World Cup 2018: 5 players to watch out for on matchday 9
The 2018 FIFA World Cup has been phenomenal thus far. We have had 8 days of scintillating football and there have been a lot of upsets caused. A couple of the teams that caused the upsets will be in action on Matchday 9. Teams like Morocco and Egypt have already been eliminated, whereas the likes of Uruguay, France, Croatia and Russia have already qualified.
The first match of the day will take place between Brazil and Costa Rica in which the loser could face elimination. Iceland will take on Nigeria in the second game of the match day.
Switzerland and Serbia will play each other in the last match of the day. If Serbia manage to win it, they will seal qualification.
With a number of crucial games on the cards today, players on all teams will look to put in their best. On that note, here's a look at 5 players to watch out for on Matchday 9:
#5 Gylfi Sigurdsson - Iceland
The Icelandic player had a pretty good game against Argentina. The attacking midfielder is one of the best players that Iceland have. He has won 7 out of the last 8 Icelandic Footballer of the Year awards.
He linked up very well with the likes of Birkir Bjarnason and Alfreð Finnbogason in the attack against Argentina. Notably, the former Spurs player has scored 19 goals in 58 matches for Iceland.
He scored 4 times in the qualification campaign for them and initiates the attack for his team. He often contributes with pre-assists, assists, and crosses, and he also scores goals for Iceland whenever required. He will certainly be the main man for Iceland against a physically strong Nigerian defence.
#4 Nemanja Matic - Serbia
The Serbian is a quality footballer and is unarguably one of the best that the country has right now. He is a defensive midfielder but has the ability to score some extraordinary goals.
He also got the award for the best Manchester United goal in the recently concluded 2017-18 season. He is used in a holding position and is very effective with his distribution which allows his attacking teammates to flourish.
He has scored 2 goals in 41 appearances for his country. He had a decent game against Costa Rica but will have to perform better against a stronger looking Swiss attack. His experience will come in handy against the Swiss team that will do their best to defeat Serbia.