Less than a week is left before the start of the World Championship. In the previous article, we talked about 5 players who can become the main characters of the World Cup.
They included 1) Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka – capable of dragging England, 2) Emiliano Martinez, who should become the main character in the event of the triumph of Argentina, 3) Aurelien Tchuameni, who was called to replace Kante and Pogba in the center of the field for the French team, 4) Rafael Leao – the brightest player of the Portuguese national team, as well as 5) Neymar – the main leader of the main favorite of the World Cup. This was our first list. Now we are releasing a sequel.
1 – Federico Valverde
The Uruguay national team has a strong enough squad that can make some noise at the World Cup, as it was in 2010. Jiminez and Araujo in defense, Valverde and Bentancur in the midline, and Suarez-Cavani-Nunez in the attack. There are at least 2 top players in each line. This team has its own clear style – playing as the second number and this style clearly suits this set of players.
With this kind of defense and midfield, Uruguay is able to keep their net with any team, and on the counter, they have incredibly fast Valverde and Darvin Nunez. It is Valverde who can become the main character of his team. He is very good on defense, strong, and fast, he has a powerful shot and a great understanding of the game. Valverde is a key player in Real Madrid this season. Madrid could replace Karim Benzema, but Fede is truly indispensable, especially in big matches. 8 goals and 4 assists on his account in 19 matches. Fede is in amazing shape for the World Cup.
2 – Bruno Fernandes
We named Rafael Leão the most important player in the Portuguese national team, but Bruno Fernandes should be the most important. It is the Manchester United midfielder who can determine the further passage of the national team through the tournament grid. Fernandes has to manage the game as he does at Manchester United. But there is one concern. Portugal is very dependent on Ronaldo and can Santos increase the team’s dependence on Bruno and reduce the dependence on Ronaldo? Such fears came true at Euro 2020. But we hope that Santos will draw the right conclusions and is ready to start proceeding from the fact that Ronaldo is no longer able to drag Portugal alone.
3 – Jamal Musiala
The 19-year-old representative of Germany is now on fire. For Bayern in the Bundesliga, one effective action on average per game. Jamal is moving to a new level right now and he is arguably in the best shape of all the Bundesteam players Germany is one of the favorites. Musiala is a bright creative ten, who knows how to act between the lines and distribute passes. No matter how the fate of the German team develops, it will be impossible not to pay attention to Jamal.
And it also has an advantage. He was in Hans Flick’s super Bayern squad and now he remains a key player in Bayern. That is a complete understanding with the coach of the national team and with the majority of the players in its main team. Such a tournament can become a springboard for him. Musial could take a few more seasons to the status of a superstar at the club level, and the World Cup could immediately launch his career into space. But let’s not be too optimistic and note the problems that a young star may face.
In Qatar, Jamal will have less free space than in Bundesliga matches. Weak teams will play defensively with them, while strong teams will play with such compactness and density that Musiala could only experience in the Champions League, and there his statistics are not so top-notch. And then there’s Thomas Müller, with whom he’ll probably have to share playing time if Flick doesn’t come up with something new. In general, Musiala has the potential to become a key player in Germany.
4 – Alexander Mitrovic
The Serbian national team has gathered a truly strong generation. This team can be the main surprise of the tournament, which Denmark was at Euro 2020. Mitrovic is the top scorer of this team and has been showing an excellent games this season. In the summer-autumn matches of the League of Nations, Alexander scored 6 goals in 5 games, and in the Premier League, the Serbian scored 9 goals in 12 games. He is the 3rd top scorer in the Premier League after Haaland and Kane. At this World Cup, Mitrovic can also transition to a new level, just like in his club career. Dusan Tadic and Filip Kostic will help him with this, capable of bringing Mitrovic to a shock position with one pass.
5 – Jeremy Doku
The star generation of the Belgian national team has ended its era. For a long time, this team was the leader in the FIFA rankings and was one of the main favorites at several major tournaments at once, but their best result was 3rd place in the World Cup in 2018. By the names, this is still the same squad, but Eden Hazard is no longer the one that was at the last World Cup, Lukaku also passed, and Mertens is playing out in Turkey … But nevertheless, Belgium still has a chance to ignite.
Kevin De Bruyne turned out to be the most stable of the same line-up and he is coming to the World Cup in great shape. But his top game will not surprise anyone. But Jeremy Doku can become the brightest player in Belgium and reach a new level. We remember him from Euro 2020 when the quick-footed Jeremy ran away from everyone, but the implementation did not let him down. In the game with same Italy, Doku earned a penalty due to his dribbling and his speed, which was converted by Lukaku. It is unlikely that Eden Hazard will start in this form, so Doku can replace him.
This was the 2nd part of the list of players who will be able to light up the upcoming World Cup and become the main players of their teams.
Check out part one here, if you didn’t!
And if you love world cup, also read Story Of All FIFA World Cup finals, Since 1986 – Part 1.
