National football (soccer) powerhouses?

Watching the Copa America I started to wonder... which are the countries that have given the world the greatest football players regardless of their performance in their respective national squads?

Even though I am Argentinian (Brazil's arch-rival) I'd say Brazil has given the world many of the greatest in history. Nations like Germany, Italy, England (these have definitely underachieved) and Argentina sure aren't far behind, though.

That would be my Top Five in no particular order if I had to choose. An argument could be made for France, Spain, Portugal, Uruguay, Colombia and The Netherlands, I guess, but I don't think they're quite there.

What would be your Top Five?

brazil, argentina, spain, italy, portugal

Best players typically come/came from:

Netherlands

Brazil

England

Spain

Germany

Argentina

Italy

Not ordered but this is where the usual greats come from, of course there are the Ronaldo's, Puskas', Yashin's, Schmeical's, Zidane's etc. but generally the greats come from those 6.

Depends if you're going for all round on just best players like Messi and Maradona. Different countries produce the best footballers of different positions.

I guess:

Brazil

Spain

Argentina

Germany

Italy

Notable Exclusions:

The Netherlands

England

Portugal

France

Colombia

Belgium

This link might help: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1573794-power-ranking-the-25-best-soccer-nations-based-on-per-capita/page/2

It's power ranking of the 25 best soccer nations based on per capita.

Nations eligible for inclusion as per current FIFA rankings: