2010 World Cup Worst XI

By Dominic Brock

The World Cup is the stage for the world's greatest footballers to become immortals, for budding minnows to test themselves against the goliaths of the game, and for some big name stars to come crashing down to earth.

Here are eleven of the biggest flops of the 2010 World Cup, a tournament that has had its fair share of mistakes, from coaches, to referees, to plastic horn manufacturers.

BigPond Sport's World Cup Worst XI lines up in a 4-3-3 formation and is coached by hapless France mentor Raymond Domenech.

Goalkeeper: Robert Green (England)

Green eclipsed a tough field of shot-stoppers with a single moment of madness. That howler against the United States – where a seemingly tame strike from Clint Dempsey somehow rolled through Green's grasp and into the net – immortalised the West Ham No.1 in World Cup history for all the wrong reasons. England coach Fabio Capello had gone into his team's opening World Cup match with the tricky question of whether to opt for the experience of David James in goal or the raw talent of Joe Hart, and instead went for the each-way bet of 30-year-old Green. He was replaced by James for the next three matches.

Right back: Martin Demichelis (Argentina)

The Bayern Munich defender was the weak link in Argentina's defence, repeatedly losing his man against Mexico and having rings run around him by Germany's wide men as Argentina crashed out in the quarter-finals. But his tournament lowlight came against South Korea, when an embarrassing blunder at the back handed possession to the Koreans for their only goal of the match.

Centre back: Fabio Cannavaro (Italy) (c)

Four years ago, Cannavaro led Italy to a famous World Cup triumph, going on to claim the FIFA World Player of the Year award on the back of some inspirational displays for the national team. But now, at 36, the Italy captain doesn't have the pace or ability to make up for his diminutive 175cm frame, and has clearly lost the edge that made him one of the world's best defences. Was sloppy all tournament and gifted New Zealand the goal that secured a famous draw for the Kiwis, who would go on to finish above the world champions in their group. Juventus had let Cannavaro leave for the United Arab Emirates before the tournament began and it wasn't hard to see why.

Centre back: John Terry (England)

Another fallen hero, Terry had already lost the captaincy of England in the lead-up to the tournament after an affair with a teammate's partner. Terry was then put under more pressure after an injury to fellow defender Rio Ferdinand, before being found out in a 4-1 demolition job by Germany. His misjudging of the straightforward long ball that led to Germany's first goal made a highly-rated England side look surprisingly amateurish.

Left back: Patrice Evra (France)

One of the world's strongest left backs at club level with Manchester United, Evra, like many of his national teammates, somehow dropped a few levels in class when lining up for France. Was easily beaten by Mexico's Pablo Barrera in the lead-up to a goal in France's first shock loss, and after being given the captaincy he led a player strike that all but ended any chance of a successful tournament for the underachieving European giants. France's embarrassing group stage exit was matched only by that of Italy.

Defensive midfield: Felipe Melo (Brazil)

One half of Dunga's defensive midfield pairing, Melo was ordinary for Brazil up until the quarter-finals, when he really took his chance to grab the spotlight. First he made his best play of the tournament with an admittedly impressive through ball for Robinho's opener, but then made up for it with an own goal to put the Netherlands back into the contest. His last act in South Africa was a bizarre stamp on Dutchman Arjen Robben, which saw Melo sent off as Brazil lost the match 2-1. National legend Ronaldo suggested the midfielder not return to Brazil any time soon, and with good reason.

Centre midfield: Jason Culina (Australia)

In a hard-working Socceroos side, Culina's performances were curiously poor considering his reputation as the team's midfield playmaker. Was played out of position in Australia's opening 4-0 disaster against Germany, and then struggled to make any positive impact in the latter two matches. He may not have been Australia's worst player – Vince Grella was equally bad against Germany before succumbing to injury, and Harry Kewell's brief cameo was notable only for giving away a penalty and a red card – but Culina proved to be a weak link in all three matches as the Socceroos came just short of advancing to the knockout rounds.

Centre midfield: Gareth Barry (England)

The answer to England's defensive midfielder dilemma wasn't the success story Fabio Capello wanted. With Owen Hargreaves out injured as usual, Barry was preferred over Scott Parker and Michael Carrick in the role for three of England's four matches, but his obvious lack of pace and some poor passing options did nothing to help a struggling England side. Failed to get anything going in attack and at times found himself outclassed – particularly by Germany's Mesut Ozil – when defending.

Striker: Nicolas Anelka (France)

Anelka has scored 40 goals in the past two seasons at Chelsea, but looked a pale imitation of his usual self for France. After two woeful performances, Anelka was sensationally sent home after delivering an obscenity-filled half-time tirade against coach Raymond Domenech. That prompted the team to temporarily go on strike, before crumbling to a defeat against South Africa in their final group match.

Striker: Fernando Torres (Spain)

He may still finish a World Cup champion but Fernando Torres has been far below his best for Spain this tournament, with the European champions looking surprisingly toothless up until the semi-finals. As the focal point in Spain's attack, Torres has been overshadowed by left winger David Villa – who has repeatedly seemed to single-handedly rescue the Spaniards against relatively weaker teams. Still clearly not at his best after recovering from injury, Torres hasn't given defenders many problems and looks set to go through the tournament scoreless – despite playing in front of the best midfield in world football.

Striker: Wayne Rooney (England)

What happened to England's star man? After a season where he scored goals for fun for Manchester United, Rooney appeared set to take a talented England team a long way in South Africa. Instead, he has been one of the team's worst players, struggling to adapt to the lone striker role and failing to score against relative minnows the USA, Algeria and Slovenia. Claims by some that Rooney had eclipsed Lionel Messi as the best player in the world look somewhat ridiculous now.

That was the worst, here is the best. BigPond Sport's Team of the World Cup.