World Cup 2018: Top 10 Right-Backs in the Tournament

#6 Sime Vrsalijko

Sime Vrsalijko

The only player in these rankings not to play for a footballing giant, Vrsalijko has been an integral part of Atletico Madrid’s excellent defense. Perhaps, the Croatian’s greatest accomplishment last season was providing a credible challenge to Atletico legend Juanfran’s starting role at right-back (even starting the Europa League final).

Vrsalijko had an excellent player rating of 7.09, which (for comparison’s sake) was the same as Sergio Ramos. His defensive stats were particularly excellent over the past season as the Croatian averaged 2.3 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 2.6 clearances per game- collective numbers only matched or exceeded by nine players in La Liga last season. It is such defending that will be key for Croatia against Argentina and Nigeria in Group D.

Where Vrsalijko has certainly improved in is his attacking play, as the 26-year-old provided four assists for his Atletico teammates in La Liga last season. Nonetheless, his underlying attacking stats are still poor as he only provided 0.5 crosses and 0.6 key passes per game. These numbers will have to improve significantly in the World Cup, as he will need to provide width to Croatia’s rather narrow attack.