Goku de la Boca

Syria are usually a pretty competitive side, they nearly made the WCQ playoffs a few years ago against Australia where the latter had to scrape it, but they still aren't great, I wouldn't call them minnows though.

Syria's starting 9 plays for Alianza Lima. He's actually a very good player and one of the best 9's in Peru but I don't think it's the sort of decent quality Gonzo was referring to in attack.

Syria who have a much better frontline than defence. Sounds like a fun clash that.

It was, but posted by Chelsea’s Spanish social media, which actually makes it worse. No idea if it’s still up.

How do we tell Chelsea that I don't wake up to an alarm clock with "la Cucaracha"

Sincerely I think it's very likely Qatar retain their title. They've been the best team so far.

In 2019 he was nowhere near as good as he is now, he looks far more developed to a higher standard. Back then it was flashes of talent and he was already on of their better players but he could not win games with just his quality alone.

I am quite behind on European football that I didn't realize Al Tamaari was in France, and it looks like that helped his development. Looks a seriously class player now as opposed to 2019 where it was just raw talent.

This aged fucking terribly.

For sure, I am pretty certain there are a lot of governments that prefer Taiwan but it just isn't worth losing the benefits with mainland China. They are just too powerful over tiny Taiwan. As for White Terror, that sounds like a worse version of the protests in the late 20th century in mainland China. No good guys in any of the governments then

That sounds a lot like the China PR vs China (Taiwan) situation tbh.

Israel really do not help themselves do they? I try to justify both sides' actions by having some empathy on one of them losing land unjustly and the other side having a group of people who would have gotten killed wherever they went. Politics or politicians really only care for their best interests as obvious as that sounds.

I am not as familiar with Central America compared to South America but I can confirm the El Salvador one. Costa Rica is Bryan Ruiz and Wanchope Abila, Guatemala is Carlos Ruiz, Panama is the Dely Valdes brothers and Luis Tejada, and Honduras I THINK is WIlson Palacios.

Also I'd like to retract my pick on Toni Kroos and add Manuel Neuer. Sure he still isn't a "legend" when you see how successful Germany are but I think at a world level he revolutionized the sweeper keeper role and was also the best goalkeeper I've personally seen. I wonder how bold of a take that one is

As for other picks, these are the ones I want to leave a comment on. I will admit Bobby Moore passed my mind but England has so many players despite only having 1 World Cup. They are the pioneers of the sport after all. I think Moore, Hurst, Keegan, Lineker, Rooney all have a proper shot. I'm sure there are also many pre-50 footballers that I am not familiar with. Hans Krankl! My dad told me great things about him and how he was a star for Austria. Great choices for France. Platini NEEDS to be in all of them, but second choice is between Zinedine Zidane and Mbappe for me. Spain is Xavi, Iniesta, Luis Suarez, Butragueño and Puyol I think. Portugal is the easiest pick after Argentina. Disagree with the USA ones. Friedel is worthy of a spot but I don't think Dempsey gets ahead of Donovan. Zico is a superb pick and is forgotten because Brazil didn't win that World Cup, however that Brazil team is supposedly the best to never win and them not winning it changed their mindset for the rest of time. I think second choice could be Zico, Fat Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Garrincha. There is so much to pick from but those 4 are heads and shoulders above the rest. Neymar, Vava, Kaka, Tostao, Roberto Carlos, Marcelo and Cafu all have a say but I wouldn't call them different compared to the 4 I mentioned. Disagree on Higuita. James, Falcao and Asprilla before him. Even Willington Ortiz I'd say.

Valeriano Lopez is probably the best striker in our history and the fact Bernabeu wanted him is sometimes forgotten. Unreal heading ability according to the history books.

Like I clarified in my original pick, these are THE 2 Peruvians to choose. Comfortably the best 2 players this country has ever produced, however we have such a glorious history that you have so much to choose from. Cesar Cueto, J.C Oblitas, Hugo Sotil from the golden generation, Paolo Guerrero and Claudio Pizarro from the modern day, Miguel Loayza and Juan Seminario from the team that beat England 4-1 but couldn't play in WCQ due to travel limitations back then (one played for Barcelona, the other for Boca), and my personal favourite, Valeriano Lopez who was Santiago Bernabeu's first choice at Real Madrid over Di Stefano. He rejected them due to wanting to be closer to family and they went for the Argentine instead. Imagine what could have been, the best aerial striker Peru's ever seen

Portugal it's clearly Ronaldo and Eusebio. Figo I don't think gets into that. Also you can debate Zidane or Mbappe like I said but Platini is a no brainer. He pretty much was part of the start of when French football became relevant and apparently was better than everyone else who came after him. This is what my dad told me anyways. Also I'd like to add that me adding Garrincha is based on pure talent. He is a bit forgotten because he is as told by locals that he may be the most talented Brazilian in history, even moreso than Pele.

That’s right! I forgot about those 2.

Because I prefer the South Americans and England winning it.

Which is why I said wait til the end of Mbappe's career. I think he's good enough now to claim a debate but if he breaks every record like what's predicted, he will be compared to Pele at international level rather than Zidane. Mbappe has had 2 legendary World Cups already and has won one of them. If he manages to win a 2nd and god forbid a 3rd which is very possible, it will be tough to debate by that point. And to clarify I am not comparing Mbappe to Pele in footballing ability, rather I am comparing the potential international career he could retire with.

That makes sense, but to say it's not a debate is silly. Mbappe is on course to break every World Cup record having only played 2 tournaments and he's 25. I'm not doubting Zidane's career but Mbappe is very much in the discussion.

The latter I disagree with strongly. In only 2 World Cups Mbappe is proyected to be more important than Pele and is already breaking records. At club level I suppose it isn't a debate, Mbappe hasn't really been a "different player" yet.

I think Mbappe vs Zidane is debatable. Zidane at club level has achieved more easily, but in my opinion Mbappe has already done more at national team level. I suppose it really depends on what the end of his career will tell us, and we're still about 10 years away. The one I disagree with though is the Chileans. Alexis Sanchez is comfortably their best ever player and I don't think it's even a debate. Vidal could probably be debated but Sanchez carried them to their second Copa America win and was a top 3 player in the Premier League in his prime. My dad has told me that he was comfortably better than Zamorano (since I was too young to remember him). Also I think for Senegal that Sadio Mane is above El Hadji Diouf, but I guess it depends on where you rank what they achieved at the separate World Cups. Agree with the rest. I will admit Kroos was a very bold take.

There is no damage control - a bunch of people here fell for something years ago and keep biting on the hook. Kind of funny to be honest.