World Cup 2018: Top 20 centre-backs in the tournament

14. Jan Vertonghen

Jan Vertonghen

When one thinks about Tottenham’s renaissance over the past decade there are quite a few players that come up. Gareth Bale, Harry Kane, Dele Alli. Yet, there has been one player who has been vital for the Spurs alongside all of those players: Jan Vertonghen. Vertonghen joined the Spurs in 2012 and since then, has become one of the best centre-backs in the world. In fact statistically he had a player rating of 7.26, which ranked third among centre-backs in the Premier League. The Belgian had excellent defensive statistics as he averaged 1.8 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 4.7 clearances per game. He also had an incredible tackling success percentage of 85.7%, a number not matched by most in these rankings. While the Belgian does not look like the most aerially dominant player, the defender won 3.3 aerial duels per game (31st in the Premier League) with an excellent percentage of 64.7%. Vertonghen’s pass success percentage is an average 86.3%, an aspect of his game that clearly needs improvement. However, perhaps the most important concerns surrounding the Belgian pertain to his durability as he played more than 40 games in the Premier League for the first time. Considering the English league’s infamously tough schedule, this may be a problem for the notoriously injury-prone Belgian going into the World Cup. These injuries along with his poor passing prevent the Belgian from being ranked higher.

13. Medhi Benatia

Medhi Benatia

When making these rankings, one realizes how top-heavy international football is when it comes to centre-backs. Within the top 20, one can see two French centre-backs, two German centre-backs, two Belgian centre-backs, two Uruguayan centre-backs, two Brazilian centre-backs, two Senegalese centre-backs and two Belgian centre-backs. One exception to this is Medhi Benatia, one of the few (in addition to Koulibaly and Sane) excellent centre-backs who doesn’t play for a prohibitive favorite in the World Cup. While much of the discussion surrounding Juventus’ defence is around their Italian veteran defenders, Benatia has become an equally crucial part of one of the world’s best defensive teams. Benatia had an average player rating of 7.25 which ranked 20th in the Serie A (second among central defenders). Benatia’s positioning was particularly excellent as he averaged 2.2 interceptions per game. The Moroccan also won an outstanding 78% of his tackles, averaging 1.4 per game. Benatia is also solid aerially, winning 67% of his aerial duels. His passing was also excellent as he had a pass success percentage of 90.5%. Like many other players in these rankings, what prevents Benatia from rising higher are his injuries. Moreover without being surrounded by excellence as he is in Juventus, the Moroccan might not be at his best. Yet a below-par Benatia is still one of the better centre-backs in the world.