World Cup 2018: 6 Breakout stars of the group stage

The FIFA World Cup is one of the most popular sporting events, in which the whole world tunes in to watch the 32 best footballing nations battle it out to take home the grand prize. Each World Cup sees the rise of a few young stars who might not be household names yet in club football.

These young talented boys burst on the biggest stage and attain super-stardom and might earn themselves a move to a top European club to pursue the next phase of their footballing journey. Hence, the World Cup is the perfect platform for this young star to shine and to obtain a ticket to one of the big clubs.

In the previous World Cup in 2014, we saw this from James Rodriguez, who inspired Colombia to the quarterfinals in Brazil with six goals in five matches. His dazzling play earned him a big money move to Real Madrid.

The World Cup in 2018 has kicked off in fantastic fashion as we have seen major upsets, drama, beautiful goals and a few quite inspirational performances from the star players. We have also seen a few young stars put their hands up for their country and shine bright. In this article, we take a look at the top 6 breakout stars of the World Cup in the group stage.

---

#6 Manuel Akanji (Switzerland)

Akanji has shown maturity beyond his years at the heart of the defense in the first 3 games that has taken them to a second-round clash against Sweden. Switzerland will hope their young defender can keep it tight at the back and lead them further into the World Cup.

Manuel Akanji was signed by Borussia Dortmund in January this year for a reported €21.5 million after impressive showings at Swiss champions Basel. His cool displays at the back acted as the catalyst to the German club's late-season charge to the UEFA Champions League spot. Switzerland would have pinned high hopes on the youngster impressing on the world stage.

The young Borussia Dortmund defender showed immense mettle against a scary looking Brazil attack. He also showed composure on the ball and even drove forward well in possession and found his midfielders.

He defended well throughout the game and was one of the major reasons for keeping Gabriel Jesus at bay. In a crucial fixture against Serbia, Akanji was once against ready for the challenge and kept Aleksandar Mitrovic quiet, even after he scored the goal to put the Serbians in front. This battle proved crucial as the Swiss came out winners thanks to a last-minute winner from Xherdan Shaqiri.

He is surely one of the young centre-backs to watch out for and a few more solid showings might put him on the radar of the top English clubs looking for centre-backs.

#5 Daniel Arzani (Australia)

Daniel Arzani came into this World Cup as the youngest player to make the trip to Russia. Just 19 years of age, Australia decided not to put too much of pressure on the young man's shoulders and hence was not named in the starting XI from the bench in the first two games. Despite coming off the bench in both those games, the youngster was the most impressive Australian player in the second game.

The Melbourne City starlet was brought on only in the 84th minute in the opener against France and that left him with too less time to make a massive impact. Yet, he looked impressive in his short cameo. The 19-year-old was brought on earlier against Denmark and he immediately skipped past challenges and created a few excellent opportunities for his teammates.

Arzani surprisingly did not get a chance to start in a must-win clash against Peru either, but he leaves this World Cup having enhanced his reputation. All eyes will be on the teenager as he must by now be gaining interest from clubs in Europe.

#4 Ante Rebic (Croatia)

Ante Rebic came into this tournament as one of the least recognized stars of an experienced Croatian side that are now surely capable of challenging for the title. With all eyes on the likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic, Rebic has a slightly easier task with the attention on the more established players. He has taken this opportunity with both hands and was impressive in the opener against Nigeria.

Rebic is a direct player and dribbled past his opponents on numerous occasions in the game against Nigeria and in the first half against Argentina, but the end product seemed to be missing. But he continued to work hard, put in the effort and finally got his reward, in lucky fashion.

A dreadful clearance from Argentinian goalkeeper Willy Caballero provided him a fantastic chance and the 24-year-old latched onto it with an acrobatic effort to put the Croatians in front. It was his first goal for Croatia in five years, but it hardly seemed like it. The Argentines crumbled from there and Rebic had a major role to play in that.

He was given a rest in the third game with the Croatians already through to the Round of 16, and the winger will come into the knockout stages with his batteries recharged. With Croatia emerging as one of the better sides in the tournament so far, Rebic has a fabulous platform to put his name on the transfer list of a few of the top European clubs.

