Arguably the world‘s best goalkeeper, Casillas lived up to his reputation by saving Spain on several occasions, including his clutch penalty save against Paraguay in the quarterfinals. Portugal’s Eduardo and Netherlands’ Maarten Stekelenberg also deserve consideration.

The German captain has been steady throughout, providing solid defending along with an ability to get forward into the attack. It’s tough to argue against him being the best full back in the tournament. Brazil’s Maicon, Spain’s Sergio Ramos and Uruguay’s Jorge Fucile also deserve mention.

The Uruguay captain was the rock in the back for a stingy defense that sorely missed him in the semifinal loss to the Netherlands. Fearless and uncompromising, Lugano just might have played himself into a move away from Turkish club side Fenerbahce.

Both Puyol and Gerard Pique enjoyed strong tournaments but Puyol gets the nod after his clutch game-winning goal in the semifinal against Germany. His determination and ability to repeatedly cut off attacks has been impressive. Pique and Per Mertesacker also enjoyed strong tournaments.

It’s amazing to think he’s only 20, but Mueller played well beyond his years. His speed, creativity and ability to make the right play in attack made him an even more dangerous part of Germany’s attack than Miroslav Klose.

The most dangerous winger in this World Cup, Robben got a late start to the World Cup due to injury and has done well to make up for lost time. He netted the opener in the Round of 16 win against Slovakia and sealed the Dutch team’s place in the final with his streaking header goal.

The stabilizing force in Spain’s midfield, Xavi does such a good job of finding the ball and distributing that he almost makes it look effortless. This is nothing new, but in this World Cup he has been especially important to keep pressure off Spain’s defense and setting up his attacking teammates in good positions to threaten. Teammate Andres Iniesta could have easily made the squad as well.

One of the tournament’s true revelations, Schweinsteiger was the heart of the Germany midfield, providing defensive strength while also showing he could still attack with the best of them. His performance in the Argentina victory pushed him into the conversation for Player of the Tournament.

The Dutch team’s midfield maestro hasn’t dominated proceedings, but when the team needs a play, he has often been the one to make it. Sitting on an impressive five goals for the tournament, Sneijder has continued off a dream club season with Inter Milan and has put himself in the conversation for World Player of the Year. Germany’s Mesut Oezil and Spain’s Andres Iniesta also deserved consideration.

Spain’s deadly finisher helped pick up the slack left by Fernando Torres’ poor form and showed why he’s considered one of, if not the best striker in the world. He has a tournament-high five goals, including the vital game-winner against Paraguay in the quarterfinals. Germany’s Miroslav Klose also merited consideration with his five goals, but fell just short.

Arguably the most valuable player in the tournament for any team, Forlan helped lift Uruguay’s attack even as head coach Oscar Tabares chose to defend with numbers. Forlan worked effortlessly with Luis Suarez and scored some of the tournament’s best goals, all with less support attacking support than the other forwards on this team had. Teammate Luis Suarez was also in the mix, both for his goals and his game-saving handball against Ghana.

For many, the 2010 World Cup is the tournament where superstars flopped. The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba and Kaka fell short of expectations, but the reality is that there were plenty of stars who stepped up and lived up to their reputations.

Wesley Sneijder, David Villa, Iker Casillas, Philipp Lahm, and Carles Puyol (pictured) are considered some of the best in the world and they are just some of the players who earned praise as the best players during this World Cup.

Ives Galarcep picks the 2010 World Cup Best XI.