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Sportskeeda's Holiday themed football XI

It’s that time of the year again!

Christmas is the festival of lights and arguably one of the best things about it for football fans is the drama and excitement of Boxing Day fixtures that take place during this festive period. Football fans around the world are gearing up for the yearly bombardment of goals, upsets and plot twists. Once all the formal festivities are done, there are a set of stellar fixtures coming our way tomorrow as we gear up for Boxing Day 2016. 

Ahead of the big day tomorrow, we have put together a festive XI to add to the high spirits of people around the globe. In this segment, we take a look at Sportskeeda’s Christmas themed football XI.

WARNING: We have thought up the ultimate Christmas XI with a few festive tweaks to the player’s names. This team line-up in a 3-4-3 formation and we are not quite sure how this team will function from a competitive context!


GoalKeeper – Darren Randolph aka Rudolph the ninth reindeer

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 14: Darren Randolph of West Ham United kicks down field during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Newcastle United at the Boleyn Ground on September 14, 2015 in London, United Kingdom.  (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
Red nose missing!

We have gone with Darren Randolph of West Ham in goal due to the name that draws comparisons with Santa’s ninth reindeer, Rudolph, who sports a red nose!

The puns can only get worse as we move on..


The Angel-ic back line!

RCB – ANGEL Rangel

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 22:  Angel Rangel of Swansea City gestures during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Swansea City at Etihad Stadium on November 22, 2014 in Manchester, England.  (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
The first Angel!

On the right-hand side of our defensive line, consisting of three players, we have decided to go with Swansea City’s Angel Rangel who is currently not very ‘merry’ about Swansea’s position in the league table!


CB – MICHAEL Keane

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 27:  Diego Costa of Chelsea is fouled by Michael Keane of Burnley during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Burnley at Stamford Bridge on August 27, 2016 in London, England.  (Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)
Michael, the archangel of brute force!

In the heart of our defence, we have Michael Keane of Burnley, who represents the archangel Michael, one of the strongest and most powerful servants of god! No one better to stop incoming attacks and his second name is Keane! 


LCB – GABRIEL Paulista

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 28:  Gabriel of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and A.F.C. Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium on December 28, 2015 in London, England.  (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Gabriel, the archangel of messengers!

Gabriel Paulista of Arsenal completes our angel-ic defensive trio, the best Christmas gift he ever got is probably teammate Shkodran Mustafi’s injury! 


JESUS AND MOSES ON THE WINGS, SANTA AND REIN-DIER IN THE MIDDLE!

RWB – Jesus Navas

NORWICH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 09:Jesus Navas of Manchester City in action during the Emirates FA Cup third round match between Norwich City and Manchester City at Carrow Road on January 9, 2016 in Norwich, England.  (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Christmas XI poster boy!

Arguably the only player to make it to every Christmas themed XI since it’s inception, thanks to his first name, this is probably the only combined XI he will regularly feature in!


CM – Eric Rein-Dier

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 18:  Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley at White Hart Lane on December 18, 2016 in London, England.  (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
Definitely good enough to be our Reindeer!

Eric Dier of Tottenham features in the centre of the midfield for our team, a spot that only Roy Hodgson fancied him in! On the brighter side, at least he feels involved here unlike at White Hart Lane!


CM – Santa Cazorla

 

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN - AUGUST 07: Santi Cazorla of Arsenal during the Pre-Season Friendly between Arsenal and Manchester City at Ullevi on August 7, 2016 in Gothenburg, Sweden. (Photo by Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images)
Dressed in red and white, Santa is our ultimate showman!

Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla makes the list despite being injured, thanks to his attire and his little involvement in football throughout the season. Maybe he’s just busy delivering packages and not injured!


LWB – Victor Moses

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 03:  Willian (R) of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team's second goal with his team mate Victor Moses (L) during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Chelsea at Etihad Stadium on December 3, 2016 in Manchester, England.  (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
MOSES gracing a worshipper! 

Victor Moses of Chelsea completes our midfield, a revival this season that can give Jesus a real run for his money! We meant Navas...

WE WARNED YOU ABOUT OUR PUNS..


ONLY AN ANGEL CAN SAVE THIS ATTACK!

RS – Roque SANTA Cruz

MADRID, SPAIN - APRIL 23:  Roque Santa Cruz of Malaga CF waves Malaga CF fans after loosing the La Liga match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Malaga CF at Vicente Calderon Stadium on April 23, 2016 in Madrid, Spain.  (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
Bigger and better looking Santa out of the two!

Former Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz is the first of our three forwards. A lot was expected from Santa but he eventually faded away like a myth. We are quite sure you don’t know where he is now.


ST – Andy CARROLL

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 09: Andy Carroll of West Ham United reacts during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at the Boleyn Ground on April 9, 2016 in London, England.  (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Fans can sing better than Carroll!

Andy Carroll of West Ham will lead our line-up, the perfect target man but he never hits the target! Ask Liverpool fans.


LS – ANGEL Di Maria

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 19:  Angel Di Maria of PSG celebrates scoring his teams first goal of the game during the Group A, UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain Football Club and Fussball Club Basel 1893 at Parc des Princes on October 19, 2016 in Paris, France.  (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Moment you realise you went from Ronaldo and Messi to Santa Cruz and Carroll

The most high-profile name in our list is Angel Di Maria who completes our line-up. Looks like he has already given up on feeding Santa Cruz and Andy Carroll!


Substitutes

Pepe Reina aka Reindeer

Andreas Christian-Son

Dani Alves aka Elves

CHRISTIAN Eriksen

MICHAIL Antonio

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