Bernd Schneider (Germany)

Dubbed ‘The White Brazilian’ ever since the 2002 World Cup, the technically-brilliant Bernd Schneider is one of the best allrounders in the German team. He displayed his incredible versatility at the Confederations Cup 2005 when he was used as a left-back in the third-place play-off against Mexico. Schnix, as his teammates call him, made international debut in 1999 at the Confederations Cup in the USA. His career stagnated somewhat for a time, but Schneider has been a permanent fixture in the German line-up since 2002 WC, where his consistent performances were instrumental in Germany reaching the final.

Costinha (Portugal)

Defensive midfielder Costinha was an ever-present in his country’s run to the UEFA Euro 2004 final and also played at Euro 2000, scoring the late winner against Romania. He is yet to play at a FIFA World Cup but his nine matches in qualification indicate he is very much part of coach Luiz Felipe Scolari’s plans. Costinha has won league titles in France and Portugal, and was part of Jose Mourinho’s Porto team which won the 2003 UEFA Cup and 2004 UEFA Champions League.