World Football: The Current 11 Best Forwards in the World

With so many talented forwards performing at a high level, it's rather difficult to pick the best 10 and some very talented forwards (like Carlos Tévez) had to be left out.

To make the list more accurate, players like Robben, who play behind the forwards, weren't taken into consideration.

These ten forwards were picked based on their ability to score goals, but also to set up their teammates and help their team (for example, tracking back).

Luis Fabiano is undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the world.

At the club level, he has scored 163 goals in 321 matches, and with Brazil he has scored 28 goals in 43 matches. He averages an excellent 0.53 goals per match.

His duo with Kanouté has led Sevilla to two UEFA Cup trophies in the past five years.

Luis Fabiano's ability to score in critical moments has attracted the interest of many top European clubs and made him an irreplaceable player in the Brazilian national team under Dunga.

The best player (at least according to FIFA) of the 2010 World Cup.

Diego Forlán is arguably one of the most complete forwards in the world.

Not only does he score a lot, but he can also assume more of a playmaking role (like we saw in the World Cup) and set up chances for his teammates.

2009/2010 was his best season ever. Along with Sergio Aguero, he led Atletico to the Europa League title (he scored the decisive goals in the final) and then led Uruguay to a fantastic fourth-place at the World Cup.

At 31 years old, Forlán is still one of the most feared forwards on the planet.

He averages 0.43 goals per match.

At 22 years old, Gonzalo Higuain is already one of the best strikers in the world.

Last season, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuain carried Real Madrid's title hopes on his shoulders until the very end, scoring 27 goals in the league.

Then, he had a good World Cup and managed to score four goals, including a hat trick against South Korea.

At such a young age, Higuain can only improve and further establish himself as one of the best strikers in the game.

He averages 0.47 goals per match.

Diego Milito has always been a top goal scorer, but only last season (at 30 years old) did he finally move to a top European club.

José Mourinho trusted Milito and the Argentinian striker didn't disappoint. He had an absolutely fantastic season and scored vital goals for Inter in every competition they won.

His two goals in the Champions League final really showed what a fantastic striker he is.

If he hadn't been underrated for so long, he might have had a much more brilliant career.

The UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award was a fair recognition of his immense quality.

Diego Milito averages 0.43 goals per match.

David Villa is one of the deadliest strikers in the world. His goalscoring ability was a key factor in Spain's Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 triumphs.

He has already scored 44 goals with the Spanish jersey. One more goal and he will beat Raul and become Spain's top goalscorer ever.

At the club level, he has also been sublime, by scoring 236 goals in 452 matches. He led Valencia to several good campaigns in La Liga.

He is now part of the strongest attacking lineup in the world, with Messi, Pedro and Iniesta, and that should help score even more than usual this season.

David Villa is, deservedly, a legend of Spanish football.

He averages 0.54 goals per match.

Cristiano Ronaldo is definitely one of the most dangerous players in the world. He is one of those players who can create chances and score out of nowhere.

He can play and score with both feet, he's an excellent free-kick taker and his headers are very efficient. All this makes him one of the most complete forwards in the world.

He had a fantastic 42-goal season in 2007/2008 to help Manchester United win the Premier League and the Champions League.

He has also been great in his first season with Real Madrid, but he failed to perform at a high level in big matches and ended the season trophy-less.

He is currently injured but once he gets back he will be a key element in Mourinho's quest to try and dethrone Barcelona.

He averages 0.41 goals per match.

Samuel Eto'o has won three Champions Leagues in the past five seasons and has scored in two of the finals. That shows that he is one of those players who always step up in the big moments.

He played at Barcelona for five seasons, more than enough to establish himself as a legend of the club.

In 2008/2009, along with Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry, he formed arguably the best attacking lineup of the decade.

The trio combined to score an awe-inspiring 100 goals for the club, with Eto'o accounting for 36 in 52 matches.

Even though he moved to Inter Milan, where he won the Champions League, he is still a hero at the Camp Nou.

His pace and tremendous work ethic are the reasons why he has been so successful and why he is one of the best forwards in the world.

He averages 0.49 goals per match.

Fernando Torres established himself as a top striker when he scored 24 goals in his first season in the Premier League with Liverpool.

In the following seasons, some injuries have prevented him from putting up similar numbers and from performing at a high level at the 2010 World Cup.

He scored the decisive goal in Spain's Euro 2008 triumph and his partnership with David Villa has brought nothing but success to the Spanish national team.

The only negative aspect in his career is that, so far, he hasn't won a single trophy at the club level. If Liverpool fails to build a more competitive squad around him, he'll probably look for success elsewhere.

He averages 0.42 goals per match.

Many consider Didier Drogba the best pure striker in the world. And the truth is that Drogba's goal-scoring abilities and work rate are very difficult to match.

He might be 32 years old, but he has been playing better than ever.

In 2009/2010, he scored 37 goals in 44 matches and he has already scored four goals in three league matches this season, and also provided several assists to his teammates.

Once again, this season Drobga will be looking to win the Champions League trophy, which has eluded him and his Chelsea teammates for so long.

With Drogba in top form, Chelsea is one of the favorites to lift the trophy in Wembley.

Drogba averages 0.49 goals per match.

Wayne Rooney is arguably the most complete forward in the world. He scores, he creates, he tracks back... what doesn't Rooney do?

Many pundits believe that, even in the Cristiano Ronaldo years, Wayne Rooney was the man behind Manchester United's success. And they definitely have a point.

Wayne Rooney is the kind of player every manager would like to have.

Even Messi said that he would love Rooney to play at Barcelona.

Unfortunately for Messi and fortunately for Manchester United fans, Wayne Rooney is a Red Devil.

With Wayne Rooney, Manchester United will be a top contender both in the Premier League and in the Champions League.

Rooney averages 0.41 goals per match. This is a great example of how statistics can be deceiving.

Quite simply, the most talented player of this generation. At 23 years old, many pundits already consider Messi one of the greatest players ever. At only 23 years old!

Not only is Messi the most feared goalscorer in the world, but he also sets up a lot of goals to his teammates. That makes him an almost unstoppable player.

Messi's talent is widely recognized; many fellow footballers and managers have publicly said that Messi is by far the best player in the world.

The scary part is that Messi is still very young and can only improve. With such a stunning talent and commitment, the sky is the limit for Lionel Messi.

When he ends his career, he'll certainly go down as one of the best players in history, if not the best.

He averages 0.54 goals per match.