#3 Aleksandr Golovin (Russia)

Russia's poor form prior to the World Cup meant that expectations were low for the host nation. However, they have started this World Cup in breathtaking fashion as they pumped in eight goals in their first two games and the architect behind it all has been Aleksandr Golovin.

Attacking midfielder Golovin was touted as one of the players to watch out for in the Russian squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 22-year-old certainly did not disappoint in the tournament opener against Saudi Arabia, where he showcased all his talent in an outstanding man-of-the-match display.

Golovin ran the show from midfield as he ended up with two assists from inch-perfect crosses and netted a fantastic free-kick to light up the opening night. He completed most passes than anyone else in the team and also covered the most distance (an amazing distance of 12.7kms), despite playing as an attacking midfielder.

The 22-year-old's energy and determination is a major plus and his drive will prove crucial to the host nation's chances later in the World Cup. He was rested for the third match against Uruguay as Russia were already through and he will be itching to have a go at the Spanish defense in the Round of 16.

The CSKA Moscow man has already attracted attention from a few of the top European clubs like Juventus and Arsenal and few more similar performances will see more teams line up to sign this talented playmaker.

#2 Hirving Lozano (Mexico)

Hirving Lozano is the brightest Mexican prospect of the current generation and is already a household name in the video game FIFA. The winger is one of the top young players that gamers target to buy and he has gone on to show why in this World Cup.

Lozano came into this World Cup after playing a major role in helping PSV Eindhoven beat Ajax to the Dutch Eredivisie this season as he ended as their top scorer with 17 goals and 11 assists in just 29 appearances. A winger blessed with blistering pace and great finishing, Lozano was tipped to be one of the young players to watch out in Russia.

The man nicknamed Chucky gave the German defenders and Joshua Kimmich in particular nightmares. The Mexican winger was on fire against the Germans from start to finish, creating numerous chances for his teammates, which they failed to take advantage of.

When he was presented with a chance, he took his goal with a calmness and maturity that belied his age. He absolutely dominated his flank and put in a shift that exposed Kimmich, who himself has been rated as one of the best right-backs in the world. He was one of the better players in a disappointing final game against Sweden.

With his breathtaking performances, the winger is likely to move out of PSV this season and he will not have a shortage of suitors and most of the top European clubs will be vying for his signature. The speedy winger will not get a better stage than against Brazil to show his class with the whole world watching.

#1 Juan Quintero

After producing the breakout star and Golden Boot winner at the last World Cup - James Rodriguez, Colombia would have been hoping for their playmaker to inspire them to the heights of Brazil 2014.

However, James was a shock omission from the starting XI as a result of an injury and it was Juan Quintero who had to fill in his place. Colombia began with a lacklustre performance against Japan, where they went down to a shock 2-1 defeat that put them on the ropes. It was indeed Quintero who pulled Colombia level with a clever, improvised free kick under the wall.

In a must-win against Poland, the attacking unit of Radamel Falcao, Juan Cuadrado, James Rodriguez that had gone missing against Japan all turned up and it was once again Quintero pulling the strings from midfield along with his senior counterpart James. Quintero and James came up with magnificent midfield performances as the Colombian side bossed a timid Polish team.

Knowing that a positive result might be necessary against Senegal if results don't quite go their way, Colombia had an extremely difficult first half against the energetic African nation. The first half also saw James leave the pitch with an injury and the playmaking responsibilities once again fell on Quintero.

The 25-year-old once again stepped up as he curled in a beautiful corner which was headed in by Yerry Mina. With this, he either scored or assisted in all 3 group stage games.

Quintero has had a difficult time since arriving at Porto in 2013, as he has spent most of the time on loan at various clubs. However, the World Cup might be the tournament where he stamps his authority and shows his class to become a permanent figure at Porto, or maybe even move to a bigger club in Europe.

---

Who do you think has been the biggest breakout star of the 2018 World Cup so far? Tell us in the comments below!