Milan in 2013. In 2015, he moved to Real Madrid, where he won the 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18 Champions Leagues. He joined Chelsea on one-year loan in 2018, signing permanently for them at the end of the season. With Chelsea, Kovačić won the 2018–19 Europa League and the 2020–21 Champions League, as well as the Chelsea Player of the Year after the 2019–20 season. He represented the nation at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, as well as the Euro 2016 and 2020, reaching the final of the 2018 tournament.
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| Mateo Kovačić |
Developed at Real Madrid, he appeared in 39 competitive matches over three seasons, also serving a loan at Alavés. He signed with Atlético Madrid in June 2019, winning La Liga in his second season while being deployed in several positions. Llorente made his full debut for Spain in 2020. He was part of the squads at UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. His father Paco Llorente also played for Real Madrid. His grand uncle was Francisco Gento.
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| Marcos Llorente |
AM/CM: Eduardo Camavinga (France)
Eduardo Camavinga joined Rennes' youth system when he was 11. He signed his first professional contract on 14 December 2018, at the age of 16 years and one month, becoming the youngest ever professional for the club. He was also the youngest ever to play for them. In 2021, he joined Real Madrid, where he won the Champions League in his first season. In 2022, he earned his first senior cap for France. He was selected for the 2022 World Cup Finals in Qatar.
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| Eduardo Camavinga |
AM/CM: Luka Modric (Croatia)
Luka Modric is one of the greatest playmakers of his generation. He earned more 90 caps for Croatia. He currently plays for Real Madrid and won the Champions' League for the 2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons. He also played with Dinamo Zagreb and Tottenham Hotspurs. He played in the World Cup Finals of 2006, 2014 and 2018, as well as the European Championship of 2008, 2012 and 2016. He won Ballon D'or in 2018 after his performance in the World Cup Finals.
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| Luka Modric |
AM/FW: Pablo Sarabia (Spain)
After playing youth football with Real Madrid, Sarabia went on to represent Getafe between 2011 and 2016 and Sevilla between 2016 and 2019 in La Liga, amassing totals of 232 matches and 36 goals over eight seasons. In July 2019, he signed with Paris Saint-Germain, Sarabia was a former Spanish youth international. He made his senior debut in 2019, representing the side at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup. He scored two goals at Euro 2020.
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| Pablo Sarabia |
Fede Valverde spent most of his youth career with Peñarol. After a season with the first team, he joined Real Madrid's Academy in 2016. For 2017-2018 season, he was sent on loan for Deportivo La Coruna. He returned to Real Madrid in 2018 where he made a name. For Uruguay, he made his senior debut in 2017. He went to the 2021 Copa America. He was named Silver Ball at the 2017 Under 20 World Cup. He was known for his long range shot.
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| Federico Valverde |
Gareth Bale began his professional career at Southampton. Bale moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007. In 2011 and 2013, he was named PFA Players' Player of the Year. His transfer to Real Madrid in 2013 was believed to be the most expensive in history. He won four Champions League titles with Real Madrid. He scored the winning goal in the 2014 version as well as two goals in 2018. He joined LAFC in the MLS. In 2016, he led Wales to reach the semifinal of Euro 2016.
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| Gareth Bale |
Marco Asensio was born in Palma, Majorca, Balearic Islands to a Dutch mother and a Spanish father. He was named after Marco Van Basten. Asensio joined RCD Mallorca in 2006. He joined Real Madrid in 2014, but he spent his first season with Espanyol. He finally joined Real Madrid for the 2016-2017 season, scoring one of the goals at the Champions' League Final against Juventus that year. Since 2016, he has been capped by Spain.
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| Marco Asensio |
After beginning his career with Rosario Central, Di María moved to Europe in 2007 to play for Benfica, earning a €25 million move to Real Madrid three years later. He played a major role in the club's 2011–12 La Liga triumph. After winning the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, he signed for Manchester United in 2014 for a British record £59.7 million, but joined PSG a year later for around £44 million. At the time of writing, he earned over 120 caps. He went to 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cup Finals.
