As the world of world football shifts in 2024, a variety of powerful defenders have been competing for attention, and here is a shortlist of the best 11 defenders for this much-anticipated lineup of the year:
Swiss star Akanji, Italian stopper Bastoni, Brazilian defender Bremer, New Zealand star Kekas, Spanish winger Carvajal, Spanish center back Dante, Canadian defender Alfonso Davies, Portuguese international Ruben Dias, Italian defender Di Marco, Dutch flyhalf Frimpong, Spanish midfielder Grimaldo, Moroccan wing-quickster Ashraf, German center back Hummels. Canadian defender Johnston, Spanish defender Laporte, Brazilian defender Gabriel, Argentinean center back Otamendi, German defender Rüdiger, French defender Saliba, German defender Ta, Nigerian midfielder Troost-Ekang, and Brazilian forward Nino.
And in goal, it's just as star-studded, so here are the goalkeeper candidates for the best 11-man squad of 2024:
