With the World Cup 2018 kicking off this week, we're sure you're already clued up about almost everything you need to know about the players competing in Russia, including which teams they belong to, what position they play and who's likely to be named top goalscorer and so on and so on.
However, we say almost everything, because despite our extensive analysis of the World Cup 2018, there's still one question left to be answered: which players are the hottest?
Yes, we mean hot, sexy, seductive – would be allowed to score a few goals off the pitch too if you know what we mean…
It goes without saying that all of the footballers travelling to Russia have spent their lives making sure their bodies are built to excel athletically, so how rude of us would it be to not admire their efforts?
That's why, for the sake of politeness more than anything, really, we've taken one for the team and endured the painstaking task of deciding who is the sexiest player in each of the thirty-two competing World Cup 2018 teams.
The World Cup may be one of the most important sporting competitions, but take a read of this list and try to tell us it's not one of the best looking competitions too. Eye candy this way, guys!
Argentina – Lionel Messi
- Age: 30
- Position: Striker
- Relationship Status: Married 🙁
Lionel Messi is not only considered to be one of the very best players of modern football, but he's also one of the hottest too! Sadly, Messi has been married since last year to Antonella Roccuzzo, but that won't stop us from making sure we never miss a Messi match.
Australia – Mathew Leckie
- Age: 27
- Position: Midfielder
- Relationship Status: Married 🙁
Mathew Leckie is not only model handsome, but he's also got the body of a Greek God too. In fact, we'd argue that he is one of the World Cup's overall hottest players, which is a shame as Australia aren't likely to advance further than the groups. May Leckie's perfect face live on in your dreams long after he has left the competition.
Belgium – Mousa Dembélé
- Age: 30
- Position: Central Midfielder
- Relationship Status: Taken
Mousa Dembélé may be the best thing to come out of Belgium since chocolate and beer, and luckily he's very likely to make the Belgium starting eleven too. This can only be great news for us as it means we'll get to see more of this man on our screens this summer.
Brazil – Neymar
- Age: 26
- Position: Striker
- Relationship Status: Taken
Although Neymar may have sported some dodgy haircuts in the past, with a cheeky grin and sculpted body, there's no way we can deny that the Brazilian forward has blossomed one of the hottest players around.
What's more, he's the current World Cup favourite to win Top Goalscorer, meaning you can gush to your partner about his ‘skills' and they'll be none the wiser…
Colombia – James
- Age: 26
- Position: Midfielder
- Relationship Status: Taken
James Rodriguez, who is more commonly referred to just as James (pronounced ha-mez), is one of Colombia's best players this World Cup but he's certainly caught our attention for other reasons too!
Alongside being one of the sexiest players on the South American team, one flick through his Instagram shows him as a loving and devoted father to his little girl too – not that we're suggesting we want to have his babies or anything…
Costa Rica – Rónald Matarrita
- Age: 23
- Position: Defender
- Relationship Status: Unknown
Rónald Matarrita is known for his tackles on the pitch, but we'd sure be happy to let him take us to the ground too!
This will be the Costa Rican defenders first World Cup, but he isn't shy of the limelight as his Instagram full of selfies proves. Come on, we know you've just gave him a follow.
Croatia – Dejan Lovren
- Age: 28
- Position: Defender
- Relationship Status: Married
Not only is Dejan Lovren a fantastic footballer but his well-defined, tanned body – which looks like it was sculpted by angels – can also be seen modelling underwear too! Not that we've been googling ‘Lovren Topless' ahead of the World Cup 2018…
Denmark – Kasper Schmeichel
- Age: 31
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Relationship Status: Married 🙁
Tall, blonde and strong, Kasper Schmeichel has the whole ‘Nordic hunk' look nailed! We'd happily be caught in this Danish goalkeeper's arms anytime.
Egypt – Mo Salah
- Age: 25
- Position: Striker
- Relationship Status: Married 🙁
Whilst the fate of Egypt's World Cup success lies in the hands of Mo Salah, we think our hearts do too! Not only is Salah one of the World's best strikers, but he's proven time and time again he is one of the sweetest, kindest and most sensitive players in the game right now too. Nice guys don't always finish last…
England – Ruben Loftus-Cheek
- Age: 22
- Position: Midfielder
- Relationship Status: Unknown
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was a surprise call up for England and Russia will be his first ever World Cup competition, yet we're sure by the end of the tournament his name will be on the lips of hundreds of twenty-something women as the hottest player around!
France – Olivier Giroud
- Age: 31
- Position: Striker
- Relationship Status: Married 🙁
Olivier Giroud is France's top striker and we'd let him feed us baguettes and ‘vin rouge' every single day of the week! What's more, with him on the team, France looks likely to go far in this year's competition, which means we'll get to see this handsome face quite a bit this summer.
Germany – Mats Hummels
- Age: 29
- Position: Defender
- Relationship Status: Married 🙁
Mats Hummels almost definitely has the nicest eyes in the World Cup 2018 – come on, just look at them! We could discuss how great a defender he is too, but let's just go back to thinking about those eyes for a second longer…
Iceland – Gylfi Sigurdsson
- Age: 28
- Position: Midfielder
- Relationship Status: Taken
Whilst Iceland may be well known for offering the most expensive pint in the world, we wouldn't mind forking out if it meant we could share a drink with certified hottie Gylfi Sigurdsson!
Iran – Ramin Rezaeian
- Age: 28
- Position: Defender
- Relationship Status: Unknown
Ramin Rezaeian may have a name which is quite a mouthful to say, but we're sure by the end of the competition you'll know it off by heart. Not only does Rezaeian have an incredible figure but he also has a smile that we're pretty sure could melt hearts internationally. We mean, come on, just look at it!
