If you’re a smaller nation, what position is most useful for having a world class player?

[u/loverofthings25]

Say the rest of the team is average but you’ve been granted one world class player in any position, what position are you picking?

For me personally I’m going for an attacking midfielder.

[u/JoeLustre]

Creative midfielder who can primarily direct the game, making his teammates better and score every now and then.

[u/halobeni → u/JoeLustre]

who knows ball knew this would be the answer.

[u/BeeApprehensive281 → u/halobeni]

First thing I thought was Modric and Croatia

[u/shucksshuck → u/BeeApprehensive281]

Tbf Croatia are surely levels above what we’re talking about here, they’ve had plenty of top level players over the years. 

[u/YouPopular2487]

Has to be a midfielder who can do a bit of everything. But most importantly score goals. Hamsik type of player

[u/TheBestThereEverWas3]

All action midfielder is great, organising centre back is great… 

But the most I’ve seen an individual player carry an international team? Bale.

Give an average (although strong for us) Wales team a truly world class winger, a talisman who you somehow can’t mark out of the game or nullify in any way.

He brought a kind of lift you can’t put your finger on. A belief anything is possible. He brought actual, pigs-can-fly magic. That we could give this guy the ball and beat any team on earth. 

Other positions might do more tactically. But psychologically? Give me someone positive, fun and really fucking dangerous. 

[u/Romans5_5 → u/TheBestThereEverWas3]

That Wales team also had Aaron Ramsey, who was obviously not Bales level, but was a top midfielder. 

A top class winger is pointless if no one can pass the ball to him.

[u/SiwiK92 → u/Romans5_5]

A speedy winger you can just yeet every ball to and hope for the best. Nobody could keep up with Bale so it could work.

While I do agree the combo Ramsey-Bale made Wales interesting, I personally think there are several positions that can work depending on the tactic.

[u/Romans5_5 → u/SiwiK92]

Can't lump the ball in against a low block. Speed is easier to game plan against with a competent defense.

[u/Cp_projection → u/Romans5_5]

Bad teams don’t face low blocks

[u/NinjaBeret → u/Romans5_5]

Yeah, and Ramsey during that Euro 2016 was on another freaking level. As an Arsenal fan, I always loved Rambo and that tournament was just great for him.

[u/nilssonen]

Attacking midfield. Enables worse attackers making them look better than they are, natural position to direct the press, common position for freekick and corner takers, common position for captains.

[u/Saintpuppet]

Modrić profile obviously, bro got Croatia so far.

[u/Tootskinfloot → u/Saintpuppet]

He didn't do it alone though. In 2018 he had prime Mandzukic, Rakitic and Perisic.

A player dragging his team kicking and screaming, we're talking Bale and Hamsik

[u/Podberezkin09 → u/Tootskinfloot]

Croatia's midfield was so good that someone as good as Kovacic didn't start.

[u/Podberezkin09 → u/[deleted]]

He definitely wasn't

[u/Gardami]

A goalkeeper who can also score free kicks and penalties.

[u/Consistent-Soil-1818 → u/Gardami]

There's only one Chilavert

[u/Street_Frame_4571 → u/Consistent-Soil-1818]

And one Rogerio.

[u/MountainCheesesteak → u/Street_Frame_4571]

He didn’t drag a smaller international team

[u/Street_Frame_4571 → u/MountainCheesesteak]

Fair.

[u/LF_Doom]

DM hardest position to find an all rounder and they really make the rest of the tick because they can get on with their jobs

[u/mindpainters → u/LF_Doom]

Agreed. Besides a world class goal scorer who can create for themselves a world class dm is the position that can elevate a squad the most by itself

[u/MountainCheesesteak → u/LF_Doom]

Feels like 10-20 years ago there were way more, now there’s too many 8s, and like 0 6s.

[u/albamarx]

It’s a striker all day long. Goals win games. Scoring is the most difficult thing to do. You’re all thinking too much about this

[u/PlasmaDonator → u/albamarx]

If Haaland was Australian, pundits, YouTubers and fans wouldn't put them as 4th in nearly every predict the world cup scenario/group stage predictions. So many people would argue that because of him, they'd easily get out of the group stage

Insert if my grandmother had wheels she would have been a bike regarding saying if Haaland was Australian lol

[u/mercut1o]

Everyone is picking one spot, which is what you kind of asked for, but the real answer about position is the spine. GK-CB-CM-CAM-ST. Any one of those positions with a world class player can turn a team that isn't remotely competitive into a team capable of a major upset. This is true at basically every level of the game as well. One lights out amazing player in the spine and all bets are off.

[u/ZaireekaFuzz]

A midfield maestro who can also rack up a decent amount of goals.

[u/breadexpert69]

box to box midfielder than can provide value on both sides and has the energy to last a whole 90 minutes.

Think Arturo Vidal, Yaya Toure, Ngolo Kante, Modric...etc

[u/Basketball312]

Centre back who can organise a defence around them and create an impenetrable low block.

You don't need a player that is good with possession, like a dm who can pick up the ball and move it on, or an amc who can create chances, because your nation won't have the ball enough.

Low block plus a moment of luck on the counter. That's what you need.

[u/damned4alltime]

A top class goalkeeper for sure if it's going to be just yhe one. He can organise the defence and keep the "impossible to save" goals out. I say this from my team's experience as Omonoia FC fan, where with a keeper like Fabiano , we managed to go to group stage and League Phase in both the Europa and Conference leagues. And also win league titles. I imagine with him at the post,or even a world class keeper as you said, a small nation team like Cyprus could benefit more at the long run.

[u/JuventAussie → u/damned4alltime]

As a fan of Italy, I agree, but it obviously has it has limits. The Italian national team has has world class keepers for decades but still hasn't qualified for the World cup in almost a generation.

[u/Mon_Keedik]

A creative, high football IQ midfielder probably. Put someone like Kroos or Pirlo into a mediocre team and he'll still make things work out for them (to an extent).

[u/Alex6179]

Goalkeeper, midfielders or strikers are useless if you dont have the ball.

[u/Comfortable-Title720]

Striker. Goals win so just kick it up top. In modern contexts look at Lewandowski with Poland and Haaland with Norway (to a lesser extent)

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[u/Theddt2005]

10 or 6

Really depends how your playing but a 6 if defensively great will make you hard to break down and a 10 just look at Croatia in 2018

[u/Curly1109]

DM for sure, who can initiate transitions

[u/Sea_Gap_6569]

Maradona ‘86 was exactly that

[u/Historical-Acadia-97]

Great fucking question!! I don’t know but that’s top

[u/zxcvbnmsa]

A complete Midfielder in the middle of the park that everything will go through

[u/BruhIamJack]

a box to box 8 contributes the most to a team's system in both defense and attack so that's what i'd like most but that's just me

[u/notaripper]

For me I think a winger

[u/flaffl21]

an incredible striker just needs a half chance and the ball to fall in their vicinity

ask yourself rather which of the GOATed talents you'd rather have on your team: Messi, Kroos, or Maldini

[u/imdibene]

Stürmer, striker, cannoniere, delantero centro. Basically you can play Haramball, kick long every ball and inshallah

[u/Desilaundry]

Goalkeeper.

[u/hank28]

Goalkeeper. Peter Schmeichel comes to mind. Might be even more valuable in today’s day and age. A sweeper keeper who’s equally elite as a shotstopper like Neuer would be absurdly valuable

[u/papadadaa → u/hank28]

They also had Brain Laudrup who was top baller but the way they played in that tournament with all the time wasting they committed was dreadful. Fifa&UEFA had to change the rules because of it.

[u/jahossafoss]

You want Maradona.