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The World Cup is only a week away and football fans around the world are getting excited. Rather expectedly, most of the discussion has revolved around the favorites. Can Lionel Messi finally lead Argentina to World Cup glory? Can Germany be the first team to win two consecutive titles since Brazil in 1962? Can Brazil avenge the humiliation of 2014?
All these questions are indeed interesting. Yet, part of the beauty of the world cup is the teams and players that surprise through their impressive performances. Thus, it is indeed pertinent to look at some of the more underrated players in each world cup group based on statistics (courtesy Squawka and WhoScored) from the past league season.
Group A: Ahmed Hegazi
Naturally, all discussion surrounding the Egyptian National Football team leading up to the World Cup has pertained to Mohammed Salah. For good reason too, the Egyptian has been one of the most scintillating players in the Premier League this season.
Yet, he wasn’t the only Egyptian newcomer doing well in the Premier League. Ahmed Hegazi was signed on loan by West Bromwich Albion and was excellent throughout the season. He played all 38 games for the Premier League’s bottom side and ranked 3rd in defensive actions according to Squawka Stats. He was also 2nd in clearances and 6th in blocked shots. Moreover, he ranked 16th in duels won. His excellent defending was a major reason why West Brom only conceded 56 goals in the Premier League (10th): a rather low number for the team that finished bottom.
Hegazi’s defending will be vital for Egypt in the World Cup as they face hosts Russia, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group A. The latter contest (Egypt’s first of the campaign) will be particularly testing for Hegazi as he faces Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani. If he can replicate his Premier League form, Egypt may just have a chance against the South American giants.
Group B: Alireza Jahanbakhsh
Alireza Jahanbakhsh is certainly a hard name to wrap your tongue around, yet his name is familiar in the Netherlands where he was arguably the best player in the Eredivisie. Jahanbakhsh finished with the second highest player rating in the league (according to WhoScored). Even more impressively, he scored the most goals in the league with 21. Jahanbakhsh also won an obscene 14 ‘Man of the Match’ awards, a number only eclipsed by Lionel Messi in Europe’s top leagues.
Jahanbakhsh passing was equally impressive, as he was tied for 3rd in assists with 12. The winger also ranked 9th in key passes and 4th in dribbles. Such excellent performances bode well for the Iran, who face one of the most difficult groups in the World Cup with favorites Spain and Portugal along with a resurgent Morocco. Iran will probably be set up in a defensive manner against these teams (especially Spain and Portugal) and thus will not have many chances to score. Thus, the pressure on Jahanbakhsh will be even greater to create and finish chances when Iran do attack.
Group C- Florian Thauvin
Florian Thauvin probably had the most understated yet excellent season for an attacking player in Europe’s top 5 leagues. In fact, Thauvin finished 5th in WhoScored’s player rating in Europe’s top 5 leagues, with only Neymar, Lionel Messi, Coutinho, and Ronaldo performing better. Even more impressively, Thauvin finished the Ligue 1 season with 22 goals and 11 assists. The only players who matched those numbers in Europe’s top 5 leagues? Messi, Salah, and Suarez. That is how good Thauvin was last year (despite being less discussed than all of the aforementioned players).
The Frenchman also finished 5th in Ligue 1 with 2.2 key passes per game and 3rd in dribbles per game with 3.4. Thauvin’s excellent play was the main reason that Marseille finished 4th in Ligue 1, only two points away from 2nd place. Yet, despite such impressive statistics, Thauvin will probably not even start for the French team with manager Didier Deschamps probably preferring the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, and Thomas Lemar. However, as France advance in the tournament (as they are likely to do), Thauvin will be crucial for the team as a super-sub or even a potential starter on the left-wing.
Group D- Wilfred Ndidi
When Wilfred Ndidi was signed by Leicester City, they hoped he would be a replacement for N’Golo Kante. Those were unrealistic expectations and initially, Ndidi struggled. However, in the past season, he was excellent for Leicester as the Foxes finished 9th. His player rating (according to WhoScored) ranked 32nd in the Premier League. Perhaps most impressively, Ndidi made the most tackles per game in the Premier League with a remarkable 4.2. For comparison, his nearest challenger (Idrissa Gueye) was at 3.5. Moreover, his successful tackle % was the fourth highest in the top 10 with only Kante, Gueye and Pablo Zabaleta being more impressive.
Obviously, Ndidi’s game requires some improvement as his passing is rather mediocre for a midfielder. However, in the World Cup, it is his defensive work that will be vital for Nigeria. The Super Eagles will be facing footballing powerhouses in Argentina and Croatia, both of whom sport dangerous attacks. Ndidi will need to replicate or even surpass his Premier League performance for Nigeria to contain these teams and make it out of the group stage.
