OPINION: It would be easy to formulate a dream World Cup XI that would dominate on Ultimate Team on FIFA 18, but let's be honest - that's no fun.
Literally hundreds of talented footballers will be on display in Russia over the next month. Some you've heard of, some you haven't.
In my infinite (cough) footballing fandom, I have created my dream XI of potential World Cup stars you may not have heard of.
I have gone for a 4-3-3 formation, which is growing in popularity among international coaches (and works well for me in FIFA 18.)
Goalkeeper: Alisson – Brazil
So cool he only needs one name. Alisson cemented himself as Brazil's number one during the tough South American qualification stage.
The Roma keeper was a standout for the Italian club during their Champions League run this season and he was simply outstanding in qualifying for his country, conceding just nine goals in 17 matches.
Alisson is rumoured to be heading to Liverpool after the tournament.
Right back: Mikael Lustig – Sweden
The Celtic defender was linked with a move to the EPL last off-season, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United among his suitors.
The 31-year-old has played 64 times for his country over a 10-year span, but was prominent for the Scandinavians in qualifying.
Lustig is great on attack, scoring three-goals in qualification, but he excels on the defensive side of the ball.
With Sweden's group featuring Germany, Mexico and Korea, Lustig will need to be good, considering the superb wide attacking talent those three sides possess.
Left back: Marvin Plattenhardt – Germany
The 26-year-old is in a neck-and-neck battle with Jonas Hector as the world champions’ first-choice left back.
Most German scribes favour the Hertha Berlin star, due to his ability at set-piece on the ball and his defence-first mindset.
Coach Joachim Low is a big fan of Plattenhardt, it's just a question of attack over defence. My vote is for defence, given it's Germany and having watched a lot of Bundesliga in the last two years, I think this guy is a special player.
Centre back: Davinson Sanchez – Colombia
The Spurs youngster is rated as the best young defender in world football and his performances for the London club this season would suggest the experts are right.
Take the physicality of Sol Campbell and mix it with the poise of Paolo Maldini, and Sanchez would fit somewhere in the middle.
The 21-year-old had limited chances during the EPL season, behind Tottenham's defensive kingpin duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, but manager Mauricio Pochettino believes Sanchez will be a dominant presence for years to come.
Centre back: Kalidou Koulibaly - Senegal
The French-born 26-year-old has been a defensive rock for Napoli since his move to Italy in 2014.
Often linked with London clubs Arsenal and Chelsea, Koulibaly is an elegant defender, who has the technical ability to play in the midfield if called upon.
Senegal made a magical World Cup run in 2002, reaching the final eight, and will need a strong tournament from their best defender in order to repeat that performance.
Midfield : Youri Tielemans - Belgium
As a 19-year-old, Tielemans won the Belgian footballer of the year in 2017, beating out the likes of Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne.
That should tell you enough about the talent the Monaco midfield maestro possesses.
Tielemans will be part of a stacked Belgium midfield but he featured heavily in the final stages of qualification which would indicate that he is in the plans of coach Roberto Martinez.
Midfielder: Marcelo Brozovic - Croatia
The Inter Milan centre midfielder is reportedly in the sights of Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.
Brozovic will be key for Croatia in the tournament, alongside midfield partner Luka Modric.
The 25-year-old has goal-scoring ability to go with box-to-box mentality, having scored six goals in 34 internationals.
Midfielder: Younes Belhanda – Morocco
The outstanding Galatasary attacking midfielder could be a breakout star in Russia.
Having bounced around a few French clubs since 2009, Belhanda has cemented himself as a key cog of the Turkish giants' midfield this season.
Morocco are my tournament darkhorses, having breezed through the minefield that is African qualification.
Belhanda will be key to my prediction coming to fruition.
Left winger: Nabil Fekir - France
A potential move to Anfield had Liverpool fans in heaven, as we dream of what a Mohammad Salah/ Nabil Fekir attacking combination could do to opposition sides.
Unfortunately for me, those negotiations appear to have broken down, but that won't stop the Lyon star from shining for my World Cup favourites, France.
The talent-rich side has attacking weapons galore, but Fekir could very well slip under the radar of opposing managers.
Coincidently, I picked up Fekir for Liverpool in FIFA 18 - and won the treble.
Just saying.
Right winger: Tom Rogic – Australia
The 25-year-old just signed a new long-term deal for Celtic, a club he shone for this past season.
Rogic has notched seven goals in 36 internationals for the Socceroos, and will form a fairly decent attacking threat with Aaron Mooy, Matthew Leckie and Tomi Juric.
Australia has a tough pathway to the knockout stage, but will pose problems for France, Peru and Denmark, especially if Rogic hits Russia in top form.
Forward: Arkadiusz Milik – Poland
Twelve goals in 39 internationals represent a good return for the 24-year-old, particularly when you consider he plays alongside one of the world's premier strikers in Robert Lewandowski.
Milik scored for Poland in their shock defeat of world champions Germany at Euro 2016 and netted three times in qualification.
Poland have a real chance to top a group featuring Senegal, Colombia and Japan, which could mean plenty of goals for the Italian based striker.
Brad Lewis is a digital sports producer for Newshub.
