English language teachers often find themselves in a setting much like a football match where the ultimate aim is to score a GOAL: helping students learn English. To achieve this, EFL teachers draw on a wide range of practices and personal values. This study set out to explore what these teachers consider most essential in their work by tapping into their lived experiences and professional beliefs. Using the metaphor of the “Starting Eleven of a TEAM”, participants were asked to name the eleven most important elements they believe are necessary for effective language teaching. Adopting a mixed method sequential exploratory design, the research began with a qualitative phase involving 53 teachers, who shared their individual 'line-ups'—the qualities or strategies they rely on most. Through careful content analysis, 55 recurring themes were identified, which then formed the basis of a structured questionnaire. In the second phase, this questionnaire was distributed to 750 EFL teachers via online survey. Their responses not only validated the earlier themes but also allowed us to see which qualities stood out across a much larger sample. According to the findings, the “best players” in EFL teachers’ Starting Elevens included: loving the profession, caring for students, having strong knowledge of English, being open to innovation, showing friendliness, nurturing a love for English, creating a positive classroom environment, being reliable, respecting students’ voices, showing patience, and understanding learners’ needs. Together, these qualities paint a compelling picture of what today’s EFL teachers believe matters most in the classroom.