Japan – Yoshinori Muto
- Age: 25
- Position: Forward
- Relationship Status: Unknown
For us, Yoshinori Muto wins the prize for cutest World Cup player hands-down, but we'd also like you to know he's got brains as well as brain. Muto finished an Economics degree before playing for Japan professionally, which makes him even sexier in our books.
Mexico – Rafael Marquez
- Age: 39
- Position: Defender
- Relationship Status: Unknown/Single
Rafael Marquez is the oldest player to have made this list, but he is something of a not-yet-silver fox! The only player in history to have made five World Cup squads, this one goes out to those who love an older man.
Morocco – Manuel Da Costa
- Age: 32
- Position: Defender
- Relationship Status: Unknown
Manuel da Costa has just shaved his head and we're struggling to see why this wasn't headline news for the World Cup 2018. This, sadly, makes him slightly less hot than before, but we'll still be watching out for him this summer.
Nigeria – John Ogu
- Age: 30
- Position: Midfielder
- Relationship Status: Unknown
John Ogu is not only a world-class footballer, a father and a handsome man, but he can also dance apparently! He said he will celebrate in style if he scores a goal in the World Cup 2018, let's just hope he does it with his shirt off!
Poland – Grzegorz Krychowiak
- Age: 28
- Position: Midfielder
- Relationship Status: Taken
Grzegorz Krychowiak is a main-stay in the Poland team, much to our satisfaction! We definitely wouldn't say no to a few vodkas with this Polish midfielder!
Panama – Michael Amir Murillo
- Age: 22
- Position: Defender
- Relationship Status: Unknown
Yet another contender for the winner of the ‘Best Smile in the 2018 World Cup Prize', Michael Amir Murillo will be enjoying his first international competition this summer, and we'll definitely be enjoying watching him play it!
Peru – Jefferson Farfan
- Age: 33
- Position: Forward
- Relationship Status: Unknown
For Jefferson Farfan, staring in the World Cup 2018 serves as a culmination of the incredible efforts he's made to make a comeback. We always love a man who can show he'll put in effort, and the fact that he's quite easy on the eyes doesn't hurt either.
Portugal – Andre Silva
- Age: 22
- Position: Striker
- Relationship Status: Unknown
We know what you're thinking – where's Cristiano Ronaldo!? Well, although Ronaldo is definitely sexy, we honestly couldn't choose between these two handsome men. So, we thought we should open your eyes to someone who may have flew under your radar before now.
Ronaldo best watch out though, as Silva is defintiely coming for his title as the hottest Portuguese player.
Russia – Aleksandr Erokhin
- Age: 28
- Position: Midfielder
- Relationship Status: Married 🙁
This one goes out to all of you who love tall guys, as Erokhin stands at a delicious 6″3! Plus, just take a look at those piercing blue eyes and tell us you aren't already considering becoming Russia's biggest fan this summer.
Senegal – Keita Balde
- Age: 23
- Position: Winger
- Relationship Status: Taken
Keita Balde may be young, but he's definitely made an impression on both the Senegalese international team and our hearts!
We could go on to tell you more about Balde's footballing record and his journey to the World Cup 2018, but we know that that would only interrupt you from staring at those abs!
Serbia – Filip Kostic
- Age: 25
- Position: Midfielder
- Relationship Status: Unknown
The Serbia international team have faced much criticism for having a World Cup 2018 squad made up of older players.
Luckily, Kostic is a young 25 years old, which means in addition to bringing some youthful exuberance to the team, he'll also be available for our eyes to ogle for many more years!
S
pain – Gerard Pique
- Age: 31
- Position: Defender
- Relationship Status: Married 🙁
If there was a prize for the hottest international squad in this year's World Cup, then we're pretty sure Spain would win it.
Not only do they have a team full of strong, tanned, snacks but they've also got Gerard Pique on board, who is arguably one of the hottest humans alive. Sadly, he his still deeply in love with his wife Shakira, but luckily we love her too.
South Korea – Kim Shin Wook
- Age: 30
- Position: Striker
- Relationship Status: Unknown
Kim Shin Wook is another player for those who like 'em all. Standing at a marvelous 6″5, the South Korean striker is the perfect ‘tall drink of water' to keep your thirst quenched this summer.
Sweden – Martin Olsson
- Age: 30
- Position: Defender
- Relationship Status: Unknown/Single
Martin Olsson is not only a very attractive man, but he also comes with a twin brother which means double the fun!
Sadly, his brother Marcus is not playing in this World Cup but catch them both on Instagram for very cute pictures of them together.
Switzerland – Fabian Schar
- Age: 26
- Position: Defender
- Relationship Status: Unknown
Fabian Schar is not only a fantastic defender, but we also think he could win a competiton for ‘Which World Cup Player Looks Most Like a Disney Prince'. We're not going to lie to you, we're already imagining our lives in a Swiss castle with him right now.
Tunisia – Fakhreddine Ben Youssef
- Age: 26
- Position: Forward
- Relationship Status: Single
Whilst Prince Harry may now officially be off the market, the good news is that if you've got a soft spot for flame-haired cuties then Fakhreddine Ben Youssef is the man you've been looking for.
Uruguay – Nahitan Nandez
- Age: 22
- Position: Midfielder
- Relationship Status: Unknown
Whilst Uruguay's star player Suarez is also a very fine specimen of a man, we can't really get past the biting thing – you know the one – and so we've been on the look out for Uruguayan hotties ever since. Enter Nahitan Nandez, who's perfect head of hair and broad shoulders have got us questioning, ‘sorry, Suarez who?'