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| Ángel Di María |
Born in São Gonçalo, Vinícius began his professional career at Flamengo, where he made his senior debut in 2017, at age 16. Vinícius joined Real Madrid, for whom he signed for in a £38 million deal, which was a national record for an U-18 player. The transfer was made effective after his 18th birthday. He scoring the winning goal in Real Madrid's 2022 UEFA Champions League Final. In 2019, he made his debut with Brazil.
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| Vinícius Júnior |
Ronaldo is one of the greatest forward of his generation. He is the most expensive players in history from 2009-2013 when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid. At the time of writing, he won the Ballon d'Or winner three times and won Champions' League titles with both Manchester United and Real Madrid. In 2016, he helped Portugal to win the European Championship, a month after winning the Champions' League with Real Madrid.
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| Cristano Ronaldo |
ST/RW/LW: Rodrygo (Brazil)
Born in Osasco, São Paulo, Rodrygo joined Santos' youth setup in 2011 at the age of ten. In 2017, he made his first team debut at the age of 17. In 2018, he signed for Real Madrid, where he would join in 2019. He was a top young player in the world at the time. He scored many important goals as Real Madrid won the Champions' League in the 2021-2022 season. In 2019, he made his national team debut with Brazil. He was named to the 2022 World Cup team.
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| Rodrygo |
ST: Álvaro Morata (Spain)
Morata began his career at Real Madrid, making his debut with the senior team in late 2010, winning the 2014 Champions League. He moved to Juventus in 2014, winning the domestic double of Serie A and Coppa Italia in both of his seasons before being bought back for €30 million. With Real, Morata won another La Liga and Champions League before joining Chelsea in 2017. He also played for Atletico Madrid. Since 2014, he was capped by Spain and went to Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018.
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| Álvaro Morata |
Eden Hazard, Takefusa Kubo, Luka Jovic.
Squad Explanation
-- Only players selected for the World Cup Finals are eligible.
-- I am including all players who had appeared for the first team in Real Madrid. Actually, I was going to include Castilla players who never appeared for the first team, but no player fit the credential. Takefusa Kubo did not play for Real Madrid's first team in any official games, but he had played in the preseason. However, he was not selected. He also did not come from Castilla.
-- Casemiro (Brazil), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) Dani Carvajal (Spain), Fabinho (Brazil), Marco Llorente (Spain) and Alvaro Morata (Spain) came from Castilla. Rodrygo did play for them, but I did not consider him as an academy player. He only dropped to the reserve team for a few games in his first season. He was mainly a first team player from his first day in Madrid.
-- The World Cup squad for the 2022 World Cup Finals consists 26 players. This team had 13 each for current and former players.
-- Brazil had 6 Real Madrid-related players, but only five was selected. France also had six on their team, but only three are currently with Real Madrid. Spain only had four players. Only three are current players.
-- Angel Di Maria left in 2014. He held the longest gap of a departed player on this team.
Goalkeepers
-- Only three goalkeepers ever played for Real Madrid were going to the World Cup Finals.
-- Thibaut Courtois joined Real Madrid in 2018, where he replaced Keylor Navas in the starting lineup. Navas was a star of the team for a few seasons. He was named on the Champions' League team of the Year the season before. Courtois won the Golden Glove at the 2018 World Cup Finals before he transferred to Madrid.
-- Alphonse Areola was on loan for PSG for the 2019-2020 season. He was a part of the deal that saw Keylor Navas going to the other way. He was predominantly used as a back-up option to first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. He appeared 9 times for Real Madrid.
-- Andriy Lunin would have made he Ukraine national team if they qualified. They went to the World Cup playoff, but failed to secure a spot in the Finals.
Defenders
-- At the time of writing, I don't know how Brazil's coach Tite will line Eder Militao. Brazil also featured Thiago Silva and Marquinhos. Thiago Silva probably will start, but he is 38 years old. So many pundits expected Eder Militao to have an important role in Qatar. He might be a rightback as Brazil lacks a strong player in that position. He had played there in Porto where he lined up next to Pepe. Tite could also start three central defenders.
