Messi was good in the group stages but has not done much in the knock out stages in my opinion. I think the award should go to one from Kroos, Muller or RodrÃguez. I'm also not sure why Neymar is on the list..
To be honest i agree with you on Messi, but i didn't wan't to just name a load of German players
. James was my favourite of the tournament but there's no chance he'll get even the Bronze ball, he'd be the first Quarterfinalist in a 32 team tournament too if he did.
While Muller has been great i'd probably have Lahm and Neuer ahead of him as well as Messi who has done more for his team as a whole imo. Neuer has obviously not been shortlisted because he'll win the Golden Gloves award, but i think his aforementioned sweeper contributions have been ignored.
Neymar deserved his inclusion imo at least. He was the only presence Brazil had in attack for their first 5 games, seeing him limping into the tunnel in his full kit made me feel horrible for him. I don't think he deserves any awards, but i do think he was one of the top 10 players of the tournament.
The award i'm wondering about is the young player award. I can't think of anyone who's under 21 that's featured prominently enough to deserve it, like Muller in 2010 and Podolski 4 years ealier. Am i forgetting someone?
