Five Under The Radar Players To Watch At World Cup 2018
Lifting silverware is the one common goal that unites all footballers, but prominence comes naturally with such an achievement, and it is something that athletes cannot help but love.
Four years ago, a young Colombian by the name of James Rodriguez was one such athlete. A year before finishing the 2014 World Cup as the tournament’s top scorer, he was the subject of what was then Portuguese football’s second-largest transfer sum. Defecting from Porto to newly-promoted AS Monaco, he made a brave step into an unknown regime which (though rich in cash) could easily have fallen apart under the wrong management.
As it transpired, Rodriguez emerged as one of Ligue 1’s best players that season, and hit top form in time for the World Cup. For his outstanding performances, in what was a strong World Cup for Colombia as a whole, he was rewarded with a dream move to Real Madrid. What followed was a glut of trophies, including two Champions League titles with the ‘Galacticos’.
No World Cup has ever passed without a young player making a name for himself. Here, we look at five attacking players – just like Rodriguez – who could find themselves in the sights of a club with genuine Champions League aspirations.
Hirving Lozano – Mexico
As an inverted left-winger, Lozano boasts a sense of unpredictability with every touch of the ball. His habit of cutting in and shooting has fooled more experienced defenders in the Eredivisie, and with his most effective work coming in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Lozano can utilise his pace on the switch to turn striker in the blink of an eye.
With current World Cup spreads at Sporting Index suggesting that the group winners spot is already considered locked out by Germany, Mexico face a vicious three-way fight for second. Thus, the North American giants must gain at least a point against the reigning champions to get into pole position for it. Germany’s finest is like nothing Lozano will have faced at club level, but he will be an integral part of any points Mexico get off the rank favourites.
Hwang Hee-chan – South Korea
The potential attractions of Group F do not end with Lozano. While Hwang was unable to improve on his 2016/17 tally of sixteen goals, he was a vital influence in Red Bull Salzburg’s recent Europa League run, which included an unbeaten streak at home that lasted more than a year. This, along with his breakout performance at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, illustrated his desire to succeed against all the odds.
Coming to the World Cup on the back of two goals in eleven international appearances, he will be well-backed by the in-form Tottenham midfielder Son Heung-min, in a difficult group that culminates with South Korea taking on reigning champions Germany. His opening game comes against a Sweden team still on a high after felling Italy in the qualifiers, but his natural sense of stealth inside the box will be a great weapon against the Scandinavian sensations.
Sardar Azmoun – Iran
Alongside Morocco, many believe that Iran will simply be playing for pride from the off, with the loser of Iran v Morocco immediately becoming odds-on to finish last in Group B. However, a nation needs not have an excellent World Cup for certain players to gain attention. Azmoun has grown, literally and metaphorically, since his omission from the 23-man World Cup squad of 2014, becoming a regular international and a very regular goalscorer.
With 23 goals in 31 appearances, Azmoun is already Iran’s fifth-highest goalscorer, and gaining on Ali Daei’s record of 109. Inevitably, the Rubin Kazan striker has been linked to several Premier League clubs in the last two transfer windows, but has disappeared back under the radar recently. The fact that he plays his second game (against Spain) in his club’s own stadium is also of potential significance, as he will know the nuances of that surface better than anyone.
Aleksei Miranchuk – Russia
With the ability to play as a striker or ‘number ten’ for Lokomotiv Moscow, Miranchuk is a versatile young player with a strike rate of exactly 25% from sixteen international appearances. While he has room for improvement in that department – and the more defensive aspects of midfield duty – his strengths far outweigh his weaknesses.
Perhaps his most prominent trait is his uncanny ability to play through-balls with unnerving accuracy and consistency for one as young as himself. His performances in the Europa League campaign of 2017/18 showed this ability to a particularly impressive degree, with Miranchuk creating (on average) two clear-cut chances per game. Given that the hosts open with a match against rank outsiders Saudi Arabia, this summer is Miranchuk’s to lose.
Kasper Dolberg – Denmark
While Dolberg has yet to make the move from Ajax to a team with better-founded Champions League aspirations, it seems like only a matter of time for Ajax’s Danish starlet. On paper, this summer represents an unbelievable opportunity for Dolberg to truly announce himself, with Denmark facing a ‘weak link’ of a Peru side and an Australian squad still adapting to a new regime.
Dolberg boasts a lethal right foot, utterly slaying the myth that only stocky centre-forwards – like Eusebio and Wayne Rooney – can use power to deadly effect. His ability to ghost past defenders is also developing at a rapid pace, and while his passing remains an area of improvement, his ball control provides an excellent foundation on which to build a profile, as an accomplished all-rounder in the final third.
