World Cup 2018: 5 Underrated Players That Would be a Bargain

The FIFA World Cup is the one tournament that is watched by millions if not billions throughout the month of arguably the biggest sporting event of the calendar.

While many eyes focus on the world stars of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there are many players that may not even get a mention for their strong performances in Russia.

The World Cup is the perfect opportunity for lower ranked players to display their qualities to the global audience and to the thousands of football clubs who are on the look out to strengthen their squad.

While some like Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are already representing one of the biggest clubs in the world of football, Real Madrid, there are unknown faces that may trigger an interest and help them seal a big move to a respectable football club.

Let's take a look at five underrated players that must be looked at after their performances at the World Cup in Russia:

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#5 Andrés Guardado

Guardado for Mexico

Current market value: £4.5 million

Andrés Guardado is a name and a face many might know for his existence in European football over the last few years.

The Mexican midfielder currently plays for La Liga side Real Betis as of 2017 after a move from Dutch football club PSV Eindhoven.

Guardado has also had spells across Europe including Bayern Leverkusen in Germany and back in Spain representing Valencia between 2012 and 2015.

When Mexico defeated the world champions Germany in the first round of the group stages, much was praised towards Guardado's midfield ethic.

Especially when it came to their counter-attacks tactic that caught Germany off guard and got them one of the biggest victories in Mexican football history.

Guardado has had many compliments for his football over the years but has always missed out on a big contract.

The 31-year-old may only have a few years left of his footballing career but the experience is on his side and would certainly make a great asset to any big team.

#4 Guillermo Ochoa

Mexico's main man between the sticks

Current market value: £2.7 million

Sticking with the Mexico national team, the North American's number one goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is another Mexican player that has been shadowed over the last four years.

If many remember much from the last FIFA World Cup in 2014 that was hosted by Brazil, some may have a flash of Ochoa making some fine saves.

One of his biggest highlights was achieving a clean sheet when Mexico faced Brazil at the 2014 World Cup.

The match ended goalless in the group stages which left thousands of Brazilian fans absolutely frustrated with the result.

For Mexico however, it felt like a victory and most of it was thanks to Ochoa in between the sticks throughout the 90 minutes.

Ochoa saved shots and headers that were thrown to him at every angle including a fine head at goal by Neymar but somehow the 32-year-old reached out and kept the shot on target off the goal line.

The goalkeeper is currently playing in Belgium for Standard Liege.

After his World Cup campaign with Mexico in 2014, there were rumours of Liverpool considering signing the keeper on a free transfer but nothing more happened.

Liverpool are in desperate for a decent goal stopper at the moment...

#3 Cho Hyun-woo

Current market value: £500,000

From one goalkeeper to another we now take a look at South Korea's goal stopper Cho Hyun-woo.

The Korean number one displayed the performance of his life against the world champions Germany earlier on in the week.

Despite going into the final round of the group stages already out of the tournament, South Korea showed real pride and were rewarded for their efforts by taking Germany down with them.

Hyun-woo made some stunning saves throughout the 90 minutes to keep his team in it.

No matter how many attempts the Germans tallied up, it was Hyun-woo's day.

The 26-year-old currently plays at home in Korea for Daegu FC and has done since 2013 playing over 140 matches.

Not many people heard of the name Cho Hyun-woo before but after this World Cup, many will remember the name and some international football clubs may just want his signature.

#2 Xherdan Shaqiri

Shaqiri for Switzerland

Current market value: £18 million

Now if that market value was to be accurate on Xherdan Shaqiri then in this modern era of football, that is a very low price.

Shaqiri is still at Stoke City despite the Potters getting relegated last month in the English Premier League.

The Swiss international was expected to be one of the first to walk out of the Bet365 Stadium but over a month after the league season finished, Shaqiri is still there.

This may all come down to the World Cup taking place only weeks after the club season had wrapped up.

But so far Shaqiri has proved to be a vital part of the Switzerland team as they qualified into the last 16 and will next face Sweden in the knockout stages.

A win would see them through to the quarter-finals.

The last time the Swiss reached the quarter-finals stage at a World Cup was way back in 1954 along with 1934 and 1938.

Shaqiri's highlight in Russia so far was scoring the last minute winner against Serbia to keep their chances alive to finish in the top two of Group E.

#1 Adnan Januzaj

Januzaj for Belgium

Current market value: £12 million

Adnan Januzaj grabbed the headlines in Group G's match decider by scoring the winning and only goal of the game against England.

And what a wonder goal it was too.

England is a country that holds many memories for Januzaj, especially at Manchester United during the 2013/14 season.

That league campaign isn't a season United fans like to shout about when David Moyes was in charge for only 10 months but Januzaj was one of the few that actually shined for the Red Devils that year.

Including a double against Sunderland after United were 1-0 down at the Stadium of Light.

But when Louis Van Gaal took over as the club's manager in the summer of 2014, Januzaj struggled to perform under the Dutchman's nose.

And with that saw the Belgium international leave the club for good last summer.

The winning goal against England on Thursday night looked to be a dagger in the back of English football.

Maybe Januzaj may come back to England one day to prove his doubters and maybe prove Man United wrong.