Group E- Alexander Kolarov
Over the last year, Pep Guardiola has not made many mistakes. His Manchester City romped to the title, setting several Premier League records along the way. Yet, the Spaniard may have been mistaken when he sold Alexander Kolarov to Roma. The Serbian has been brilliant for the Giallorossi, finishing with the 4th highest player rating (highest for 3rd placed Roma) in Serie A. He was also impressive in the Champions League, finishing 40th in player rating in the UEFA Champions League where Roma advanced to the semi-finals.
While playing as a left-back, Kolarov’s most impressive attribute is his attacking play, which was evident throughout the Serie A season. He made the 5th most key passes per game at 2.3 and made 1.9 crosses per game, good enough for 3rd in the Serie A. These crosses were quite successful, as he had 8 assists- a spectacular number for a defender. His dribbling was also excellent as he made 1.6 successful dribbles per game, tied for 22nd in the league. Moreover, Kolarov’s ball distribution was also vital for Roma, as he ranked 5th in long balls per game in the Serie A and 26th in passes per game. This attacking play will be vital for Serbia as Kolarov will try to feed Alexander Mitrovic and Dusan Tadic in Group E against Brazil, Switzerland, and Costa Rica.
Kolarov’s defensive play will also be important for Serbia as he will be responsible for trying to contain the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Bryan Ruiz. While Kolarov’s defensive stats are not as impressive as his attacking play, but there are some positive signs. For instance, Kolarov finished 48th in interceptions per game in Serie A. He will have step up on that end if Serbia are going to advance to the knockout stages.
Group F- Hirving Lozano
Hirving Lozano is probably one of the most exciting young players in the world right now. In fact, he might well be Mexico’s best player, which certainly says something considering the El Tri have the likes of Javier Hernandez and Andres Guardado. Nonetheless, Lozano’s play has largely gone unrecognized, as he has played in the Eredivisie.
Lozano was excellent for PSV Eindhoven, who won the league. The Mexican finished 3rd in WhoScored’s player rating in the Dutch league while finishing 5th in goals as Lozano managed to find space behind defenses. Lozano was also an excellent creator, finishing 8th in assists in the Eredivisie and 4th in key passes with 2.6 per game. Perhaps, the most impressive aspect of his play on the right-wing was his crossing where he ranked 3rd in the league with 2.4 per game. This play bodes well for the world cup, where Mexico face a difficult group with Germany, South Korea, and Sweden. Lozano will have to be multi-faced both as a goal-scorer and creator if Mexico are to reach the quarterfinals which they haven’t done since 1986.
Group G- Naim Sliti
Most of the discussion surrounding Group G has revolved around Belgium and England, an intriguing team in the group is Tunisia. For Tunisia to advance past the group stage, they will require significant production from Dijon attacking midfielder Naim Sliti. Luckily for them, Sliti was impressive in Ligue 1 last year.
The 25-year-old finished 16th in player rating in Ligue 1, quite remarkable for a player who was surrounded with subpar talent at Dijon. Sliti managed to make 1.9 key passes per game, good enough for 11th in Ligue 1. Most of these key passes were crosses, as the Tunisian made 1.1 crosses per game (tied with Neymar for 19th in the league). Yet, Sliti’s strongest suit might be his dribbling where he was tied for 3rd in Ligue 1 with 3.4 per game.
Tunisia will likely focus on defending against England and Belgium. Like many defensively-oriented teams, they will likely look at set-pieces as one of their best ways of scoring. Here, Sliti will be particularly impressive as he managed to successfully make 1.1 accurate corner passes in Ligue 1, tied for 9th in the league.
Group H- Salif Sane
Senegal are perhaps one of the most intriguing teams in the World Cup. They feature an interesting attack with the likes of Sadio Mane and Keith Balde leading the way. Defensively, most of the attention has been on Napoli’s giant central defender Kalidou Koulibaly, yet statistically his partner Salif Sane may be a more impressive player. Sane is just as tall (6 foot 4 inches) and was incredibly good for Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga over the past season.
In fact, Sane finished 8th in player rating in the Bundesliga and even won ‘Man of the Match’ five times, tied for 5th in the league (extraordinary for a defender). His biggest strength is his aerial ability, as he won 5.7 aerial duels per game, easily the best in the Bundesliga and tied for 5th in the top five European Leagues. He also used that aerial ability to score four goals in the league, 3rd in the Bundesliga for defenders.
Yet, it was not only Sane’s aerial prowess that was vital for Hannover. Sane also finished 8th in the Bundesliga for offsides won with 0.8 per game and was 1st in clearances (7.3 per game). In addition, Sane’s ball distribution was excellent as he provided 4.2 long balls per game.
Sane’s performances will be vital for Senegal as they face Poland, Colombia, and Japan. His defensive play will be key if Senegal are to contain strikers such as Robert Lewandowski and Radamel Falcao.
