Yesterday I shared with you what I believe to be the ideal All British Team. Today I will be putting together the All International Team following the same criteria:

• a competitive line-up that could beat teams
• the best possible going forward (speed, power but also with the ability to score against deep sitting teams)
• while maintaining the ability to keep the back clean (fast getting back, strong tacklers, good in the air, first point of attack)
• a good mixture of young and old players
• 4 sub players across the field

I will start by looking at what a game between the older International team and the U24 International team would look like.

The Game

I think that the game would play out similarly to the All British Game. Mainly for the reason that both teams are set up in a similar way. The main difference is that I believe the defence of the older team could be lights out. With the 5 at the back plus one of the best 6s in international football in Kante any team would have its difficulties against this lineup.

On the other side of the ball you have the 3rd and 5th best striker in the league in front of one of the best 10s. Arguably that spot should have been Eriksen’s (Tottenham, 25) this year but he is too quiet for me and Özil can be pure genius. Together with box-to-box Wijnaldum this is a potent attack that the young and inexperienced back 3 would struggle to control.

The best chance for he U24s would be if Can and Pogba do a big part to work back and then try to beat the defence on speed and with crosses in to Lukaku (the second best striker in the league – leading it for most of the season).

The All International Premier League Team

Goal

De Gea both goalies are better than the brits. De Gea gets the no.1 spot because he has more attitude. Courtois is verquiet in comparison

(sub) Courtois while being a bit quieter he is also a great goalie and in any other team a clear no.1.

Defence

Blind to be fair there was no competition for him on the left side so he automatically gets the spot. Solid and versatile player who can cement that left side if the defence needs to get bolstered into a back 4 or 5.

Koscielny leader at the back and as with the initial 25+ team he beats Vertonghen to that spot. There is none of the young defenders who can match him yet, although they have the potential to reach that level in the future.

Alderweireld regarding the competition with the U24s it’s the same as Koscielny. Also beats Vertonghen and Mustafi to the spot because I believe he is the best compliment to the other two.

(sub) Mustafi had to think long and hard whether to pick him or Ake. I love the potential Ake has and have seen some great play by him, but he is just not at the same level yet. Mustafi is an established international player with toughness who can score goals from set plays.

Midfield

Sanchez the reason why he gets the spot is very simple: great work ethic, 24 goals and 10 assists. 3rd highest goals, 5th highest assists – highest combo in the Premier League.

Kante 2nd most tackles and 5th most passes in the league. Doesn’t stop running all game and one of the best in the world at his position.

Pogba wins the competition against Can and Wijnaldum because he is a presence on the pitch and an outstanding player. Bit of trouble in his first season at Manchester, but will still become one of the best box to box no.8s in world football.

Özil at the top of his game one of the best at his position. TBF Coutinho was pretty impressive but also got injured.

Sane ok so this is a bit of a biased pick. Jesus, Wijnaldum or Willian could also be here but Sane is one of my favourite players sooo…sorry guys 😉 nonetheless he is super speedy, can drive into the box and is an explosive player.

(sub) Coutinho so he was almost in anyway. End of story. Fast feet and can bring a burst forward off the bench.

(sub) Willian can come in either in defence or on the right wing. Great player and great versatility for the squad.

Attack

Lukaku was the top goalscorer of the league until a couple of games from the end. Best ST of all 4 from the 2 teams, can score with both feet and his head.

Aguero 5th best striker in the league and would be twice as effective playing off someone like Lukaku and Sanchez with Özil feeding them passes.

The line-up is very agressive to be fair. It is one, however, that can easily be adapted to fit the opponent that you are playing. For example you can make it a back 4 by putting in Willian (he can play wingback) for Sane. You could also go total defence by taking out Özil as well to make a back 5 with Kante and Pogba in front of it. Those two can still completely play box-to-box and the front 3 left on the pitch are still deadly, both on the counter and through normal play.