Yes, club soccer has overtaken the international game. And sure, all of the best players play for the best club teams, where they get coached by the best managers, who get to use the best facilities on a daily basis. Meanwhile, national teams congregate only a few times per year, for a friendly there or a qualification match here—and most sides get to play in a competitive tournament only once every 24 months. That’s why a tactic like pressing—swarming your opponent while they have the ball in their own defensive third—has dominated the club game but will be a rare sight in Russia this summer. National teams just don’t have the time to nail down the coordination required to press, so managers tend toward less thrilling and more conservative styles. That said, the men’s World Cup is still fun, and it still matters. The 2014 edition was an enjoyable goal fest, and it also proved that the tournament can still turn lesser-known players into brand names. Four years ago, Colombia’s James Rodríguez went from a very productive player at Monaco to a global superstar who signed with Real Madrid. In 2010, Landon Donovan cemented himself as a national icon with the United States. And who could forget Michael Owen’s emergence for England in 1998? Playing well on football’s biggest stage can vault you into a different stratosphere in a matter of weeks. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at the new crop of not-widely-known talents who could make the leap into the public consciousness this summer.
Hirving Lozano, Mexico
Age: 22
Position: Winger
Club Team: PSV Eindhoven
Lozano was one of the biggest reasons why PSV won the Eredivisie title this past season. He bagged 17 goals and eight assists in his first season in the Netherlands and posted some high-volume shooting and solid creation numbers. What’s even more impressive is just how much of the club’s attack went through the 22-year-old. The Eredivisie isn’t the strongest league out there—and games against teams at the bottom can inflate a player’s stats—but this level of production still warrants attention. One of the biggest strengths to Lozano’s game is just how fast he is, specifically how fast he is off the ball. It’s one of the reasons why he was able to put up gaudy shot and goal totals. As part of PSV’s counterattacking machine, he would attack space in behind Eredivisie defenses, often timing his runs to perfection.
Lozano was also quite good in creating chances for others. His 22.2 passes per 90 minutes isn’t particularly high, but he was efficient. Most wingers today like to play on the side of the field opposite their strong foot so they can cut infield and take shots or create for their teammates. But Lozano is a right-footer who played on the right wing, and the role worked because of his ability to get behind the defense and cross the ball.
It won’t be easy for Mexico this summer: They’re matched up with one pre-tournament favorite, Germany, in the group stages, and a second-place group finish will likely lead to a round of 16 matchup with another pre-tournament favorite in Brazil. So if Mexico is going to stand any chance of making the quarterfinals for the first time since they hosted the tournament in 1986, the guy they affectionately call “Chucky” will have to be leading the way.
Hakim Ziyech, Morocco
Age: 25
Position: Midfielder
Team: Ajax
The most likely of the five players on this list to switch teams this summer, Ziyech was arguably the best player in the Eredivisie last season. He won Ajax’s player of the year award, as he became the type of creative force that the team has been missing since selling Christian Eriksen to Tottenham in the summer of 2013.
One of the biggest knocks on Ziyech’s game is that he hasn’t met a shot he isn’t willing to take. This past season, over 73 percent of his shots came from outside the penalty box. Given that he took 4.9 shots per 90 minutes this past season, that’s a lot of questionable attempts. As teams across the world are getting smarter about shot selection, Ziyech is something of an outlier with his cavalier approach. When your shot locations get compared to those of Andros Townsend (whom you wouldn’t be wrong to call “the Jordan Clarkson of soccer”), it’s time to rethink your approach.
Fortunately for Ziyech, he’s a marvelous passer and that should outweigh his frustrating shooting habits. He generated chances at a volume that only a few in Europe could compete with this past season, and there really isn’t a pass that he can’t make. He can hit them long, he can hit them short, and he can split a defensive wide open. That full repertoire of passes is a big reason why he’s already been linked to the likes of Everton, Liverpool, and most recently Roma.
Ziyech was the straw that stirred the drink at Ajax. They were at their best when he was pulling the strings and creating high-quality chances for others. Morocco’s only hope to pull off a major upset in Group B would involve Ziyech doing the same against the likes of Portugal and Spain.
