GROUP D
ARGENTINA – Cristian Pavon
Will not start given the attacking options Jorge Sampaoli has at his disposal, but with Manuel Lanzini and Angel di Maria both preferring to drift infield, Pavon offers something that no other player in Argentina’s squad can: Natural width in attacking areas.
CROATIA – Duje Caleta-Car
Might not start in Russia, but Caleta-Car has made himself a fixture in the Red Bull Salzburg team that reached the Europa League semi-final this season. Could be the subject of transfer rumours linking him to the Premier League this summer. Southampton, Newcastle or Everton are our best guesses.
NIGERIA – Tyronne Ebuehi
Only 22, Ebuehi would have completely avoided my radar had he not joined Benfica on a five-year deal last month having impressed in the Eredivisie with ADO Den Haag. Introduced at half-time against England last week, the right-back was one of the reasons that game turned on its head. Another reason was that England went shite.
ICELAND – Albert Guðmundsson
Very few options here, so Gudmundsson sticks out like a goalscoring thumb. Scored a hat-trick against Indonesia as a substitute and will hope to push his way into PSV’s first-team plans next season. Albert’s great-grandfather was former Milan and Arsenal striker and later Minister of Finance Albert Guðmundsson, Iceland’s first professional footballer and Arsenal’s second foreign player. Find yourself someone who is impressed by that last sentence, and marry them.