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The 2018 FIFA World Cup has completed the group stage and it seems like everything was over in a jiffy. In fact, three-fourths of the total matches are over, meaning there are only 16 games left. However, we are entering the business end of the tournament which means the matches could be even better than they were in the group stage.
The group stage of the World Cup in Russia was like no other. Shock results, some superb individual performances, late goals and a plethora of penalties have been the theme of the tournament so far.
By now, we have a firm idea about the strengths and weaknesses of each team, their best players and their chances of progressing further. So before the knockout stage starts, take a look at the best XI from the group stage fixtures.
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Goalkeeper - Cho Hyun-Woo (South Korea)
There were some fantastic performances by goalkeepers in Russia. Hannes Þór Halldórsson of Iceland shocked the world by saving a penalty from Leo Messi, Iran’s goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand saved a spot kick from Cristiano Ronaldo, Guillermo Ochoa of Mexico carried his form from the previous World Cup and Keylor Navas almost shut out the Brazil attack.
However, South Korea’s Cho Hyun-Woo has earned his place in this XI and is also the only player from an already eliminated team.
Cho was one of Korea’s standout performers even though they failed to progress from a difficult group.
The 26-year-old started all games for the Korean’s and made 13 saves overall. His tally is the third highest in the tournament behind Guillermo Ochoa (17) and Kasper Schmeichel (14).
The highlight of Cho’s impressive show in Russia was against defending Champions Germany in their final group stage game. Cho made six saves and kept a clean sheet as they knocked out the Champions and leapfrogged them to third in their group. He was also rightfully awarded the man of the match award against Germany.
Cho also averaged an impressive save percentage of 81.2!
Defenders - Diego Godin (Uruguay), Yerry Mina (Colombia) and Andreas Granqvist (Sweden)
Only three teams went through the entire group stage by winning all three games but only one team managed to win all three games without conceding a goal and that’s Uruguay.
A lot of credit for Uruguay’s unique feat goes to their captain Diego Godin. The Atletico Madrid defender started and completed all three group stage games with an impressive per game average of 2.3 interceptions, 2.7 tackles and 4 clearances.
In the Round of 16, he will be up against a familiar foe in Cristiano Ronaldo and the veteran will play a crucial role if Uruguay are to make it to the quarter-final.
Goals from set-pieces have been a trend of this World Cup and several defenders have scored from set-piece situations. However, Colombia’s Yerry Mina scored the goals that took his team to the knockout stage.
Mina didn’t play Colombia’s first game against Japan which they lost 2-1 but he started the next two games and scored a goal each in the games against Poland and Senegal to take Colombia through as group toppers.
The Barcelona man was also colossal in defence. He had an average of 5 clearances per game and won 9 aerial duels in the two games he played.
Talking about goal scoring defenders, Sweden captain, Andreas Granqvist also makes this XI both for his offensive and defensive contributions. The veteran defender scored a penalty each in his team’s wins over South Korea and Mexico.
In addition, Granqvist had a per game average of 1.3 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, 5.7 clearances and 2 blocks.
Midfielders - N'Golo Kante (France), Luka Modric (Croatia), Philippe Coutinho (Brazil), Eden Hazard (Belgium)
Coming into the tournament, France were one of the favourites to win the World Cup but they haven’t shown the attacking prowess we know they are capable of. They topped their group thanks to their excellent defence and a lot of credit to that goes to N’Golo Kante.
Kante and Varane were the only two French players to play every minute of the group stage. The Chelsea man’s per game averages come to 2.7 tackles, 3.3 interceptions and 2.7 clearances.
Luka Modric is one of the early contenders for the Golden Ball as the Croatia captain has led his side from the front into the knockout stage. Modric and Perisic were the only two Croatian players who started every group stage game.
He scored from the spot against Nigeria and from outside the box against Argentina. In addition, he made 5 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 clearances and 5 key passes in 245 minutes of action. A complete midfielder indeed.
The pre-tournament discussion was about how Neymar can lead Brazil to glory but on the pitch, Philippe Coutinho took the spotlight away from the PSG superstar.
Coutinho scored a typical Coutinho goal against Switzerland in their 1-1 draw and then against Costa Rica, he scored the first goal of the game in the 90th minute to break the deadlock. He didn’t score against Serbia, but it was his brilliant pass from which Paulinho scored Brazil’s all-important first goal.
Eden Hazard only played 158 minutes out of a maximum possible 270 minutes because Belgium progressed to the next round. However, he was scintillating whenever he was on the pitch.
Against Panama, he picked up an assist and against Tunisia, he scored twice and assisted one in a man of the match performance despite playing only 68 minutes.
Incredibly, in those 168 minutes, he managed 8 shots, 15 dribbles of which 8 were successful, 6 key passes and was fouled 9 times.
Forwards - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) and Harry Kane (England)
Picking the three forwards was the easiest task so far and the three leading contenders for the Golden Boot complete the XI.
Portugal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, scored a record-breaking hat-trick against Spain in their opening fixture and followed it up with the only goal of the game against Morocco. He missed from the spot against Iran but it didn’t prove to be the end of the tournament for Portugal, however, they ended up finishing second in the group.
Ronaldo will take centre stage when his team takes on Uruguay in the Round of 16.
Romelu Lukaku has four goals despite playing only 149 minutes at the World Cup. He scored a brace against Panama in his team’s opening game and was also adjudged the man of the match. He scored another brace in the next game against Tunisia to take his tally to four goals.
Incredibly, he has scored 29 goals in his last 29 games for Belgium.
Completing the XI is the England captain, Harry Kane. The Spurs forward scored both goals in his side’s 2-1 win over Tunisia and his second goal was a last-gasp winner. Against Panama, he scored two from the spot before completing his hat-trick as the ball deflected off him and into the net.
With 5 goals in 2 games, he leads the Golden Boot race and will be hoping to add more goals against Colombia in the next round.
