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The 2018 World Cup will undoubtedly go down as one of the very best editions of football’s greatest competition in history. There’s been goals, star-making performances, huge shocks, and a whole host of memorable moments.
Away from the headlines and the glitz, though, there are several players who have surprised many in just how important they’ve become for their respective nations as the tournament has progressed.
With that in mind, here are five unheralded stars of the World Cup who have quietly gone about their business while others have stolen the headlines.
#1 Igor Akinfeev
Before the World Cup, Igor Akinfeev may have been best known by some as that goalkeeper with that awful Champions League record; the CSKA Moscow stopper failing to keep a Champions League clean sheet for over a decade at one point. Now though, he is viewed as one of the heroes of Russia’s surprisingly impressive showing at the World Cup.
Despite many expecting Russia to not even get out of the group stages, the host nation surpassed the hopes of even the most optimistic of fans, beating Saudi Arabia and Egypt, before shocking the football world by dumping out 2010 World Cup winners Spain on penalties.
In that Spain match, Akinfeev was the hero of the hour, saving spotkicks from Koke and Iago Aspas. While those saves – particularly the stunning stop from Aspas’ penalty – grabbed all of the headlines, Akinfeev had put in performance after performance throughout the tournament before Russia were unlucky to go out on penalties against Croatia at the quarter-final stage.
#2 Andrej Kramaric
For those who watch the English Premier League, seeing Andrej Kramaric doing so well in the Croatian attack throughout the World Cup will likely have come as a huge shock. After all, Kramaric had an ill-fated spell with Leicester City back in 2015.
Back then, the forward cost the Foxes a then-record fee of £9 million from Rijeka, but he only managed to make fifteen appearances for Leicester before heading out on loan to Hoffenheim. That loan move would be made permanent in 2016, and since then Kramaric has a record of a goal nearly every two games (currently 28 in 68) for the German side.
Still, even the staunchest supporter of the former Dinamo Zagreb man couldn’t have predicted just how much of an important part Kramaric would have to play at the 2018 World Cup.
So much of the attention is often on the Croatia midfield of Modric, Rakitic, and Brozovic, and the striking presence of Mario Madzukic, but Kramaric has quietly impressed as a workhorse forward or wide player for the Croatians; allowing the more illustrious names to shine and grab the headlines.
#3 Marouane Fellaini
Before a ball was kicked, many a casual football fan were hoping that the Belgium national team would finally live up to their huge potential and go all the way in the tournament. But let’s be honest, how many of those would have had Marouane Fellaini down as a driving force behind any Belgian success?
For Roberto Martinez’s Red Devils, their tournament would ultimately come to a crashing halt after being dispatched 1-0 by France at the semi-final stage. Still, Belgium had done themselves proud, and their decimation of Brazil in the quarter-finals stands as a true highlight of the competition.
Where Manchester Untied’s oft-lambasted Fellaini particularly stood out was in how much his substitute appearance against Japan in the last 16 pulled victory from the jaws of defeat for Martinez’s men as they turned a 0-2 deficit into a last-minute 3-2 win. For that, Martinez rewarded Fellaini and his all-encompassing hair with a starting place against Brazil. Again, Fellaini rewarded that show of faith with a fantastic performance that saw the Brazilian midfield barely get a sniff of the ball.
He may be an easy target to poke fun at for some, but there’s no doubting that Marouane Fellaini can be a true force of nature when utilized in the right way and playing at the top of this game.
Olivier Giroud
As of this writing, France are through to their third World Cup final; having won the competition as hosts in 1998, before losing to Italy on penalties in 2006. And as bizarre as it may sound, their non-scoring striker has been pivotal to their success at Russia 2018.
While he may win plenty of plaudits for his looks and appearance off the pitch, Olivier Giroud isn’t exactly the most stylish of footballers to watch on the pitch. As alluded to, he’s yet to score a goal in the World Cup despite starting every game bar Les Blues’ opening match against Australia. In fact, he’s yet to even have a single shot on target during the tournament!
What Giroud does do, however, is that his unflashy, selfless play allows those around him to shine – most notably Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann. For lack of a better phrase, the Chelsea striker does the unglamorous “donkey work” that keeps defenders busy and that draws players out of position in a way that allows Giroud’s strength and ability as a target man to free up time and space for the flashier attacking options in the France team.
With that in mind, though, only three players – Thierry Henry, Michel Platini, and David Trezeguet – have scored more goals for France, so don’t bet against Giroud adding to his international tally of 31 when he takes to the field in the World Cup final.
Jordan Henderson
We know, we know. We’re in a little bit of shock here, too, but Jordan Henderson has been absolutely pivotal to the England team at this year’s World Cup.
The Liverpool captain has often been a target of mockery from rival fans at both club and international level, and even many an England fan has often been found slapping their forehead in disbelief when seeing Hendo lining up in the midfield. Credit where credit’s due, though, for the former Sunderland player has arguably been England’s most important player in Russia.
While the headlines have largely been about Harry Kane (and Harry Maguire!), and praise has been plentiful for attacking options like Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli, Henderson has quietly gone about his business, doing the basic, fundamental work that has kept this England team ticking.
For all of England’s attention-grabbing heroes throughout the World Cup, few can match the impact of the innocuous, under-the-radar Henderson.
