Liverpool centre backs Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk have been included on the FIFPro World XI shortlist, it has been confirmed.
FIFPro have announced on their official website that both men make their debut on the shortlist, which is voted for by their fellow professionals. 20 defenders made the initial shortlist with four going on to make the official XI which is announced on September 24th.
Lovren, who has often been criticised by fans since his £20million move to the Reds, has been rewarded for an excellent second half of the season, as well as his part in Croatia’s run to the World Cup final this summer.
Van Dijk, on the other hand, has been superb since moving to Merseyside and played a big part in Lovren’s improved form in 2018.
OPINION
The inclusion of Van Dijk on this list was surely expected after his phenomenal 2018 at the heart of Liverpool’s defence, but Lovren’s definitely less so. The Croatian has become somewhat of a figure of ridicule amongst football fans since he joined Liverpool, but improved massively once Van Dijk joined him in the Reds’ backline. He was terrific in the second half of last season, and was one of the players of the tournament at this summer’s World Cup in Russia. These nominations show just how much the Liverpool defence, once a major weakness of the team, has improved over the last year or so. Lovren and Van Dijk are big reasons for that improvement, and they’ve been rewarded here. Whether either man will make it into the final World XI remains to be seen, but they should both be proud of their achievement in making it to the 20-man shortlist.
