The World Cup is bound to expose fans to plenty of budding talent…
There’s been plenty of talk about potential dark-horse teams in Russia this summer and all the young guns, from Leroy Sane to Kylain Mbappe, have already been discussed for the Best Young Player award. However, this list will take a look at players who are not yet household names, but could find themselves on everybody’s lips if things go their way at the World Cup.
One could even say it’s inspired by James Rodriguez and Keylor Navas, whose performances for their respective countries at the 2014 World Cup earned them big-money moves to Real Madrid.
1 – Fahad Al Muwallad (Levante) has become the first player from Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 to play in La Liga history. Premiere.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) May 7, 2018
10. Fahad Al Muwallad (23, Saudi Arabia, Group A)
Fahad Al Muwallad recently became the first-ever Saudi to play in the Spanish La Liga, when he debuted for Levante against Leganes on May 8th. Fahad has a knack for scoring spectacular goals, and often comes through with crucial strikes as he demonstrated with his qualification-clinching goal against Japan in 2017. The Saudis are the second-lowest ranked team in the competition, barely ahead of the hosts, and their Group A opponents, Russia. There are high hopes from Fahad and Al Hilal’s Nawaf Al Abed to perform if they are to get out of their group. With a good showing in Russia, major European clubs might take notice of his undoubted talents.
9. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (22, England, Group G)
Chelsea signed two Englishmen for big money in the summer of 2017, Ross Barkley and Danny Drinkwater, but neither made it on the plane to Russia. Instead, it was academy product Ruben Loftus-Cheek who, after being sent out on loan to Crystal Palace for the season, earned a place in the squad to Russia. It is still unclear whether RLC will have a place in the Chelsea squad come the start of next season. However, a good showing at the World Cup will do his prospects of finding first-team football in the Premier League, whether it’s at Chelsea or elsewhere, absolutely no harm.
8. Alvaro Odriozola (22, Spain, Group B)
Alvaro Odriozola has been ever-present for Real Sociedad this season, making 41 appearances, including 6 in the Europa League. Picked ahead of Barcelona’s Sergi Roberto, Odriozola will most likely be backup to Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal – but given Carvajal’s injury troubles this season, Odriozola has the ability to make that right-back berth his own should the opportunity arise. A few good performances and you can expect the vultures to start circling around the Sociedad man post-World Cup.
7. Alex Iwobi (22, Nigeria, Group D)
With a new manager coming in, a lot of the Arsenal players will be looking to play not just for their country but also to impress their new club boss, Unai Emery. Iwobi has had a roller-coaster Arsenal career so far, but a standout showing as part an exciting Super Eagles team also featuring Leicester City’s trio of Wilfred Ndidi, Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, and former Watford hitman Odion Ighalo will go a long way in possibly cementing a first-team role for him at the Emirates this coming season.
6. Nahitan Nandez (22, Uruguay, Group A)
Possibly the most unfamiliar player on this list, Nandez already has 11 Uruguayan caps to his name and can best be described as a tenacious, hard-working, and versatile midfielder with great pace and passing ability. In a Copa Libertadores game this season, Nandez was left bloodied from a challenge in the 7th minute, but he got up and completed the game in a 5-0 win for Boca. The warrior from Punta del Este has a €25m release clause and a decent showing in the World Cup could tempt one of Europe’s big clubs to meet that valuation.