World Cup 2026’s biggest flop XI: Ronaldo, Neymar, Fernandes & more… | OneFootball

This year’s edition of the World Cup has been sprinkled with star quality from across the teams in the competition. Big names have stepped up and dragged their countries over the line.

Even the lesser-known minnows like Cape Verde have served the watching public with fascinating encounters and captivating stories. But not everyone has lived up to the hype.

Some stars have melted in the baking heat of the Americas. We all know that the race for the Golden Boot is heating up, but the real battle is for who makes our World Cup Flop XI.

Leaking goals at the back, the midfield parting like the Red Sea, and a forward line with a combined age of 112, this flop XI would certainly make for entertaining viewing…

Unfortunately for this Uruguayan legend, this one was an easy pick. In his side’s defeat to Spain, it was his absolute clanger that condemned his nation to a disappointing exit.

Muslera himself reportedly asked to be subbed off at half-time, but the damage had already been done.

RB: Joshua Kimmich (Germany)

As Germany’s captain, Kimmich must take some of the blame for the disappointment of his nation’s dumping from the tournament.

Not that it is entirely his fault, but Kimmich’s Germany career has coincided with their terrible recent form in tournaments since his debut.

A bit unlucky to feature in this side of flops, but he is guilty by association. Maybe Jurgen Klopp can change that.

CB: Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal)

In the last 32, Koulibaly was part of one of the most shocking capitulations that football has ever seen.

Leading 2-0 with less than five minutes of normal time to go, his side decided to invite Belgium into the next round in their place.

Losing to Belgium was bad enough, but Senegal’s captain also put in the worst individual performance of the tournament against Norway. Koulibaly’s performance rarely lives up to his reputation.

CB: Victor Lindelof (Sweden)

If you asked Manchester United fans, they would say there’s no surprise with this inclusion.

Lindelof seemed to have turned a corner with his new side, Aston Villa, but he was back to his clumsy, uncoordinated worst at the World Cup.

Partnered with the tactically stunted Graham Potter, Lindelof possessed the same sense of danger as a moth.

LB – Homam Al-Amin (Qatar)

A more obscure name, but unfortunately for him, there weren’t many options in his position.

He did manage an impressive stat of zero tackles, zero clearances, and zero blocks before his red card against Canada. For that alone, he deserves a place in this team.

CM: Bruno Fernandes (Portugal)

Voted the Premier League Player of the Season, big things were expected of the Portuguese playmaker.

That didn’t materialise as the most memorable part of his World Cup was the amount he flapped his arms in despair over his team’s languid performances.

Registering just one assist was never going to be enough to propel his side to victory.

CM: Scott McTominay (Scotland)

As the Tartan Army descended on the USA, their hopes and dreams rested on one man’s mullet.

It was, of course, McTominay’s dramatic overhead kick against Denmark that secured Scotland’s first appearance at the World Cup for 28 years.

Unfortunately for his nation, the newly rebranded McTominay was largely ineffectual. Against the might of Haiti, the midfielder mustered zero shots on target.

Inspired, talismanic, unstoppable… are all words that can’t be used to describe Valverde’s lacklustre performances.

Uruguay were painful to watch. Slow, ponderous and totally unimaginative. As the captain and pin-up boy, Valverde offered nothing to alter his side’s crashing out of the competition.

RW: Neymar (Brazil)

His inclusion in the Brazil squad has to go down as a serious error. Coming off the back of an injury-laden season, his cameos were both pointless and slightly uncomfortable as a once-great footballing nation looked devoid of ideas.

Also, an embarrassing end to his World Cup career as the cameras caught him giving the Norwegian goalkeeper some verbal abuse after converting a meaningless penalty with the last kick of the game.

LW: Enner Valencia (Ecuador)

He couldn’t finish his dinner. The forward has enjoyed a long and illustrious career, but didn’t find the net once.

In fact, Valencia was at the top of the list for underperformers when it came to expected goals. According to the stats, he should have finished with six goals, but his impotency left him goalless.

ST: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

At 41, Ronaldo was never going to be the player he once was, but you could be forgiven for thinking he’d offer a little more than he did.

Unfortunately, he was like that drunk uncle on karaoke who used to be a good singer but refuses to leave the stage despite the growing discontent at the out-of-tune ballads.

He played way too many minutes, and ‘Saudi-time’ seems to have caught up with him.

Manager: Carlo Ancelotti (Brazil)

One of the most decorated managers of all time, Ancelotti exuded his typically calm demeanour. But as Brazil stumbled to defeat against Norway, he made some questionable substitutions and was powerless to stop the Viking onslaught.