World Cup’s five finest full-backs

Dani Alves

Daniel Alves of Brazil kicks the ball during the International Friendly Match between Brazil and Serbia

Barcelona’s Dani Alves is one of the best full-backs in the world right now even though he’s 31. Alves could be appearing in his last World Cup and could well be playing his last series of games for Brazil as a Barcelona player. Alves has recently admitted that he would be very receptive to a move to PSG amidst rumours that the French club are prepared to make an offer for him.

Alves has won 64 tackles this season but crucially (to both Barcelona and Spain) he leads the passing figures on this list with the most passes (1,840) and the most successful passes (1,604). Alves is the definition of a modern day full-back with the emphasis very much on attack. He is quick, powerful and has a dangerous cross he will use the space created by Brazil’s attacking midfielders to great effect.

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Ricardo Rodriguez

Without a doubt one of the surprises of the season, Ricardo Rodriguez has played himself into the thinking of a number of top European clubs this season. The Swiss left-back is strong defensively but where he excels is in his attacking instincts.

He has scored five goals and created an astonishing 78 chances, more than any other Wolfsburg player, which come largely from his prowess from dead-balls. He will be a big threat for Switzerland at this tournament from those scenarios and their opponents will need to make sure they defend set-pieces well.

With the highest performance score, number of chances created, number of tackles won, number of take-ons and percentage of duels won Rodriguez has established himself as one of the best full-backs around right now. People are talking about Belgium as the dark horses but Switzerland are another that could cause a few surprises.