Midfield is the must crucial part of a match. They say, you control the midfield, you control the match. Let us look at some of the players who can boss around the midfield in The Fifa World Cup 2022.
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10. SERGIO BUSQUETS- SPAIN
He is one of those players who almost startle you as to how they are able to modify their games over the years to stay relevant and play the sport at the highest level. He is a World cup winner with Spain and has also bagged the Euros in 2012. He will play alongside his Barcelona teammates, Gavi and Pedri. However, he has struggled a bit this season and also in the FIFA World Cup 2022 with too many horizontal and innocuous passes, something he would look to change in the forthcoming rounds.
- Club- FC Barcelona
- Country- Spain
- Other Players of the same country- Pedri, Gavi, Ter Stegen
09. CRISTIAN ERIKSEN- DENMARK
Christian Eriksen is probably one of the most elegant players in world football at the moment and if his elegance does not get you, his resilience to make a comeback after a nearly fatal incident in the last Euros should make you take a bow. He currently plays for Manchester United and has of late started to give top performance. He was instrumental in the runs of wins Manchester United had this season. However, he was not able to guide his team to the Round of 16 after their remarkable Euro campaign. They were handed a defeat in the last game by Australia which knocked them out of the tournament.
- Club- Manchester United FC
- Country- Denmark
- Other Players of the same country- Kasper Schmiecel, Simon Kjaer, Thomas Delaney
08. JUDE BELLINGHAM- ENGLAND
Yet another young 19 year old to watch out for is England’s Jude Bellingham. He currently plays in Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund. In the three matches he has played this world cup, he has scored one goal but his overall gameplay has been impressive stringing together key passes. In total he has made 60 passes. He has also contribute immensely in stopping opposition attacks from building. He has 7 tackles with an accuracy of 100% in the three group matches.
- Club- Burossia Dortmund
- Country- England
- Other Players of the same country- Harry Kane, John Stones, Luke Shaw
07. FEDE VALVERDE- URUGUAY
Federico Valverde of Uruguay who represents Real Madrid at the club level is in the form of his life. While his main skills of incessant running, versatility was well known, this year he has added an all-new dimension to his game with his insane goal scoring abilities. Most of them coming from outside the box. While he has not been successful in scoring in the two World Cup matches so far, he has struck the post with venom once, probably an indication for things to come. Uruguay could certainly use his ability to pull a rabbit of the hat in the matches to come in the megaevent.
- Club- Real Madrid FC
- Country- Uruguay
- Other Players of the same country- Aurajo, Darwin Nunez, Luiz Suarez
06. DECLAN RICE- ENGLAND
Declan Rice who plays for West Ham in the premier league has been in outstanding form throughout the season. He is single-handedly responsible for intercepting so many of oppositions attacks. In addition, he has also added to his transition skills. He also started the Word cup strongly with over 202 passes at an accuracy rate of 94%. It will be interesting to see him continue this in the next rounds.
- Club- Aston Villa
- Country- England
- Other Players of the same country- Harry Kane, John Stones, Luke Shaw
05. BRUNO FERNANDEZ- PORTUGAL
Bruno Fernandez often faces the heat because of his inconsistencies in games while playing for Manchester United. But little can be doubted about his talent and the ability to carve out chances. He can form a lethal combination with Cristiano Ronaldo and even Bernardo Silva. He has started the World Cup campaign on a high with 2 goals and 2 assists in 3 games played so far. He also strung together over 100 passes with a pass accuracy of 89%. He also has a very potent long range short up his sleeve which Portugal would hope would win them crucial matches.
- Club- Manchester United FC
- Country- Portugal
- Other Players of the same country- Cristiano Ronaldo, Jao Chancelo, Rui Patricio
04. LUKA MODRIC- CROATIA
The 36 year old Croatian veteran seems to age like a fine wine. He played an instrumental role in leading Real Madrid to the UCL and La Liga title after many claimed after the 2018-2019 season that he is finished. He was the ‘Player of the Tournament’ in the 2018 world cup and astonishingly led his team to the finals defeating teams like Argentina and England on the way. He recently made his 150th appearance for Croatia which is an absolutely astonishing feat to touch. Croatia will again rely on their talisman to boss the midfield and run the game for their team with very able support from Kovacic and Brozovic.
- Club- Real Madrid FC
- Country- Croatia
- Other Players of the same country- Kovacic, Perisic, Josko Gvardiol
03. PEDRI- SPAIN
Another La Masia product, Pedri Gonzales adds to the list of players who play beyond their age limits and can absolutely run the midfield. Pedri plays for Barcelona and ably supported by his Barcelona teammate and Spanish legend Sergio Busquets. In the three matches he has played in the World Cup, he has strung together 283 passes at a success rate of 91% which is absolutely brilliant. He in fact carried good goal scoring form for a midfielder into the World Cup with three goals in La Liga. Spain would desperately want some of those to come through at crucial moments in the knock out rounds. His importance along with Gavi’s can be gauged by the fact that Barcelona are already suggesting long term plans with these two with various reports suggesting their complete reluctance in entertaining any offers for them.
- Club- Barcelona FC
- Country- Spain
- Other Players of the same country- Sergio Busquets, Gavi, Ter Stegen
02. JAMAL MUSIALA- GERMANY
When Germany looks back at yet another dismal FIFA World Cup campaign that ended way too early than expectation, perhaps the only positive that would emerge out of it would be Jamal Musiala. The 19 year old attacking midfielder who is a regular starter for Bayern Munich has taken the World Cup by storm. He seems to have it all, dribbling, good distribution and a great shot to go with it. He has already scored 9 goals for Bayern Munich to go with his 6 assists and in their final group game struck the post twice after leaving the immediate defenders for dead. He follows the long list of absolute gems of creative midfielders Germany has produced like Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira but given his age seems like a notch above even these aces. However, it is interesting to note that he played junior level of football for England.
- Club- Bayern Munich FC
- Country- Germany
- Other Players of the same country- Fulkrug, Ter Stegen, Manuel Neuer
01. KEVIN DE BRUYNE- BELGIUM
Any discussion of midfielders at the global level would be incomplete without mentioning Kevin De Bruyne. He is the central figure of Manchester City and has the ability to thread through passes from anywhere. It was his and Lukaku’s combination that took Belgium to the Semi Finals of the previous World Cup. This time however the story has been different with a bit of lack of fluency in the Belgian mid-field. The forwards have also been very wasteful which ultimately culminated into the ouster of the Belgian team which is touted to have their ‘Golden Generation’ together currently.
- Club- Manchester City
- Country- Belgium
- Other Players of the same country- Romelu Lukaku, Axel Wietsel, Eden Hazard
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