Liverpool F.C. — Best pictures!

Barcelona’s super star Lionel Messi (pictured) could re-claim the top spot in the FTBL rating of the world’s best midfielders with a strong performance when Argentina travel to Ecuador for a 2010 World Cup qualifier on June 10.

England's Steven Gerrard stretches during a team soccer training session in London Colney, north of London.

England striker Wayne Rooney (picture right), who remains out of the World Top 23, could return in the elite after England’s World Cup 2010 qualifier against Andorra; his plank to beat in the match amounts to just over 3 rating points.

The three highest rated goalkeepers in the world, all playing for English Premier League clubs, now have a new rival in Inter Milan’s Brazilian Julio Cesar (pictured).

Argentine prodigy Lionel Messi lost his top spot in the FTBL Top 23 of the world’s best midfielders to Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard after dropping more than 16 rating points in the World Cup 2010 qualifier against Columbia despite Argentina’s 1:0 win.