Group A
Akram Afif
(Qatar)
Position: Winger.
Club: Al Sadd.
We better have a player from the home country on this list, even if the circumstances behind that country being awarded tournament hosting rights were slightly murky.
Afif is just 25 but he has played 89 games for Qatar, scoring 26 goals, and is considered by some to be the best player in Asia.
He became the first Qatari to play in La Liga when he joined Spanish club Villarreal.
Three years ago, Qatar won the Asian Cup, and Afif posted a record 10 assists in just seven games.
Group B
Weston McKennie
(USA)
Position: Midfielder.
Club: Juventus.
The worst thing about the United States football team is every American sports journalist insisting on calling it the USMNT*. Ugh.
The best thing is the presence of some genuinely good players, and McKennie is very much in that category.
He has all the attributes of a box-to-box central midfielder, he has nine goals in 37 games for his country and he has become a heck of a player in Serie A — possibly the English Premier League soon, as Tottenham is keen to sign him.
McKennie is nursing a thigh injury but will hopefully be fit for the USMNT’s big game against the KOENT on November 26.
* USMNT means US Men’s National Team, and KOENT stands for King’s Own England National Team, which is completely made up but no less ridiculous.
Group C
Robert Lewandowski
(Poland)
Position: Striker.
Club: Barcelona.
Well spotted. This guy is hardly a surprise.
Lewandowski is a god among mortals.
Poland is one of those teams — the kind you just have to watch as, even though there is zero chance of it winning, it has a genuine great on the pitch.
Lewandowski is now 34 but shows no signs of slowing up. He has 76 goals in 134 games for Poland, after banging in 238 goals in 253 games for Bayern Munich, and has 18 in nine games for new club Barcelona. Watch and enjoy.
Group D
Garang Kuol
(Australia)
Position: Forward.
Club: Central Coast Mariners.
There is a lot of excitement about this kid.
Kuol, who came to Australia as a refugee from South Sudan, just turned 18, and only made his A-League debut 11 months ago.
He scored four goals in his first seven games for the Mariners, made his Socceroos debut against the All Whites, and is heading to cashed-up premier league club Newcastle in January.
Group E
Nico Schlotterbeck
(Germany)
Position: Centre-back.
Club: Borussia Dortmund.
There are plenty of big names in the German squad — think Neuer, Kimmich, Mueller, Havertz.
Keep an eye on Schlotterbeck, who has only five caps but has had a sensational year, shining at minnow SC Freiburg before settling a big transfer to Dortmund.
He looks like a classic German defender and has all the tools, including strength, aerial ability and a lovely passing game.
Oh, and his cousin appeared on the German version of Love Island — Liebe Insel? — so that is also significant.
Group F
Abdelhamid Sabiri
(Morocco)
Position: Attacking midfielder.
Club: Sampdoria.
Morocco is officially a no-hoper, paying $210 at the TAB to win the World Cup, but lots of the experts feel the Africans could be worth watching.
A big hope for the "Atlas Lions" is Sabiri, who represented Germany at junior levels before declaring his allegiance to his country of birth.
He had a relatively average spell in the premier league with Huddersfield, but he has been doing reasonably well in Italy.
Group G
Vinicius Junior
(Brazil)
Position: Winger.
Club: Real Madrid.
Another from the "not a surprise any more but you should definitely keep your eye on him" category.
This bloke is electric with the ball at his feet and could be one of the stories of the World Cup if he gets room to move in a stacked Brazilian attacking unit.
Has 31 goals in 131 games for Real Madrid at the age of 22 — winning two La Liga titles and the Champions League — and has very few weaknesses.
"Vini Junior" has also been a powerful speaker against racism in football.
"As long as the colour of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war. I have that phrase tattooed on to my body. I have that thought permanently in my head."
Group H
Federico Valverde
(Uruguay)
Position: Midfielder.
Club: Real Madrid.
Uruguay has been all about Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani and Diego Godin in recent years.
But this is Valverde’s team now.
The central midfielder has been in sensational form for Real Madrid and will be eager to see how far he can carry his national side in Qatar.
