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Don't fall into the trap of thinking there's an absolute "best" formation, because football doesn't work that way. Everyone gets obsessed with 4-3-3, 4-2-4, 5-3-2 and ignores that what really matters is fitting your tactics to the squad you have, to your players' characteristics, and to what your opponent is doing in the match. A perfect formation with weak players loses badly to a mediocre formation with the right pieces in the right places.
What actually works is thinking in principles: defensive solidity (can't concede stupid goals), creating numerical superiority where you want to attack, and having quick transitions between defense and attack. If you've got two midfielders who are good defensively and one creative one, 4-3-3 makes sense. If you've got a quick winger and strikers who cut inside, maybe 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield works better. If the opponent is too attacking, you drop back to 5-3-2 and take advantage of counterattacks. A champion doesn't get stuck in just one formation.
The truth is that whoever can be versatile wins. Teams that know how to shift between 4-3-3 and 4-2-4 depending on the match, that adjust pressure and marking as time goes on, those are the ones who win consistently. You need to know your players well - their strengths, weaknesses, speed, technique - and build something that brings out the best in them, not what you watched in some YouTube video.
Being stuck on numbers on paper is kind of a waste of time if your team can't execute them. What actually works is adapting the formation to the type of players you have available - if you've got a good center-back on the ball, use him to play out from the back; if your midfield is weak, you reinforce the defense. And don't forget that the opponent matters too: a formation that destroys an offensive team can be fragile against one that wants to press in midfield.
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