Gonçalo Guedes, Portugal
Age: 21
Position: Winger
Team: PSG (on loan to Valencia)
When PSG spent around €30 million of their Qatari billions on Gonçalo Guedes from Benfica in January 2017, it seemed like he might become a young centerpiece for the latest iteration of the team. Except then they spent hundreds of millions on superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappé last summer, and Guedes soon went out on loan to Valencia.
Simply put, Guedes is a ridiculous athlete both on and off the ball. His dynamic and diverse dribbling ability was a real asset for Valencia this year, as they bounced back from a 12th-place finish in 2016-17 to finish fourth in Spain. He was used as a left-sided-but-right-footed wide player by manager Marcelino, who gave Guedes license to cut in and create havoc when needed or stay wide and deliver crosses into the box. That role did lead to some questionable shot selection—noticing a trend?—but he also showed promise as a creator. During this past season, there were few things more frightening than being a defender matched up against Guedes in space.
Guedes will likely come off the bench for Portugal, functioning as a super sub who can dribble at defenders with tired legs. With UEFA’s Financial Fair Play restrictions now requiring clubs to essentially break even, PSG will be frantically trying to figure out a way to make up all that money spent on Mbappé and Neymar. A breakout World Cup from Guedes certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Amine Harit, Morocco
Age: 20
Position: Attacking midfielder
Team: Schalke
Amine Harit intrigued some prospect heads during his lone season in France’s top flight in 2016-17, but he played most of his minutes as a wide player. With Schalke, he’s operated in the center, and that’s clearly where he belongs.
A lot of Harit’s value comes from his ability to skip past defenders and help Schalke go from the middle third of the pitch into more dangerous areas near the box. When he was out wide, his dribbles were restricted to less dangerous areas near the sideline. In full flow, he can be an absolute handful to deal with, and the only way to corral him was often by fouling him. Among players who played at least 700 minutes in the Bundesliga this year, no one suffered more fouls per 90 minutes (4.1) than Harit.
Given that he’s only 20, his game still needs to mature. Harit’s passing can be clumsy, so he’s kind of a one-trick pony at this stage of his career. For as good of a dribbler as he is, there are times where he overextends himself and perhaps tries one dribble too many. Flaws and all, Harit just won the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season award. So hopefully we’ll see some of those electrifying solo runs when he comes off the bench to join Ziyech on the field for Morocco.
Pione Sisto, Denmark
Age: 23
Position: Winger
Team: Celta Vigo
If you’re not an avid La Liga fan, you might remember Pione Sisto as the man who scored two absolute beauties against Manchester United when Denmark’s FC Midtjylland put a scare into the Red Devils during their round of 32 tie in the 2016 Europa League. No? OK, well that performance was partially why Celta Vigo paid €5 million for his services that same summer. After an uneventful first year with the club, Sisto had a solid sophomore season in Spain. He was overshadowed by the brilliance of Spanish international Iago Aspas, but the young Dane either scored or assisted a goal about every 180 minutes this season.
What’s remarkable about Sisto is the combination of balance and burst he shows whenever he decides to take on a defender. No matter where he is on the pitch and no matter how much pressure he’s under, he seems to evade his opponents easily. Then he’ll create some more separation with another burst of pace before taking a shot or making a pass.
Sisto complements his dribbling abilities with decent touch on his passing, whether attempting a give-and-go or trying an opportunistic long ball. He’s still got room to improve, but he’s grown considerably as a chance creator over the past year, tripling his assist numbers (from three to nine) in the process.
Eriksen is Denmark’s go-to star, as the Tottenham midfielder sits a level or two above the rest of his teammates. But opposing defenses will key on him in Russia, so other players will have the time and space to step up. In Denmark’s World Cup playoff against Ireland, Sisto was up to the challenge, providing two assists in their second-leg victory. Since 1998, they’ve made it out of the group stages only once, and they’ll need more of the same from Sisto if they’re gonna do it again.
Mohamed Mohamed has written for StatsBomb, FourFourTwo, and others.
