Starting XI Trivia Quiz

After joining Arsenal at the age of 17, Martinez finally got his breakthrough at the club at age 27, coming in for an injured Bernd Leno and impressing, before moving to Aston Villa in 2020 in search of regular first team football. He made his international debut in June 2021 and won the Copa America with Argentina a month later, picking up the Golden Glove in that tournament too.

He would go on to make a vital save in the final minute of the World Cup final, before saving Kingsley Coman's penalty in the shootout. Martinez did, however, cause some controversy by both making a lewd gesture with his award in front of Qatari and FIFA officials and mocking France star Kylian Mbappe during the trophy parade in Argentina, holding a baby doll with his face on it.

Marcos Acuna had established himself as Argentina's starting left back, but he was ruled out of the semi final and most of the final with a groin injury, handing Nicolas Tagliafico the start and his 48th international cap. He would play 120 minutes, before being substituted for Paulo Dybala, who was brought on to take (and score) a penalty in the shootout.

One of the most experienced players in the starting XI, Nicolas Otamendi marked his 100th Argentina cap in the final with a World Cup trophy. This would be his third time representing Argentina at a FIFA World Cup after appearing in 2010 and 2018. Otamendi is probably most famous for his spell at English giant Manchester City, where he won two league titles, an FA Cup and four EFL Cups.

One of the youngest players in the starting XI, his age did not belie his performances as part of a monolithic centre back pairing with Nicolas Otamendi. Romero made his international debut in the summer of 2021, picking up a Copa America and a FIFA World Cup in his first two years on the international scene. Not bad.

After a two-year stint at Udinese, Nahuel Molina joined Spanish stalwarts Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2022. He made his international debut in 2021; in the same game against Chile in June that Cristian Romero made his debut; and won two international trophies in his first two years.

He was replaced by fellow right back Gonzalo Montiel at the start of extra time. Montiel would go on to give away a penalty and score the winning penalty in the shootout.

Enzo Fernandez had only made his international debut in September 2022 and the final was just his tenth cap. Operating as a deep-lying playmaker, the 21 year old was a revelation, scoring his first international goal against Mexico in the group stages and contributing world class performance after world class performance to pick up the Young Player award.

While the clue may sound like I am downplaying his football ability, I promise you that is not the case - Mac Allister's surname has Scottish origins and he has Irish ancestry. He put in multiple industrious performances in midfield and even grabbed his first international goal against Poland in the group stages. He also provided a high quality assist for Angel Di Maria's goal in the final after a sweeping counter attacking move.

Mac Allister became the first Brighton and Hove Albion player to win the World Cup and it certainly didn't go unnoticed by them. Upon arrival back to their training ground, he received a standing ovation and handshake from all the staff and his teammates and even lifted a replica World Cup trophy while blue and white confetti rained down on him. He has also been filmed letting fans outside the training ground take pictures holding his World Cup winners' medal. Seek those out if you haven't seen them, they'll put a smile on your face.

Affectionately referred to as Lionel Messi's bodyguard for protecting his captain in altercations and never being far from him in photos, de Paul covered the most distance and played the most passes of anyone in the Argentina side in the tournament. Scholes, Pogba and Gascoigne were all midfielders who shared the name Paul.

A veteran winger who has played for football royalty such as Real Madrid and Manchester United and missed the 2014 World Cup final with injury, Angel Di Maria rolled back the years with a fine performance on the left flank in the final; after featuring sparingly in the earlier knockout rounds.

He was substituted in the 64th minute for the more defensive Marcos Acuna with Argentina 1-0 up and France yet to register a shot.

After a multitude of international tournament heartbreaks and even a premature retirement, the one honour missing from Messi's extensive resume was a major international trophy. While the 2021 Copa America was a huge achievement, the World Cup was the holy grail that would cap off the career of one of the all-time greats.

He achieved it in extraordinary fashion, scoring seven goals in seven appearances and two penalties in two penalty shootouts, picking up his second Golden Ball award, which is awarded to the best player in the tournament.

Alvarez began his international career in June 2021 and was included in the Copa America 2021 squad where he made just one appearance as a substitute against Bolivia. The striker would go on to play a far bigger part in the World Cup win, making five starts ahead of a misfiring Lautaro Martinez, scoring a total of four goals in seven appearances.