World Cup Players To Watch

World Cup Players To Watch

The big players at this years tournament will take the headlines, but like every World Cup there will be young stars who will differentiate themselves too. Some on this list have shown they can play at club level, like Asensio and Jesus. However, can they reveal themselves to the world in footballs biggest tournament? Can they become global stars?

In this piece we have picked a whole host of young players who could be difference makers at the tournament.

Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors – 22 years old) – Argentina

Considering the plethora of attacking talent Argentina had Pavon came off the bench in most of Argentina’s games and looked exciting and purposeful whenever he got the ball.

Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City – 21 years old) – Brazil

Already a star for Manchester City, Jesus has helped solve Brazil’s centre forward problem. Truly a scary talent at such a young age, but has struggled at the tournament so far.

Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham – 21 years old) – Colombia

Sanchez went straight into the Tottenham side since his move from Ajax. He is yet to show his best form for Colombia but at only 21, he has plenty of time to do so. He faces England and Tottenham teammate Harry Kane in the round of 16

Ante Rebic (Fiorentina – 24 years old) – Croatia

Likely to come off the bench, Rebic could bring some pace, dynamism and desire to the Croatian side if stars like Ivan Peresic and Mario Mandzukic struggle. His goal against Argentina was particularly spectacular.

Pione Sisto (Celta Vigo – 23 years old) – Denmark

A skillful and speedy winger, Sisto could be the man to finally give some support to Christian Eriksen. He, at times, showed his pace and skill but was erratic too.

Marcus Rashford (Manchester United – 20 years old) – England

He may have dropped down Manchester united’s pecking order, but Rashford will bring pace and no sense of fear to the English attack. He has had to make do with coming off the bench for the tournament so far.

Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint Germain – 19 years old) – France

This man needs know introduction. Already a star at club level, he is yet to show what he can do on the world stage. His performance against Argentina showed just how good he is after he set up the penalty and scored twice himself.

Timo Werner (RB Leipzig – 22 years old), Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich – 22 years old) – Germany

Timo Werner is quick, mobile, and a strong World Cup could see him move from Leipzig to another bigger European club. Will probably be playing the Miroslav Klose role in this years tournament. However, like the whole german side, he struggled and did not get on the scoresheet.

Niklas Sule is a man mountain and with the injury to Jerome Boating he may be playing a larger role in the tournament than first expected. A defensive star in the making but had to make do with only playing one game, a 2-0 loss to South Korea.

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Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan – 23 years old) – Iran

Azmoun has been playing in Russia for five years now and has shown his unquestionable talent at Rubin Kazan. He is an excellent header of the ball and has scored 23 goals in 31 appearances for his country. He played well as did the rest of the Iranian team, but they got unlucky in their group alongside Portugal, Spain and Morocco.

Hirving Lozano (PSV – 22 years old) – Mexico

The new star of Mexican football, Lozano has been ripping the Eredivisie up with PSV. Expect some strong electric performances from him as shown by his performance against Germany. His pace caused constant problems and he scored the winner in a memorable match.

Andre Silva (AC Milan – 22 years old) – Portugal

Formed a lethal partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo during qualifying. He may have struggled with Milan this year but playing alongside Ronaldo is bound to help his confidence and form. Did not play as much s he should have at the tournament.

Aleksei Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow – 22 years old) – Russia

The younger of two brothers, the jewel of Russian football is Aleksei Miranchuk, a left footed attacking midfielder. He has struggled to get on the pitch for the tournament so far.

Fahad Al Muwallad (Levante – 23 years old) – Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s star attacking winger, Al Muwallad is incredibly important to the chances of the Green Falcons getting out of the group. Considering how bad Saudi Arabia were, it was difficult for Muwallad to show his talents.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio – 23 years old) – Serbia

Savic has been on the radar of many big clubs for a while now, and a good performance at the tournament could inflate his price dramatically. Expect him to link up well with Dusan Tadic in attack for Serbia.

Savic showed his unquestionable talents in Russia and expect him to be brought by bigger clubs this summer.

Marco Asensio (Real Madrid – 22 years old) – Spain

Named after Marco Van Basten, Asensio is believed to be the future of Spanish football. On more than one occasion he has shown his class for Real Madrid and we expect him to do the same in Russia. Likely to be a difference maker off the bench.

Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus – 20 years old) – Uruguay

Can use both feet and is more than capable of dictating the pace of matches. He has been in the Juventus lineup sporadically but is expected to start for Uruguay. Bentancur is the midfield link between Uruguay’s immense defence and their world class strikers Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez. He has been performing well so far with Uruguay’s next match going against France in the quarter-finals.

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