World Cup 2018: 5 best players from the group stage

#2 Yerry Mina

Mina, Colombia's unlikely hero

Barcelona centre-back Yerry Mina is a surprise addition to the top five, but his selection is by no means any less deserved. It was his tough-tackling style which effectively isolated Bayern's Robert Lewandowski - one of the world's best forwards - on matchday two, before he earned the Man of the Match award and helped send Colombia into the knockout stages.

The 23-year-old managed all of this, having only played 377 minutes of competitive football for the La Liga champions throughout the 2017/18 campaign. His well-executed header against Senegal proved pivotal: It was the game's only goal and consequently sent them through into the last-16 as Group H winners, while Japan dropped into second place.

He also scored against Poland, breaking the deadlock from James Rodriguez's corner-kick on the stroke of half-time. That ultimately set the tone for a well-deserved victory.

Three tackles, two interceptions and an eyewatering 11 clearances from 180 minutes of football, Mina has been kept busy at the back for Colombia. He's developing a formidable partnership alongside Tottenham's Davinson Sanchez and it'll be interesting to see how England deal with them during Tuesday's knockout clash. Without him though, Los Cafeteros would already be on their way home.