The second round of group-stage matches at the 2022 World Cup has come and gone, so we can now dig into our data after some more impressive performances.
Here is our Team of Round 2.
Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczesny, Poland
Szczesny earned a 91.9 shot-stopping grade and has put together a one-man highlight reel of saves of the tournament. The standout of these was the incredible double save from Saudi Arabia’s penalty to keep his clean sheet intact.
Right-Back: Achraf Hakimi, Morocco
Hakimi graded well across all categories as Morocco beat Belgium. His performance was highlighted by an 86.6 challenge grade and two key passes.
Center-Back: Harry Maguire, England
Despite an overall poor performance from the England team, Maguire was rock solid in England’s back four, winning 10 of his 14 challenges and seven of his nine aerial duels.
Center-Back: Harry Souttar, Australia
Souttar was incredible during the 1-0 victory over Tunisia, which showed in the PFF grades. The Stoke City man came out of the game with an 84.3 aerial-duel grade and an 81.6 challenge grade.
Left-Back: Theo Hernandez, France
Hernandez provided the assist for France’s first goal and also contributed three key passes. His 82.2 crossing grade and 80.0 passing grade earn him a spot on this team.
Center-Midfield: Frenkie De Jong, Netherlands
De Jong completed 15-of-18 line-breaking passes in the Netherlands’ disappointing draw with Ecuador. He earned four 80.0-plus grades, including an 83.8 passing grade and an 81.3 grade on 50-50 duels.
Center-Midfield: Casemiro, Brazil
Casemiro scored Brazil’s late winner as they beat Switzerland and secured their spot in the last 16. While his shooting grade doesn’t get too much of a bump from that, given it took a massive deflection on its way past the Swiss keeper, he earns his place here with a 90.9 passing grade and 12 line-breaking passes.
Right-Wing: Mohammed Kudus, Ghana
Kudus put in a stellar performance in an exciting 3-2 victory for Ghana. His two goals and 81.4 shooting grade nullified an impressive South Korea comeback.
Attacking-Midfield: Bruno Fernandes, Portugal
The Manchester United midfielder scored both goals in his side’s 2-0 win over Uruguay. He completed 3-of-4 defensive-line-breaking passes, and his 94.2 passing grade was the highest at his position during the second round of group games.
Left-Wing: Kylian Mbappé, France
Mbappé continued his fine form at the tournament with another impressive performance. He scored France’s two goals and completed three key passes against Denmark.
Center-Forward: Vincent Aboubakar, Cameroon
The second-half substitute kicked off Cameroon’s resurgence from 3-1 down to a 3-3 draw with a clever finish scooped over the goalkeeper. He was also a threat running at defenders, achieving an 83.2 dribbling grade on his three attempts.
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