World-leading superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are the biggest names in the best team of the World Cup group stages.
The PSG team-mates were instrumental in inspiring Argentina and France respectively into the knockout stages.
And Sofascore, revealing their best-performing XI from the group matches at the Qatar tournament, named Bruno Fernandes as the standout player with an 8.6 rating out of 10 – but did not put any England players in the line-up.
France forward Kylian Mbappe has been named in the best XI of the World Cup group stages
Portugal star Bruno Fernandes is the standout player, with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10
Portugal and Manchester United star Fernandes is one of three players to receive an average rating of more than eight out of 10, alongside goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and France’s Antoine Griezmann.
The attacking midfielder played 90 minutes in the first two games of the tournament for Fernando Santos’ men, helping his side beat Ghana 3-2 in their opening clash before scoring a double in a 2-0 win against Uruguay.
With Portugal already qualified for the knockout stages, he was then rested for the final group game, a 2-1 loss against South Korea which saw the Asian outfit progress in second place in Group H.
Messi, with a 7.93 rating, was a talismanic figure for Argentina as they progressed as group winners too, scoring a penalty in their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia before netting the opener in a 2-0 win over Mexico.
The best group stage XI sees Leo Messi named in a stellar line-up. Graphic by: sofascore.com
Messi, 35, has scored two penalties at the World Cup and has been instrumental for Argentina
He was also excellent in the 2-0 win against Poland which secured their place in the knockout stages, despite seeing a penalty saved.
Mbappe (7.53), meanwhile, scored three times in Les Bleus’ first two games, wins against Australia and Denmark, before being used as a sub in their 1-0 loss to Tunisia.
Elsewhere in the side, there are a couple of surprises, with Sofascore’s own clarification being that only players who had played 60 per cent of minutes across the group phase were eligible.
In between the sticks, Poland and Juventus stopper Szczesny (8.2) makes it in after keeping two clean sheets – in a 0-0 draw against Mexico and a 2-0 win against Saudi Arabia – before saving a Messi spot-kick against the South American side.
Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (left) is in after his fantastic save from Messi’s penalty
Manchester United midfielder Casemiro (left) is also named after his stunning winner for Brazil
The centre backs are the only two players in the XI who play for eliminated sides, with Denmark’s Andreas Christensen (7.53) and Jean-Charles Castelletto (7.75) forming a strong defensive partnership at the back.
Cameroon’s Castelletto scored in a 3-3 draw with Serbia and kept a clean sheet against Brazil, while Barcelona and Denmark’s Christensen only conceded three goals in the group stages, scoring against France with a close-range header.
At full-back, Achraf Hakimi (7.4) was a key part of the Morocco defence that only conceded once – via a Nayef Aguerd own goal against Canada.
France’s Theo Hernandez (7.85), who replaced his injured brother Lucas at left back, is in too.
Holland’s Cody Gakpo, the joint-top scorer at the tournament, is up front alongside Mbappe
In a 4-1-3-2 formation, Man United star Casemiro (7.8) is named at the base of midfield after a stunning winner against Switzerland.
Fernandes and Messi line up in front of him and France’s Antoine Griezmann (8.13) completing attacking midfield.
Alongside Mbappe up front is Cody Gakpo (7.57), who has scored in every Holland game at the tournament so far and is joint-top of the Golden Boot race at the time of writing, along with Mbappe, Alvaro Morata, Marcus Rashford and Enner Valencia.
No Three Lions stars were named despite strong performances from the likes of Harry Maguire, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane as Gareth Southgate’s side sailed into the last 16 as group winners.
No England stars were named despite fine performances from the likes of Harry Maguire (left)
In the worst XI, Fernandes’ Portugal team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo is the headline name after recording an average rating of just 6.37.
Four Qatar players make it in, along with Costa Rica’s leaky central defensive pairing of Francisco Calvo and Oscar Duarte.
Saudi Arabia’s Abdulelah Al-Malki was disappointing in central midfield, with Canada defender Alistair Johnston named at right back after three losses out of three for John Herdman’s side.
Johnston’s team-mate Tajon Buchanan and Australia’s Mathew Leckie are perhaps unfortunate to be included, with Buchanan looking threatening at times and Leckie scoring the crucial winner against Denmark that sent the Socceroos into the last 16.
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo was named in the worst XI. Graphic by: sofascore.com