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

#3 Dani Carvajal

Dani Carvajal

While so much of the discussion after the Champions League final pertained to Mohammed Salah’s injury, an equally important injury befell Dani Carvajal which is likely to rule him out of Spain’s first two games against Portugal and Iran. The right-back is one of Spain’s most important players because of the solidity that he brings to their defence and the versatility that he brings to their attack.

Perhaps most importantly, Carvajal has always performed well at the biggest stage, being outstanding in Real Madrid’s Champions League three-peat. In fact, over the last three seasons, Carvajal has had player ratings of 7.29, 7.10 and 7.53 respectively in Europe’s premier competition. The last number is particularly impressive, as it was good enough for the Spaniard to rank as the 23rd best player in the Champions League last season. His defensive numbers were particularly impressive, averaging 2.9 tackles, 2.1 interceptions and 1.3 clearances per game.

That is the defensive performance that Spain will likely be missing in their opening game of the 2018 World Cup against Portugal and Carvajal’s club teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. They will also probably Carvajal is also a decent source of attacking production down the right flank. In last season’s La Liga, the Spaniard averaged 1.4 key passes and 1.0 crosses per game. The latter will be important for Spain later in the tournament, to help provide a contrast to their usual tiki-taka short passing.