The wait is almost over before we can start to enjoy watching the stars do their thing on the world’s greatest footballing stage – the World Cup. A good run of form in a tournament of this level can change a player’s career. It can help them to achieve their dream move to a new club, increase their fanbase and help to get more lucrative sponsorship deals.
Every player dreams of one day starring in the World Cup and for the players heading to Russia, their dreams are about to come true. The established megastars like Messi, Ronaldo and Suarez are anticipated to set the tournament alight but there are also usually some surprise packages that nobody could have predicted to perform so well.
In the World Cup 2014, unknown heroes like Guillermo Ochoa emerged from the shadows to World Cup stardom. In the same tournament, Alexis Sanchez showed the world that he was too good to sit on the bench at Barcelona, with Arsenal beating Liverpool to sign the Chile player.
This summer we can expect much of the same and our predictions for players that will take the World Cup 2018 by the storm are:
Mohamed Salah – The hero of Egypt’s qualification for the tournament has broken plenty of records this season and providing his injury heals sufficiently, he will be on a mission to show what he can do after the Champions League heartbreak. The Ballon d’Or awaits, should he emulate the achievements of Ronaldo and Messi in this tournament.
Harry Kane – England’s captain Harry Kane has been scoring high numbers of goals for Tottenham over the last few years and this World Cup is his perfect opportunity to show the rest of the world his power in front of goal.
Paul Pogba – He may have had a slightly subdued season by his own standards but Pogba often rises to the occasion, as Man City discovered in the Manchester derby this season.
Timo Werner – Red Bull Leipzig’s striker has not made it a secret that he may need to change clubs to take his game to the next level. So he will be using the World Cup to show his prospective buyers what he can add to their team.
Leo Messi – The big players usually come alive at the biggest events and Messi will possibly be playing his last World Cup, or at least the last one whilst he is still at the peak of his game. He will want to make this one remember for both himself and Argentina.
Cristiano Ronaldo – You cannot mention one without the other and Ronaldo is in a similar position coming to the latter years of his career. He will want to end on a World Cup high and outperform his biggest rival Messi.
David De Gea – Spain’s No. 1 is a standout player for his club Manchester United. If he can carry his club form over to international level, he will be one of the stars of the tournament.
Christian Eriksen – Along with Harry Kane, Eriksen has been playing exceptionally well for Tottenham last few seasons. Denmark will be hoping he can continue playing the highest quality of football in Russia.
Luka Modric – Real Madrid’s Modric is Croatia’s star player and he rarely fails to perform well for his national side. Amongst the Galacticos at Real Madrid, he does not always take the limelight but expects him to shine in a Croatia shirt.
Alex Iwobi – Nigeria is down as the surprise package for some people, with Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi looking to stake a claim for more first-team opportunities for his club or to seal a big move to another team.
