And you don't have to play in a world cup to be a bril player. Ryan Giggs? i think Neymar shows what he can do with santos but i don't agree with Pele, not better than Messi.
World class as in they would get in the best 11 in the world? If that's the criteria then no. But we've got a few players who perform well at international level. Ashley Cole may not be the best left back in the world as is often claimed, but he's extremely competent at international level and has been for years. The much maligned John Terry had an excellent tournament. His performances for England over the years have been first rate. Joe Hart is a superb goalkeeper. Maybe he's not the best, yet, but he' right up there. In my opinion you could put these three players in any team in the world and they would perform admirably. No team would see a drop off in performance for their inclusion. They may not be the very best, that's debatable, but they are capable of very good performances against the best in the world and that makes them world class. What we haven't got is an attacking player, a player with skill, who could claim to be anywhere near world class. The best we've got is Rooney and while his performances at club level are superb he does absolutely nothing when we get to the World Cup or the European Championships. It's happened too often now to be put down as an off day, he's just not up to it. Gerrard played well in the group games, but when it really mattered against a proper side like Italy he went missing for the whole game. And that has happened many times before. We're producing good defenders and the team certainly looked well drilled in these championships, but our lack of quality in the middle of the park and the attacking third was there for all to see.
I've watched a few Santos (and Brazil) matches recently and Neymar is very, very good. Almost unstoppable at his best - witness the 8-0 match in the Copa Libertadores against Bolivar where he scored one and set up 4 (Elano was also very good that day) and the Brazil v Argentina game where he scored 2 (Messi got a hat-trick). However, he is still only just 20 and has a tendancy to get booked and can disappear in games. Even with that he has scored 29 in 29 for Santos this year and 11 in 18 for Brazil. Pele thinks he is better than Messi, and Maradona is the other way. I'm not going to argue with either of the great men, but I think comparing the best in South America with the best in Europe is a little like apples and oranges. If/when he comes to Europe we will get a better comparison. I think Neymar will be world-class star very soon - could be after the Olympics. Hulk is probably better known in Europe, but is another who could be considered world-class soon.
A player could be world class but still not get into a world 11. Otherwise there could only be 11 world class players around at any one time. Currently, I think only Ashley Cole and Terry are world class, with Gerrard and Rooney capable of being but not performing to the required level. I think Gerrard, Rooney, Cole, Lampard, Ferdinand and Terry were all world class in their prime, which begs the question why we haven't done better internationally. As for a current World XI, I'd say this : Casillas Alves Pique Terry (honestly! Not many great defenders about imo) Lahm Xavi Iniesta Ozil Messi Van Persie Ronaldo Subs: Buffon, Puyol, Cole, Alonso, Schwienstieger, Aguero, Pedro/Neymar/Benzema.