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With the 21st edition of the football's biggest tournament drawing to a close, I present the five players who have distinguished themselves the most, leading their countries into the the latter stages of the World Cup 2018 by delivering superb performances on the grandest stage of world football.
The FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (called Adidas Golden Ball for commercial reasons) is given to the tournament's best player and was officially introduced in the 1982 edition of the World Cup held in Spain, with Italy's Paolo Rossi winning the inaugural award.
The shortlist for the award is drawn up by FIFA's technical committee with representatives of the media deciding the winner through a voting process. The current holder of the Golden Ball is Lionel Messi, after helping Argentina to a second place finish in Brazil four years ago.
It is pertinent to note that only three of the previous nine Golden Ball winners have come from the World Cup-winning team (Rossi in 1982, Maradona in 1986, and Romario in 1994).
The following are the major contenders for this year's World Cup Golden Ball by virtue of their outstanding performances thus far.
#1 LUKA MODRIC
The 32-year-old will captain Croatia in her first ever World Cup final and 'The Chequered Ones' are there thanks in a large part to Modric. He has contributed two goals and one assist to the Croatian cause and was always a calming influence in the middle of the park, providing defense splitting passes.
The creative driving force behind Croatia's run to the final, Modric has been the world's standout playmaker over the last five seasons, with his uncanny ability to dictate the tempo of games from midfield proving to be the catalyst for most of Real Madrid's attacks, and he brought his abilities to the fore for his national team at the World Cup.
His overall importance to his team can be best seen in the group stage match against Argentina where his beautiful strike from 22 yards for Croatia's second goal dampened Argentine spirits, before he went on to provide an assist for Rakitic to score Croatia's third.
Modric has gone about his business in his naturally unflamboyant way, but his impact on this World Cup has been felt, and there have even been loud whispers of a Ballon d'or win. If he can lead his country to a World Cup victory, then that is definitely a possibility.
#2 EDEN HAZARD
The Belgian had received a lot of criticism on the back end of a disappointing campaign with Chelsea. Doubts had been raised over his ability to inspire Belgium, owing to his under performance at the last two national team tournaments, with De Bruyne being touted as the man who could lead his country if an under-performing group of talented players were to go all the way.
Hazard has definitely proved his critics wrong. His performances at this World Cup have been breathtaking, leading Belgium to her first semi-final appearance in 32 years.
The Chelsea forward has scored two goals and recorded two assists including the cross for Fellaini's equalizer against Japan.
Hazard's willingness to run at defenders and carry the ball under pressure has been instrumental to Belgium's achievements at this World Cup. This was fully evident in their quarter-final triumph, where the 27-year-old made World Cup history by completing all his 10 take ons, recording the highest number for a 100% success rate in a single match since 1966.
Although he ultimately fell short in his ultimate aim of captaining his country to its first ever World Cup, by outperforming Neymar in their quarter-final clash, Hazard can claim to have fulfilled his declaration of taking over as the World Cup's superstar following Messi and Ronaldo's eliminations.
#3 KYLIAN MBAPPE
The current Golden Boy was tipped to be one of the breakout stars of the World Cup and he has lived up to that billing in the same way as he has done with everything else in his relatively short career to date.
Such is the maturity in Mbappe's game that it is hard to believe he is just 19 years old and has less than two full seasons of top level professional football under his belt.
In his first appearance on the biggest stage in club football, the teenager made an entrance many a veteran could only dream of; setting so many records in his first four matches for Monaco in the Champions League.
He has continued where he left off in the World Cup, with performances that beguile his age. Mbappe has been unfazed by the grandness of the stage and has set this World Cup alight , embarrassing many a defender with his abundance of trickery and pace.
Mbappe has scored 3 goals in 6 matches at his debut World Cup and is the runaway favourite for the Young Player award,. However, such has been his impressive performances that he could also be in with a shot at the Golden Ball.
His best performance so far came in France's 4-3 Round of 16 victory over Argentina, where his endless running and change of pace proved to be a handful for the Argentine back line, in addition to his brace in the match. It made him the first teenager since the legendary Pele in 1958 to score at least two goals in a single World Cup game.
There was something symbolic about Mbappe announcing himself on the World stage on the same day that Messi and Ronaldo departed, as it was almost an unspoken baton handover; the undisputed stars of the last generation being outshone by the shining light of the next.
At just 19 years, Mbappe is yet to unlock his full potential, and on virtue of his performances so far, we are in for a long and successful career from 'Donatello'.
#4 PAUL POGBA
Inconsistent, fashionista, indecisive, nonchalant. These are some of the terms used to describe Pogba since his much-publicized, then-world record transfer to Manchester United as the French midfielder's every move was scrutinized under the watchful eyes of a very demanding public.
Pogba was said to be too inconsistent to be the driving force behind France's quest for a first world title win in 20 years, but his teammates rallied behind him, with his coach Didier Deschamps in particular throwing his support to Pogba.
Pogba has repaid that faith by putting in emphatic performances in all five of his appearances in this World Cup.
The 25-year-old scored France's winner in their opening game against Australia albeit off a lucky deflection and has been assertive in the French midfield in the way which made Manchester United fork out 89 Million Pounds for his signature from Juventus.
Pogba was voted the best player at the 2013 Under 20 World Cup held in Turkey, and if he adds the 2018 World Cup Golden Ball, he will achieve the unique distinction of being only the third player to win the awards at both tournaments after Argentine compatriots Diego Maradona (1979 and 1986) and Lionel Messi (2005, 2014).
#5 JAN VERTONGHEN
Jan Vertonghen
Very rarely do defenders get mentioned in the discussions of best player awards, but such has been Vertonghen's impressiveness that he deserves to be in the running for the consideration of the World Cup's best player.
One of the Premier League's most consistent defenders over the last few seasons, Belgium's record appearance maker was instrumental to Belgium's run to the semi-final as his calmness and superb technique on the ball was crucial to Roberto Martinez's system of playing out from the back.
The 31-year-old has been a rock at the left hand side of Belgium's back three and also contributed some impressive forays forward. His spectacular header from the edge of the box for Belgium's opening goal proved to be the catalyst in their eventual record breaking 3-2 victory over Japan in the Round of 16.
Even though he is a rank outsider to be considered the best player of the tournament, Vertonghen has been impressive enough to get at least a nomination.
Notable mentions: Antoine Griezmann, Ngolo Kante, Kevin De Bruyne, Denis Cheryshev, Kieran Trippier, Thibaut Courtouis, Ivan Rakitic, Danijel Subasic, Phillippe Coutinho.
