The #WFI100 by World Football Index is a list of association football players who played during 2015.
They’re players who entertain when on the pitch regardless of their age, the league they play in, or their nationality.
There are no age restrictions and it’s not a list of the hottest prospects in the world, though you might find quite a few of them on the list.
It’s not exhaustive, and isn’t a list of the best footballers in the world either. It might not even add up to 100…
The list was compiled by our group of experts from across the globe, who have extensive knowledge of their respective regions.
Each player’s name links to their Wikipedia page in order to find out who they currently play for and where it might be possible to see them in action, although some retired in 2015.
Many are familiar names, some will be unfamiliar, some might seem like baffling choices, and the omissions will be glaring, but all will be entertaining in their own way.
AFC
Omar Abdulrahman – Attacking Midfielder – Saudi Arabia – 20/09/1991
Sardar Azmoun – Forward – Iran – 01/01/1995
Evan Dimas – Midfielder – Indonesia – 13/05/1995
Son Heung-min – Forward – South Korea – 08/07/1992
Ahmed Khalil – Forward – United Arab Emirates – 08/06/1991
Shinji Kagawa – Attacking Midfielder – Japan – 17/03/1989
Robbie Kruse – Forward – Australia – 05/10/1988
Yoshinori Muto – Forward – Japan – 15/07/1992
Shinji Okazaki – Striker – Japan – 16/04/1986
Maty Ryan – Goalkeeper – Australia – 08/04/1992
Gōtoku Sakai – Right Back – Japan – 14/03/1991
CAF
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Forward – Gabon – 18/06/1989
André Ayew – Forward – Ghana – 17/12/1989
Yannick Bolasie – Winger – DR Congo – 24/05/1989
Didier Drogba – Striker – Ivory Coast – 11/03/1978
Odion Ighalo – Striker – Nigeria – 16/06/1989
Kelechi Iheanacho – Forward – Nigeria – 03/10/1996
Robert Kidiaba – Goalkeeper – DR Congo – 01/02/1976
Riyad Mahrez – Attacker – Algeria – 21/02/1991
Hachim Mastour – Forward – Morocco – 15/06/1998
Kwadwo Poku – Midfielder – Ghana – 19/02/1992
Kolo Touré – Defender – Ivory Coast – 19/03/1981
Yaya Touré – Midfielder – Ivory Coast – 13/05/1983
Victor Wanyama – Defensive Midfielder – Kenya – 25/06/1991
CONCACAF
Andrés Guardado – Midfielder – Mexico – 28/091986
Javier Hernández – Striker – Mexico – 01/06/1988
Héctor Herrera – Midfielder – Mexico – 19/04/1990
Ariel Lassiter – Striker – Costa Rica – 27/09/1994
Sebastian Lletget – Attacking Midfielder – U.S.A. – 03/09/1992
Andy Najar – Winger/Attacker – Honduras – 16/03/1993
Darlington Nagbe – Midfielder – U.S.A – 19/07/1990
Diego Reyes – Defender/Midfielder – Mexico – 19/09/1992
CONMEBOL
Sergio Agüero – Striker – Argentina – 02/06/1988
Giorgian De Arrascaeta – Attacking Midfielder – Uruguay – 01/06/1994
Yamil Asad – Attacker – Argentina – 27/07/1994
Gabriel Barbosa – Attacker – Brazil – 30/08/1996
Rogerio Ceni* – Goalkeeper – Brazil – 22/01/1973
Ángel Correa – Forward – Argentina – 09/03/1995
Mauro Díaz – Attacking Midfielder – Argentina – 10/03/1991
Paulo Dybala – Striker – Argentina – 15/11/1993
Roberto Firmino – Attacker – Brazil – 02/10/1991
Geuvânio – Forward – Brazil – 05/05/1992
Derlis González – Attacker – Paraguay – 23/05/1994
Ricardo Goulart – Attacker – Brazil – 05/06/1991
Gabriel Jesus – Attacker – Brazil – 03/04/1997
Gerson – Attacking Midfielder – Brazil – 20/05/1997
Marquinhos – Defender – Brazil – 14/05/1994
Matías Kranevitter – Defensive Midfielder – Argentina – 21/05/1993
