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The first week of the FIFA World Cup was an enthralling one. It was filled with upsets and thrillers. Iceland drew 1-1 against the mighty Argentina. It has been the biggest upset of the tournament thus far. Australia came close to drawing with France but a lob from Paul Pogba saved the day for Les Bleus. Portugal drew 3-3 with Spain in what was touted to be the most exciting group stage game.
A lot of the big stars failed for their respective teams which also led to the team's downfall. Here we look at 5 such superstars who couldn't set the stage on fire during their team's first match of the tournament.
#5 Lionel Messi
He is one of the best players in the world. He has won several Ballon D'or awards in his careers. The star striker had a disastrous outing against Iceland when he attempted 11 shots and was unsuccessful on each of those 11 attempts. He even missed out on a penalty chance against the giant killers, Iceland. Incidentally, this is the third penalty he has missed for Argentina, he even missed out in the penalty shootout of a Copa America Final.
He was expected to match Cristiano Ronaldo's performance but he didn't even come close to matching it. The Argentina legend has played 125 matches in which he has scored 64 goals. He will look to put that dismal showing behind him and put his best foot forward against The Balkans in their next match.
#4 David De Gea
The Spanish goalie had a game to forget as he conceded three goals. Although the penalty and the free kick are something he couldn't do anything about, the 2nd goal from Ronaldo is something he will regret. It was a regulation save but De Gea made an absolute meal out of it. He let the ball slip through his hands and let it go for a goal. The best goalie in the world shocked everyone including the Portuguese with that schoolboy error.
He is a much better goalkeeper than what was seen against Portugal and expect the reliable Manchester United player to bounce back strong in the next match.
#3 Luis Suarez
Lionel Messi's partner in crime at Barcelona, Suarez also had a very poor outing in his first match against Egypt. The Uruguay striker was lacklustre as he missed out on a couple of goal scoring opportunities. He couldn't link up with his partner, Edinson Cavani. He was very slow with his speed and as a result lost possession of the ball easily.
The Copa America winner is the record goalscorer for his country with 51 goals in 99 appearances. He has scored 5 goals in 9 World Cup matches and would hope to add to that tally. If Uruguay is to have any chance of a podium finish, Suarez must up his game and score goals like we all know he can.
#2 Neymar
Although the Brazilian wasn't as bad as the other three on the list, he had a fairly sub-par outing against Switzerland. He couldn't get possession of the ball and also missed out on a couple of half-chances. He wasn't his usual self and was fouled for a mammoth 10 times. It was the most in FIFA World Cup history in the last 20 years. It was as if the Swiss defenders were there present only for the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Neymar.
Whenever Neymar got possession of the ball, he lost it - courtesy, the ruthlessness of the Swiss. The modern master has scored 55 goals in 86 games for Brazil and will hope to take the country to World Cup glory.
Robert Lewandowski
The Polish skipper has scored 55 goals in 96 matches for his country. He will have to be amongst the goals against Columbia or his country could be eliminated in the group stage itself. The Polish striker was a mere shadow of his real self against Senegal. Barring a free kick which was stopped well by the Senegal goalie, there was nothing that Lewandowski had to show for at the end of the match. The star striker looked bleak and made quite a few errors during the runs. He wasn't even able to help his teammates with crosses and assists.
