5 Lesser known players who could light up the 2018 World cup
I would swap a title with Barcelona for one with the national team. While I want to win things again with my club, I want to win something with the national team. -Lionel Messi
The above quote highlights how desperate even a player of the stature of Messi is, to get a chance to lift the world cup. That is the only trophy missing from his glittering cabinet, thereby underlining the fact that a world cup win is the pinnacle of a player’s career.
World cups not only help cement a player’s legacy but also provides a platform for the next superstar to flourish. Players like Landon Donovan (2002), Lukas Podolski (2006) and Asamoah Gyan (2010) to name a few, became household names after their world cup exploits. They were relative unknowns before the tournament began yet left the greatest stage, being revered not only by their fans but also from fans all around the globe.
With the world cup fast approaching kick off, we look at 5 lesser known players who could light up the grandest stage in world football:
#5 Hakim Ziyech (Morocco)
One of the best players in the Eredivisie for the past few years, Hakim Ziyech will surely be on the move this summer. His current employers, Ajax, know that if Ziyech performs anywhere near his best, his value will skyrocket.
A central midfielder by trade, Ziyech is the star turn in an average Morocco side. The nation will hope that Ziyech’s playmaking abilities are at their best if they want to get out of an impossible looking group having the likes of Spain, Portugal, and Iran.
Having contributed 9 goals from midfield in the 2017/18 Eredivisie season, Ziyech can score as well as he can create. Morocco fans will hope that their star can announce himself at the global stage with some scintillating performances in Russia 2018.