-- Antonio Rüdiger will be a starter for Germany, but I am not sure about Pepe. He is now 39. Raphaël Varane suffered an injury in October. He was actually a surprise inclusion for France because of his injury. His form in Manchester United was also in question prior to his injury, but I did not have another alternative.
-- Danilo might actually start for Brazil depending how Tite started Militao. Brazil's rightback position is weak. They even selected Dani Alvas who is now 39 playing in Mexico. But the rightback position for this "Real Madrid" team is strong. Both Dani Carvajal and Achraf Hakimi are among the best rightbacks in the world. So I left off Danilo who did not enjoy his time in Real Madrid.
-- Ferland Mendy was surprising left for France's World Cup team. That left Theo Hernandez as the only leftback on this team. Mendy was a more defensive-oriented type of a fullback. Didier Deschamps probably preferred an offensive wingback. Mendy only had 9 caps at the time of the World Cup selections while Theo had 7. Gareth Bale played as a leftback in the beginning of his career in England would be my emergency backup (please see later for Bale' inclusion).
-- David Alaba would have solved the weakness in the leftback and central defender position if Austria qualified for the World Cup Finals.
Midfielders/Wingers
-- I carried three defensive midfielders. They are Aurélien Tchouaméni, Casemiro and Fabinho. The signing of Aurélien Tchouaméni this past summer allowed Real Madrid to sell Casemiro. He proved to be a player to reckon with in Madrid. Casemiro's performance in Manchester had mixed reviews, but how could I drop him?. -- Fabinho was only on loan in Madrid, but he played a few games for the first team. So he is eligible for this team. I might need an extra defensive midfielders since I had question marks over both Pepe and Varane. Pepe is 38 years old while Varane is injured at the time of writing. I selected Fabinho over Takefusa Kubo who never played in an official game for the club.
-- Toni Kroos retired from the national team. This team would like to have this deep lying playmaker.
-- I was upset when Real Madrid sold Marcos Llorente to Atletico Madrid, but Federico Valverde proved to be a better player. Most people would disagree with me. I found the two players similar, but Fede is better. This season, his long range shots (or goals) are the best in the world. He is probably one of the best players this season in Madrid.
-- Eduardo Camavinga regressed this season, but I still see him as one of the brightest young midfielders in the game. Luka Modric is of course evergreen. I also took Mateo Kovačić. They kept Takefusa Kubo off the team.
-- Federico Valverde had played well on the right wing. Then, I also took Ángel Di María and Marco Asensio. Gareth Bale scored the 120th minute equaliser in the MLS Cup Final for LAFC, but his season had been poor in the MLS. I was not going to take him, but his goal in the MLS Final proved that he was a big game player. Besides, he had played as a leftback where I only had Theo on the team.
-- Vinícius Júnior owned the left wing position, but the team lacked a backup left winger. So Asensio and Rodrygo would be my emergency backup. Rodrygo could play across all three positions up front. He is a natural left wing forward, but he is not given much chance in Madrid because of Vinicius Junior. And we could forget about Eden Hazard.
Forwards
-- I already mentioned Marco Asensio, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo.
-- Cristiano Ronaldo's relationship with Manchester United is well-documented. He has not been featured regularly for them, but I just could not ignore him.
-- At the time of writing, Álvaro Morata is second top scorer in La Liga with 5 goals.
-- At the time of writing, Karim Benzema just suffered a thigh injury that would keep him out of the World Cup Finals. I had to edit him out of this team. Luka Jovic and Pablo Sarabia are the only other possible choices. Eden Hazard was also mentioned in the "wing" section. He had not played much this season. Jovic's performance in Serie A had been poor. I do not really know much about Pablo Sarabia, but he became my only choices.
Formation
This is a weaker version of Real Madrid's starting lineup for the 2022-2023 season. Benzema would have been the starter, but he is out with an injury. I start Ronaldo because I cannot leave him on the bench.
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