Welcome to the March internationals, the Christmas eve of the world schedule – this is the last break before this summer’s Euro 2024 and Copa America.
We’re about three quarters of the way through the Premier League campaign and award season will soon be in full swing.
Here at 90min, we’re getting in the spirit of it early. These are our picks for the team of the season so far.
When Tottenham walked away from negotiations to sign David Raya and instead turned to the relatively unknown Guglielmo Vicario, question marks were raised about their decision-making and recruitment.
But the Italian has exceeded every expectation set of him by miles and is clearly one of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers. He’s certainly been the best over the course of this season.
There are very, very, very few full-backs in history who would have been capable of playing the way that Trent Alexander-Arnold does.
He’s been outstanding once again for Liverpool this season, whether going down the touchline and delivering crosses or coming infield and creating overloads.
How many players can say they just walked into the Premier League and became one of the best defenders by a considerable distance by the age of 22?
What William Saliba is achieving with Arsenal is incredible, marshalling one of the world’s meanest backlines with the maturity of a seasoned veteran.
It would have been fair to assume after last season that Virgil van Dijk was past his best.
Liverpool’s newest captain has silenced a lot of critics this year, reestablishing his place at the top of the league’s centre-back food chain.
There may be a lack of quality left-backs right now, but that doesn’t diminish what Destiny Udogie has done this year.
Prior to this season, he’d very rarely played as an orthodox full-back, and he has immediately been tasked with carrying out tasks rather unique to Ange Postecoglou’s system at Tottenham. The 21-year-old has thrived nonetheless.
Did anyone think Declan Rice was going to flop at Arsenal? No. Did anyone think he would immediately elevate himself to the standards of the world’s best midfielders? Probably not, except Rice himself maybe.
It’s hard to imagine what the Gunners would even look like without their £105m man. It’s probably a little scary.
Look, we’re not saying he’s there yet, we’re not saying he may ever get there, but Rodri being thrown into debates with Sergio Busquets shows just how far he’s come at Manchester City.
The best defensive midfielder in world football right now bar none.
There was an intense office debate regarding who out of Phil Foden and Martin Odegaard was more deserving of this spot.
The argument for Foden was he’s proven more of a match-winner when Man City have needed him. That for Odegaard revolved around his stunning performances in the second half of the season.
Foden’s heroics earlier in the campaign just about gave him the edge, and actually starting as a midfielder enough gave us an excuse to put him here.
15 goals and nine assists in 22 games. Just how Mohamed Salah keeps doing this every single year is a great mystery. Everything is so effortless.
Just as with Foden, there were real arguments to be made and debates to be had over Erling Haaland’s inclusion.
The numbers speak for themselves – 18 goals and five assists in 23 matches. His big-game performances remain questionable, but it felt better to reward Man City with another player in this XI than some of their rivals.
With a combined 26 goals and assists, no player has been involved in scoring more than Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins in the Premier League this season.
He now has a bigger title in his sight – rivalling Coldplay’s Chris Martin as Exeter’s finest export.
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