data-mm-id=”_ctt5sedjv”>The 2022 World Cup is upon us, as the best players and international squads in the world have descended on Qatar for what should be a month of intense soccer action. As we build up to the big event, it's time for our annual look at the best soccer players in the world. Last year's list can be found here, and there have been a ton of changes. Here is our list of the best the soccer world has to offer for 2022. Best Soccer Players in the World FC Bayern München v FC Internazionale: Group C – UEFA Champions League / Jonathan Moscrop/GettyImages10. Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich, Senegal)Losing Mane was brutal for Liverpool, who stumbled out of the gate this season after the 30-year-old forward departed for Bayern Munich in the offseason. The 2022 African Player of the Year, Mane led Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations title this season, potting the decisive penalty. He repeated the feat when Senegal faced Egypt with World Cup qualification on the line. He has smoothly transitioned into a starring role for Bayern, scoring six goals in his first 14 Bundesliga appearances while adding three assists to that tally. He had 90 goals in 196 Premier League appearances over six seasons with Liverpool and has scored 34 times in 93 caps for Senegal. So he knows how to find the back of the net.Mane was named to the PFA Premier League Team of the Year four times during his six seasons with Liverpool and won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2019. He is the best player from his continent and will lead a Senegal squad that has a good shot to make it out of Group A at the World Cup. FC Lorient v Paris Saint-Germain – Ligue 1 Uber Eats / Aurelien Meunier/GettyImages9. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil)Neymar turned 30 this year but he's still one of the best, most creative and entertaining attackers the world has to offer. And he's in excellent form entering the 2022 World Cup. This season he has racked up 11 goals in 14 Ligue 1 matches for Paris Saint-Germain and has five goals in five matches with Brazil in 2022. That adds to his total of 75 tallies in 121 caps for his country. According to him, this will be the superstar's final World Cup, so there will be a ton of pressure to perform at a high level. Neymar has only won one trophy with Brazil, and that came at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. He took home the Bronze Boot at the 2014 World Cup after scoring four goals. He added two in 2018 but Brazil bowed out in the quarterfinals. He'll be looking to do far more this season. Liverpool FC v SSC Napoli: Group A – UEFA Champions League / Marc Atkins/GettyImages8. Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands)Since joining Liverpool in 2017, Van Dijk has developed into a prototypical centre-back. A physical presence with good speed who is great on the ball and an excellent tackler, Van Dijk is as good as it gets on defense in the world. He's also active on set pieces, and has 14 Premier League goals to his name in six seasons with Liverpool. He has also scored six times in 49 appearances for the Netherlands. Van Dijk was a key piece of The Reds' 2019-20 Premier League title and their Champions League win in 2019, when he was named Defender of the Season. He was named Premier League Player of the season in 2019, and has been on the PFA Team of the Year three times. While Manchester City's Ruben Dias isn't far behind, Van Dijk is the world's top defender. He's the captain and leader of a Dutch national team that won its group and cruised through qualification for the World Cup. Real Madrid v Celtic FC: Group F – UEFA Champions League / Quality Sport Images/GettyImagesMore Articles About Soccer:
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Son Heung-min and Harry Kane are doing special things for Tottenham this season, Jose Mourinho said after they inspired Spurs to a 3-0 Premier League win over Leeds United.
Tottenham ended a run of four games without a win in the Premier League in comfortable fashion on Saturday, Son reaching a landmark in the process.
After Kane s penalty put Spurs ahead, Son doubled their advantage with his 100th goal for the club, the England international unsurprisingly the provider.
It marked the 13th time the pair have combined for a goal in the Premier League in 2020-21, tying a record in a single season.
Toby Alderweireld converted Son s corner to make it 3-0 early in the second half as Spurs moved within four points of Liverpool and Manchester United at the top.…
Chelsea great Frank Lampard has taken his first step into management with his appointment at Championship club Derby County.
Lampard emerged as a frontrunner at the weekend and swiftly became the favourite when he revealed Derby s interest. He signed a three-year contract on Thursday.
The Rams were on the lookout for a new manager after Gary Rowett departed for Stoke City in the wake of Derby s play-off semi-final defeat to Fulham.
Lampard ended his playing career in 2016, as two brief spells with Manchester City and New York City followed his remarkably successful 13-year spell at Chelsea.
While some are likely to point at his lack of experience, the 39-year-old is confident in his abilities after learning from the likes of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelo…
Steven Gerrard has backed Aston Villa s decision not to sell Douglas Luiz to Arsenal on deadline day and does not foresee the failed transfer being an issue for the Brazil international.
Arsenal were widely reported to have made a move for Douglas Luiz on Thursday due to injury problems in their midfield.
It was claimed Villa were firmly opposed to a sale at a price Arsenal were willing to go to, though.
