Ronaldo, Messi, Pele: The greatest ever XIs of football's biggest nations

The greatest XIs of all time have been named for the biggest nations in men’s football.

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) has spent the best part of a year working through every single nation on Earth to name their greatest ever male line-up.

It’s a truly insane undertaking that has been fascinating to watch from afar and as they start to wrap up their series, we’re happy to report that most of the sport’s biggest nations have now been covered.

Sorry Uruguay fans, we know you’re still waiting, but the IFFHS have now revealed their picks for Brazil, France, England, Spain, Italy, Argentina, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands’ greatest ever XIs.

The result is a stunning reel of line-ups stacked with so many World Cup, Champions League and Ballon d’Or winners that there are even legendary players forced to settle for a place on the bench.

It’s not for no reason that the IFFHS have had to do some tactical gymnastics along the way, too, just to get all of the icons from those nations into the XI at all costs. It really is that star-studded.

So, it only makes sense that we walk you through these mouthwatering XIs because they really are something to behold. Check out their selections down below and start working out which is the strongest of all.

Goodness gracious me. We’re flying out of the blocks with one of the best line-ups we’ve ever seen and one so good that Roberto Carlos, Romário, Socrates, Dani Alves, Rivaldo and Roberto Rivellino don’t even make the cut.

The thought of Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zico and Garrincha sharing the pitch together is the stuff that footballing dreams are made of. The entertainment levels would be off the scale.

There’s not a footballer on this planet