Best XI of 2022 : Hectic end to the year sways advantage as new faces emerge for coronation

The year 2022 has been an eventful one with the African Cup of nation and the FIFA World Cup all taking place during the course of it, while the annual UEFA Nations League also presented European players the avenue to represent their countries.

The year saw Real Madrid extend their record of most Champions League title won to 14 while also winning the league for a record 35th time.

Manchester City won a fourth Premier League title in five years, Milan won first Scudetto in eleven years, PSG reclaim the Ligue un title from Lille and Bayern continued their dominance in the Bundesliga.

The highlights of the international stage was Senegal winning their first African Cup of Nations title and Argentina winning their first FIFA World Cup title since 1986.

Morocco also made history for Africa and Arab as they become the first country from the aforementioned regions to reach the semi final of a FIFA World Cup tournament.

Individually, Karim Benzema won the Ballon d'or title and Lionel Messi chattered the records in FIFA World Cup while Kylian Mbappé placed himself in a glorious position to in the future become the face of the tournament.

We have taken time to prepare a selection of the best players from each position and from it present our best XI for the year 2022, which players rated across all competitions, both for country and clubs.

Goalkeeper : Thibaut Courtois

UEFA Champions League winner with Real Madrid and included in the team of the season, Thibaut Courtois also finished seventh in the Ballon d'Or ranking.

He enjoyed a stellar year, where he won the best Goalkeeper in the Champions League, winning the man of the match in the final by making a record seven saves to keep out Liverpool and Mohamed Salah.

Though Belgium endured an underwhelming outing in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the 30 year old didn't disappoint, keeping two clean sheets in three games, while also saving an Alphonso Davies penalty in their first match.

Courtois, outright best Goalkeeper in the calender year and bows out of 2022 as our selected personnel between the sticks in this XI.

It is also worth acknowledging that he won the La Liga title with Real Madrid during the year.

Right-back : Achraf Hakimi

Won two domestic titles with PSG Paris Saint-Germain in France and went on to enjoy a historical outing with his country, Morocco in the FIFA World Cup as the Atlas Lions reached the semi finals.

Hakimi was arguably the best player for Walid Regragui as they become the first African nation to reach the last four of the World Cup, and made it into the best XI of the tournament of many football pundits.

The 24year old, still has his career ahead of him has always been known for his talent, and it is good to see he is putting it into good use.

Center Back : Eder Militao

Militao is one of those players that don't get much recognition for their impressive performances but fans are always eager to criticize them for their slight mistakes.

Whether for Brazil in the FIFA World Cup or for Real Madrid in Europe and .domestic competitions, Militao was responsive during the year. He had a fantastic season in La Liga, helping Real to the League title while in Europe, he alongside David Alaba ensured the club will have no regrets letting go of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos

In fairness, we'll have to give him credits for his outstanding year and obviously his inclusion will raise eyebrows, but we're always ready to back the 24 year old former Porto man, who is slowly making himself a reliable man in the Madrid backline.

He was never doggy but always take responsibility, even in tough situations. Madrid will hope for more from him in 2023 and years to come.

Center Back : Virgil Van Dijk

Leader at the back for a Liverpool side that came very close to achieving the quadruple during the year, Virgil van Dijk continues to tower above rivals with his commanding contributions in defence.

In the FIFA World Cup, he had a good outing with the Netherlands until their quarter final elimination in the hands of eventual Champions, Argentina.

Liverpool’s start to the new season wasn't too good but they've recovered and won each of their last four in the league and Van Dijk has a big part to play in the run.

Aside defending and scoring goals, the former Southampton man also delivered a significant assist to help the club in securing the services of fellow Dutchman, Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven.

Fans will be looking forward to seeing them both represent the Reds in 2023.

Left-back : Theo Hernandez

Hernandez has had a year to remember but he wouldn't forget it could have actually gotten better.

Having helped Milan ended their eleven years wait for a Scudetto, he proceeded into helping them secure a place in the round of 16 of the Champions League for the first time since 2013/14 season.

In the FIFA World Cup, he reached the final with France, where they were beaten by Argentina but he couldn't have done much to evade the heartbreak, as his country was bettered on penalty shoot-out.

Hernandez is a gem for both Milan and France. Even if he is a Left-back, he is a handful in both ends of the pitch and contributed quite some attacking numbers during the year.

He is a joy to watch, very technical and quick. He was even enlisted in a list of top ten players in the Champions League this year, and with no disrespect to Milan, it will be interesting to see where Hernandez will play in the next few years.

Central Defensive Midfielder : Casemiro

Won it all with Real Madrid before departing for Manchester United, where he has now established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders, if not the best in the Premier League.

Playing in the Europa League this season will not take anything away from the fact that Casemiro is having a year to remember - and in the FIFA World Cup, hardly any Brazilian outperformed him on their way to a quarter final exit.

Won the Champions League, La Liga, and the UEFA Super Cup, these alone is reason enough to be here, but Casemiro has also shown he can achieve those and do more individually, nonetheless the stage or the team he plays in.

Central midfielder : Luka Modric

Again, Modric came close to leading Croatia to the FIFA World Cup final, which would have made it a back-to-back appearance in the tournament's curtain drawer after their final loss to France over four years ago in Qatar.

It wasn't meant to be this year but he led them to Bronze in Qatar and it is no news that he achieved it all with his club, Real Madrid during the year as they conquered Europe and La Liga.

At 37, he continues to defy the law of diminishing returns with he stellar performances, which he delivers with consistency.

Central attacking midfielder : Kevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne achieved a third place finish in the Ballon d'Or podium after helping Manchester City to their fourth Premier League title in five seasons.

He was also a major contributor as they came close to reaching the Champions League final before suffering a heartbreaking semi final loss to eventual Champions, Real Madrid.

Regarded as the best playmaker of his time, De Bruyne has the highest number of assist in the Premier League in the calender year and is also top for key passes and big chances created.

Right-wing forward : Lionel Messi

It is unbelievable to think at this time that Lionel Messi was not included in the Ballon d'Or top 30 nomineess but it is understandable, given the struggles in the first part of the year.

That has surely been put to bed now as the Argentine has had an absolute scintillating second part of the year, winning the FIFA World Cup and named the best player in the tournament.

Even before the start of the tournament, he was already making a joke of the French League and as at now, he leads the way to the next Ballon d'or award, which will require more than a miracle to deny him winning the prestigious award for the eighth time.

Striker : Karim Benzema

The Ballon d'Or holder has struggled with injuries this season, which saw him miss the FIFA World Cup but the 34 year old is heading out of 2022 with a bang following his brace in a 2-0 Real Madrid win over Valladolid on Friday night.

Benzema had a remarkable year, and the fact that he won the Ballon d'Or is evidence enough to show that he was the man of the year, leading Real Madrid's conquest of La Liga and Europe.

Won the top scorer award in the league and the Champions League, scoring in every round of the knockout but the final.

Benzema will never forget 2022, the best year of his years even though he will regret not taking part in the FIFA World Cup due to injury.

Left-wing forward : Kylian Mbappé

It is a very close one between the Frenchman and Sadio Mané but Kylian Mbappé was always going to get the nod after that outing with France in the FIFA World Cup, where to some, he is the best player of the tournament.

Won two titles with PSG in France and was named the Ligue un best player, as well as winning the league's top scorer award.

This season, Mbappé, who only turned 24 days ago is the leading scorer in the league, Champions League and the golden boot winner at the FIFA World Cup.

It is fair enough that he comes ahead of Sadio Mané, albeit the later finished second in the Ballon d'Or podium. Also for the same position, Vinicius Junior was not too far behind during the year.