Lionel Messi – Attacker – Argentina – 24/06/1987
Luan – Forward – Brazil – 11/08/1990
Luisão – Centre Back – Brazil – 13/02/1981
Malcom – Forward – Brazil – 26/02/1997
Marlon – Centre Back – Brazil – 07/09/1995
Naldo – Centre Back – Brazil – 10/09/1982
Neymar – Attacker – Brazil – 05/02/1992
Oscar – Attacking Midfielder – Brazil – 09/09/1991
Juan Fernando Quintero – Attacking Midfielder – Colombia – 18/01/1993
Yordy Reyna – Winger – Peru – 17/09/1993
Rivaldo** – Attacking Midfielder – Brazil – 19/04/1972
James Rodríguez – Attacking Midfielder – Colombia – 12/07/1991
Ronaldinho – Attacking Midfielder – Brazil – 21/03/1980
Alexis Sánchez – Forward – Chile – 19/12/1988
Carlos Andrés Sánchez – Attacker – Uruguay – 02/12/1984
Luis Suarez – Striker – Uruguay – 24/01/1987
Alex Teixeira – Forward – Brazil – 06/01/1990
Valdívia – Attacking Midfielder – Brazil – 04/10/1994
Willian – Attacking Midfielder – Brazil – 09/08/1988
UEFA
Kristoffer Ajer – Midfielder – Norway – 17/04/1998
Riechedly Bazoer – Midfielder – Netherlands – 12/10/1996
Bernardo – Midfielder – Portugal – 10/08/1994
Gianluigi Buffon – Goalkeeper – Italy – 28/01/1978
Antonio Cassano – Forward – Italy – 12/07/1982
Kingsley Coman – Winger – France – 13/06/1996
Thibaut Courtois – Goalkeeper – Belgium – 11/05/1992
Antonio Di Natale – Attacker – Italy – 13/10/1977
Christian Eriksen – Midfielder – Denmark – 14/02/1992
Nabil Fekir – Attacker – France – 18/07/1993
Steven Gerrard – Midfielder – England – 30/05/1980
Anwar El Ghazi – Winger – Netherlands – 03/05/1995
Wes Hoolahan – Midfielder – Republic of Ireland – 20/05/1982
Timo Horn – Goalkeeper – Germany – 12/05/1993
Zlatan Ibrahimović – Forward – Sweden – 03/10/1981
Isco – Attacking Midfielder – Spain – 21/04/1992
Luka Jović – Forward – Serbia – 23/12/1997
Miroslav Klose – Striker – Germany – 09/06/1978
Koke – Midfielder – Spain – 08/01/1992
Yevhen Konoplyanka – Winger – Ukraine – 29/09/1989
Kyle Lafferty – Striker – Northern Ireland – 16/09/1987
Aymeric Laporte – Defender – France – 27/05/1994
Luca Toni – Striker – Italy – 26/05/1977
Anthony Martial – Forward – France – 05/12/1995
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Attacking Midfielder – Armenia – 21/01/1989
Rúben Neves – Midfielder – Portugal – 13/03/1997
Raúl*** – Striker – Spain – 27/06/1977
Daniele Rugani – Defender – Italy – 29/07/1994
Leroy Sané – Attacking Midfielder – Germany – 11/01/1996
Simone Scuffet – Goalkeeper – Italy – 31/05/1996
Xherdan Shaqiri – Winger – Switzerland – 10/10/1991
Niklas Süle – Centre Back – Germany – 03/09/1995
Youri Tielemans – Midfielder – Belgium – 07/05/1997
Francesco Totti – Attacking Midfielder – Italy – 27/09/1976
Marco Verratti – Midfielder – Italy – 05/11/1992
Andrija Živković – Attacker – Serbia – 11/07/1996
*Rogerio Ceni – The São Paulo goalkeeper retired at the end of 2015 aged 42, with 131 goals to his name.
**Rivaldo – The Brazilian maestro is currently the president of Mogi Mirim Esporte Clube of São Paulo state in Brazil. He played several games for them in 2015, alongside his son – the imaginatively named Rivaldinho. On 14 July 2015, Rivaldo and Rivaldinho both scored in the same game for Mogi Mirim.
***Raúl – The legendary Spain and Real Madrid striker retired in 2015, having spent his final season playing for NASL champions New York Cosmos.
Neymar image by Alex Fau – used under the under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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