The FIFA World Cup is the one tournament that is watched by millions if not billions throughout the month of arguably the biggest sporting event of the calendar. While many eyes focus on the world stars of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there are many players that may not even get a mention for their strong performances in Russia.
The World Cup is the perfect opportunity for lower ranked players to display their qualities to the global audience and to the thousands of football clubs who are on the look out to strengthen their squad.
While some like Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are already representing one of the biggest clubs in the world of football, Real Madrid, there are unknown faces that may trigger an interest and help them seal a big move to a respectable football club.
5 Andrés Guardado
Current market value: £4.5 million Andrés Guardado is a name and a face many might know for his existence in European football over the last few years. The Mexican midfielder currently plays for La Liga side Real Betis as of 2017 after a move from Dutch football club PSV Eindhoven. Guardado has also had spells across Europe including Bayern Leverkusen in Germany and back in Spain representing Valencia between 2012 and 2015. When Mexico defeated the world champions Germany in the first round of the group stages, much was praised towards Guardado’s midfield ethic.
4 Guillermo Ochoa
Current market value: £2.7 million Sticking with the Mexico national team, the North American’s number one goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is another Mexican player that has been shadowed over the last four years. If many remember much from the last FIFA World Cup in 2014 that was hosted by Brazil, some may have a flash of Ochoa making some fine saves. One of his biggest highlights was achieving a clean sheet when Mexico faced Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. The match ended goalless in the group stages which left thousands of Brazilian fans absolutely frustrated with the result. For Mexico however, it felt like a victory and most of it was thanks to Ochoa in between the sticks throughout the 90 minutes.
3 Cho Hyun-woo
Current market value: £500,000 From one goalkeeper to another we now take a look at South Korea’s goal stopper Cho Hyun-woo. The Korean number one displayed the performance of his life against the world champions Germany earlier on in the week. Despite going into the final round of the group stages already out of the tournament, South Korea showed real pride and were rewarded for their efforts by taking Germany down with them. Hyun-woo made some stunning saves throughout the 90 minutes to keep his team in it. No matter how many attempts the Germans tallied up, it was Hyun-woo’s day. The 26-year-old currently plays at home in Korea for Daegu FC and has done since 2013 playing over 140 matches.
2 Xherdan Shaqiri
Current market value: £18 million Now if that market value was to be accurate on Xherdan Shaqiri then in this modern era of football, that is a very low price. Shaqiri is still at Stoke City despite the Potters getting relegated last month in the English Premier League. The Swiss international was expected to be one of the first to walk out of the Bet365 Stadium but over a month after the league season finished, Shaqiri is still there. This may all come down to the World Cup taking place only weeks after the club season had wrapped up. But so far Shaqiri has proved to be a vital part of the Switzerland team as they qualified into the last 16 and will next face Sweden in the knockout stages. A win would see them through to the quarter-finals.
1 Adnan Januzaj
Current market value: £12 million Adnan Januzaj grabbed the headlines in Group G’s match decider by scoring the winning and only goal of the game against England. And what a wonder goal it was too. England is a country that holds many memories for Januzaj, especially at Manchester United during the 2013/14 season. That league campaign isn’t a season United fans like to shout about when David Moyes was in charge for only 10 months but Januzaj was one of the few that actually shined for the Red Devils that year. Including a double against Sunderland after United were 1-0 down at the Stadium of Light. But when Louis Van Gaal took over as the club’s manager in the summer of 2014, Januzaj struggled to perform under the Dutchman’s nose. And with that saw the Belgium international leave the club for good last summer.