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The World Cup is well and truly underway. Four days of action have already passed, but there is still almost a month remaining of this festival of football, which has started positively in Russia.
While the tournament itself has yet to really ignite – save for a spectacular 3-3 draw between Spain and Portugal – much of that has been due to teams nervous to lose their opening matches. As such, games have been tight, with little to pick between the teams. As the tournament wears on, that is sure to change.
Aside from that aforementioned Spain clash, we have yet to see any of the big guns really go at it, and as that happens with increasing regularity, the standard of matches are sure to improve.
Many of these games will be decided in the heart of the field, which is inevitably such an important battleground. It is this area that the war for supremacy is won and lost, and though we have already seen that this is not necessarily decisive, it can certainly have a major bearing on which direction the game will go.
With this in mind, here are five mouth-watering midfield head-to-head matches that we can look forward to before the group stages are over:
Granit Xhaka v Philippe Coutinho (Switzerland v Brazil, 17/6/2018)
Brazil are one of the favourites to go on and win World Cup 2018 but the opening test is expected to come when they tackle Switzerland in Rostov-on-Don. Against opponents ranked No.6 in the FIFA Ranking, it is a clash that is no mere formality and will offer a yardstick for the Selecao to be judged against for the remainder of the tournament.
While Brazil have class all over the field, it will be in the final third that they must make their abilities count. Dictating the play in the heart of the park for Tite’s men will likely be Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho, who will come up against an old foe in the form of Granit Xhaka, a player he knows well from his time in the Premier League.
The Arsenal’s man unenviable task will be to prevent the Brazil star from expressing his range of creativity, which will in turn hamper the offensive efforts of Neymar and Gabriel Jesus, who are liable to lead the attack.
Of course, by stifling Coutinho alone it will not stop such a world-class squad entirely, but it will be a positive starting position for Switzerland.
Pairing up with Xhaka will likely be Remo Freuler, who plies his trade with Atalanta in Serie A, but it is the Arsenal player who will be handed the brunt of the responsibility when it comes to stopping Brazil. Not only do they need him at his technical best, he must be at his mental best; too often in the past, he has let the big occasion get to him.
Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric v Javier Mascherano and Lucas Biglia (Croatia v Argentina, 21/6/2018)
Argentina didn’t just struggle in their opening game, they were awful. Even star man Lionel Messi misfired, having a second-half penalty saved when it seemed he might be able to redeem a low-key performance from a team that struggled just to reach Russia 2018.
Now the pressure is on; if they failed to win either of their remaining fixtures against Nigeria or Croatia, they could well find themselves facing an early flight home to South America.
While their defence was lamented in their opening draw, every area of their side struggled, including the midfield, where veteran Mascherano and Biglia failed to offer enough creativity to dominate the game.
It was not fully exploited by Iceland, who played to their defensive strengths and were somewhat limited going forward, but against more accomplished players like Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric, currently play for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, it could be a great deal more damaging.
The Croats have started the tournament with promise; they easily saw off Nigeria 2-0 in their opening game, with Modric the man pulling the strings in the heart of the field.
Indeed, it would be little surprise if Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli elected to shuffle his pack after the opening game, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Giovanni Lo Celso notably waiting in the wings.
Argentina cannot afford to slip up but Croatia will start this game favourites to dominate the all-important midfield battle, and that spells bad news for a side struggling to find its feet.
N’Golo Kante v Christian Eriksen (France v Denmark, 26/6/2018)
Given the results of the opening matches in Group C, it is likely that France’s clash with Denmark will decide who finishes top of that pool.
Kante’s France edged out Australia 2-1 after an indifferent display, while Denmark rode their luck to see off Peru 1-0, with Eriksen providing the assist for the decisive goal.
Indeed, both players were central to the efforts of their respective sides in the opening game and are expected to play key roles throughout the tournament. Of course, they are starkly contrasting players and that means that they are liable to occupy the same territory in this clash in the final round of group matches.
The ever-energetic Kante’s task will be to stop Eriksen having an influence on the game, a duel that is given extra spice by the fact that the two players turn out for London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham respectively.
In the Premier League this season, honours were even. Kante’s side won at Wembley early in the campaign but back in January it was Spurs who went to Stamford Bridge to claim the honours. This, then, is something of a decider.
With Argentina in indifferent form in Group D and certainly not guaranteed to finish first ahead of Croatia, it may be that the winner of this battle is pitted against Lionel Messi & Co. Given their indifferent form, though, they may not see that as a bad thing.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic v Casemiro (Serbia v Brazil, 27/6/2018)
Much has been made of the talents of Milinkovic-Savic, who is a player touted to make a big move in the aftermath of the World Cup. The Serbia international star, who plays his club football at Lazio, will have an opportunity to prove his big-game capability in his country’s final group stage match, which is against Brazil.
The rangy midfielder, who was born in Spain, will find himself face to face with one of the toughest defensive players in his position in the business in the form of Real Madrid star Casemiro, who comes into the tournament on a high after helping his club side to a third successive Champions League trophy.
With this coming as the concluding match of the group, it is almost inevitable this will be a pivotal clash for both nations. Brazil appear to be better stocked overall, but with Nemanja Matic set to act as the holding player in the Serbia midfield, they are no mean side themselves and will look to their up-and-coming star to be the man to make the difference at both ends of the field.
Manchester United are among the teams who will be keeping a close eye on the outcome of this duel, which could have a significant bearing on the 23-year-old’s immediate future. It could be the match that makes him a star.
Kevin De Bruyne v Jordan Henderson (Belgium v England, 28/6/2018)
The two European sides are set to go head to head to claim the honours in Group G. Both are fully expected to have too much for Tunisia and Panama in their opening fixtures, meaning that their final encounter is set to decide top spot.
It is a particularly intriguing battle because the core of the Belgium squad play their football in the Premier League, while England’s panel is the only one to be drawn exclusively from their own country. As such, all of these players know the strengths of one another inside out and know exactly what to expect.
In De Bruyne, they have one of the best midfielders in the world, a talent who has spent much of the last season ripping up the Premier League as his Manchester City side stormed away to take the title by a record margin. He managed eight goals and 16 assists for Pep Guardiola’s side and Roberto Martinez will be hopeful of achieving similarly prolific numbers.
One of the men liable to be tasked with stopping the Belgian is Jordan Henderson, a man who helped Liverpool reach the Champions League final. He may be a figure often lamented, but his steady performances helped Jurgen Klopp’s men reach that standard. If they are to achieve anything in the World Cup, he will have to be at his best.
England cannot afford to focus their efforts too much on one player as Belgium have the likes of Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku lurking, increasing the difficulty of their task.
