The World Cup has begun and what a start to the tournament. As we gear up for latest round of matches, we take a look at 5 players who are big fishes in small ponds – their countries are all rank outsiders, according to tips on the FIFA World Cup – but these players have all established themselves as world class stars of their own accord.
1. Christian Eriksen (Denmark)
Denmark manager Age Hariede perhaps summed Eriksen up best. “Flies have eyes that can see all the way around the head. So does Christian Eriksen”. He has made no secret of the fact that the Denmark team is tailored around the Tottenham wizard, saying “When I see a great player I will give that player all the freedom in the world to use his skills”. Invariably, how Denmark fare in the World Cup will be how Eriksen fares at the World Cup.
The Danes are making their first bow in the World Cup after an 8 year absence. Grouped with France, Peru and Australia, they will be confident of sneaking a second place berth. Their direct and fast style of play will go through Eriksen’s finesse and football intelligence, and will open up spaces for the maestro to pop one of his typical curling efforts, or pin-point through balls.
He did have a successful club season too – 14 goals and 13 assists, as Spurs finished 3rd in the league. The highlights included a goal in a win against Real Madrid and a late free-kick away at Juventus to snatch an equalizer. But there, he’s not the biggest pond in the fish. Eriksen’s importance for Denmark could not be understated – Denmark scored 25 goals in the qualifying phase. Eriksen had a direct hand in 14, with 11 goals and 3 assists – including a stunning hat-trick in Dublin against Ireland in the 5-1 qualifying play-off.
Only 26 years of age, Eriksen is destined to be one of, if not the, all-time greatest Danish player. This will be the best opportunity to show why.
2. Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
On that fateful night in Kiev, when Sergio Ramos brought down Mohamed Salah midway through the first half and the Egyptian dazzler walked off the pitch in tears – more so than Liverpool, a whole nation held their breath in disbelief. The top 3 trending topics on Twitter in Egypt only furthered that cause – “We are all Liverpool”, “Son of Dirt” and “Ramos the Dog”. In Egypt, Salah is not just a footballer. Salah is as close to a deity as you can be, without actually being one. A philanthropist, Salah has built a charity, has donated to hospitals, is building a school that will cost millions, and has funded a child’s bone marrow transplant. On and off the field, he’s Egypt’s very own, he’s Egypt’s role model, he’s Egypt’s global superstar.
That’s Salah, the icon off the field. On the field, there’s not much that we all don’t already know. After a less than inspirational stint at Chelsea, Salah returned to the Premier League – via the Serie A – to Liverpool. And the rest, as they say, is history. 32 league goals later, Salah broke innumerable Premier League and Liverpool records – including the most goals in a single season in the 38-game era. His 10 goals in the Champions League helped Liverpool to their first Champions League final in over a decade, forming an almost telepathic connection with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
For his country, Salah has scored 33 goals in 57 games. He scored the ice-cold last-minute penalty in the qualifiers that booked Egypt’s tickets to Russia for this summer. In a relatively open group involving hosts Russia, outsiders Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, he’ll have a chance to continue from where he had to leave off in Kiev.
3. Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
Poland’s captain, Poland’s leader, Poland’s legend and Poland’s generation defining player, Robert Lewandowski will shoulder the weight of the expectations of a whole nation. Lewandowski rightly took his place in the European country’s history books in late 2017 – a hat-trick against Armenia taking him to the top of the all-time top scorers list. With 16 goals in 10 qualifying games, Lewandowski broke the record for the most goals in a single UEFA World Cup qualifying campaign ever.
For other proponents of the Dortmund conveyor belt of development, life after Westfalenstadion – for instance, Shinji Kagawa, Mario Gotze and Henrikh Mkhitaryan – has not been very fruitful. But Lewandowski has only gone on to become a ruthless goal-scoring machine with almost robotic efficiency. In the Bundesliga, he’s scored 29, 29 and 30 goals in the previous 3 seasons.
He’s almost made it a habit to pick up the Bundesliga golden boot. He’ll be gunning for nothing less than the same in Russia – at 28/1, he’s a sharp outsider for the Golden Boot – according to betting on the World Cup. Poland made the last 8 in Euro 2016. They were hoping for at least that, if not further, this summer, although a loss to Senegal has hampered those ambitions.
4. Sadio Mane (Senegal)
Two seasons ago, rival fans and Liverpool fans alike scoffed at Sadio Mane’s £35m price tag. Now, it seems like one of the biggest bargains in recent transfer history. Although his influence might have been overshadowed by Mohamed Salah’s mesmerizing season, his 10 goals in the Champions League – including one in the final – were no less important – while he also scored 10 in the Premier League. Salah might have actually diminished Mane’s output – despite missing the last couple of months in 2016/17 due to injury, he was still voted Liverpool’s Player of the Season.
But for Senegal though, there is no doubt that the main man is indeed Mane. Making their first appearance in the World Cup after 2002, Senegal will have big hopes from the erstwhile most expensive African footballer to lead their charge. Much like Salah, Mane is the role model for many young Senegalese kids – for both his off field and on field exploits. Mane’s equalizer in the final in Kiev was celebrated equally as much in Dakar as in Liverpool. He has been giving back to the community as well – Mane donated a large sum to construct a school in Senegal.
With another prodigious talent in Balde Diao Keita on the other flank, Mane will be looking to make an indelible impact in Russia this summer.
5. Heung Min-Son (South Korea)
For someone fondly nicknamed Sonaldo, there are bound to be big hopes. Already recognized as one of Korea’s greatest ever forwards at 25, Son will lead the line for the Asian side – as an out-and-out striker. After establishing himself in Germany for Hamburg and Leverkusen, Son has furthered his reputation by turning out for Tottenham Hotspur. After a rocky start, Son scored 18 goals and had 11 assists in all competitions this season, following 21 and 10 in 2016/17.
For his club too – Son always steps up his game when the attack is centred around him. A nimble footed player with a lightning burst of pace and a thunderbolt of a shot, Son is another player who’ll benefit from being the focal point for his national side. The most expensive Asian player and the top scoring Asian in Premier League history, South Korea will be hoping for performances befitting Son’s stature – he hasn’t fared quite as well for his national side as he has for his clubs.
2002’s 4th placed finish might be a couple of steps too far for this Korea side, but they’ll be hoping Son can pull them through at least the group stage.
Let us know if there are any big players at smaller nations who you think should be included.