A bid of around £20million was said to be lodged, but Villa were instead holding out for £40m for a player in the final year of his contract.
Even with Gerrard s men bringing in fellow midfielder Leander Dendoncker from Wolves, no deal could be done, perhaps leaving Douglas Luiz a little disappointed.
Knowing the boy and the player, I doubt it …
Thomas Tuchel declared Bayern Munich are dying for revenge after their humbling by Manchester City as he revealed Manuel Neuer is stepping up his comeback from injury.
The Bayern head coach oversaw a 3-0 defeat at City in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
It was only in the last quarter of the game that City brought down the hammer, taking advantage of generous defending from the Bundesliga leaders.
Many would suppose the tie is all but over, yet Tuchel does not see it that way, with Bayern looking to make their home advantage count in the second leg next Wednesday.
It s important not to lose focus, Tuchel said. The task seems almost impossible, but nothing is impossible in football. I can feel that we are dying for revenge …
Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury on Saturday.
The 20-year-old has added to the club s woes after colliding with Aston Villa s Antonio Luna during the 3-1 Premier League defeat, and it looks like it could see him out for a while.
Manager Arsene Wenger confirmed that the promising youngster will definitely miss the UEFA Champions League play-off match against Fenerbahce on Wednesday, with reports in the British media claiming that he could be out for as long as six months.
He is out, definitely out (for the Fenerbache clash), Wenger was quoted as saying by The Daily Mail.
It s a knee problem. It s a bad injury.
The England international has become a regular fixture for…
Barcelona can enter the New Year just one point behind Real Madrid, if they can surpass Cordoba in La Liga on Saturday.
Luis Enrique s men could not break down Getafe in a 0-0 stalemate last time out in the top flight but can put the pressure back on Carlo Ancelotti s leaders given the latter s league duties are complete for 2014, due to Club World Cup commitments.
Barca were also buoyed by an 8-1 Copa del Rey victory over Huesca on Tuesday, with Pedro on target with a hat-trick in the 12-1 aggregate triumph.
The meeting will be the sides first in La Liga, with Barca winning their Copa del Rey tie in 2012-13 7-0 on aggregate including a 5-0 win at Camp Nou.
Third-placed Atletico Madrid are also looking to bounce back from a last-start league slip-up in th…
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are working with captain Vincent Kompany to make sure he frees his mind and avoids overthinking any potential issues with his fitness.
Kompany was a last-minute withdrawal from the Belgium starting XI to face Netherlands in the international break, with national team boss Roberto Martinez stressing he was not injured, but did not feel right after the warm-up.
That was similar to City s EFL Cup match at Manchester United last month, when the defender asked to be withdrawn at half-time as he did not feel ready to play in the second half.
Guardiola wants Kompany to feel mentally free now that the worst of the groin and calf problems – which have limited him to just 16 top-flight appearances since the start of 2015-16 seemingly b…
LA Galaxy have confirmed the signing of Landon Donovan, with the former United States international coming out of retirement to rejoin the MLS club.
Donovan retired at the end of the 2014 season having lifted his fourth MLS Cup with Galaxy, while he also had two loan spells in the Premier League with Everton.
The forward, who won 157 caps for United States during a 14-year-international career, is the all-time leading scorer in MLS history.
The 34-year-old rejoins Galaxy for the last few weeks of the season, with the team joint-second in the Western Conference and Donovan said he believes it is a win-win situation although he expects a mixed reaction.
He s back.
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy)
I am very happy to announce that I have decided…
Erik ten Hag expects his Manchester United players to show a stronger mentality and earn the right to wear the shirt after they crashed out of the Europa League with a whimper at Sevilla.
It was a horror show for the Red Devils in the second leg at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Thursday as they were consigned to a 3-0 second-leg defeat, losing the quarter-final 5-2 on aggregate.
United shot themselves in the foot, Harry Maguire robbed for the first goal after taking a pass from David de Gea to gift Youssef En-Nesyri an early opener.
En-Nesyri later capitalised on terrible mistake from De Gea to complete the scoring after more poor defending gave Loic Bade the opportunity to score Sevilla s second goal.
United were abysmal with so much at stake and boss Ten Hag…
Chelsea are still interested in signing Arsen Zakharyan from Dynamo Moscow, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The first links between the London Blues and the 19-year-old, who has four senior caps as a Russia international under his belt, appeared about a year ago. Since then, Chelsea were caught up in the storm caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which eventually led to a change of ownership at the club. Further more, Thomas Tuchel was sacked earlier this week and Graham Potter has come in from Brighton and Hove Albion to take the head coach role at Stamford Bridge instead. But the interest in Zakharyan remains.
Preferring a central attacking midfield role, the talented youngster is versatile enough to play either left or right too, depending on the need and the m…