10 Best Midfielders At World Cup 2018
They'll be pulling all the strings this summer.
At the highest level of play, it's said that football matches are either won or lost in the middle of the pitch. Having great forwards and solid defenders is extremely important, but you need top quality midfielders in order to control the game, keep the ball, and create chances for the strikers.
Midfielders tend to be the best all-round players in the game, equally adept at tracking back to defend as well as pushing forward to make opportunities for their teammates, and even chipping in with goals of their own from time to time.
These players end up covering the most ground over the course of the average game and also tend to play more passes and touch the ball more often than anyone else, too. In short, they’re among the most important people on the pitch, and their performances will make or break their team’s chances at this summer’s tournament.
When the World Cup kicks off, football fans all over the world will feast their eyes on some of the globe’s greatest midfielders. All of these players excel at club level and will want to take their domestic form onto the international stage to lead their countries to glory.
10. Christian Eriksen (Denmark)
The undisputed star of the Danish side, Tottenham's Christian Eriksen has been one of Europe's most consistent and creative midfielders for many years now. At 26, Eriksen is hitting the peak years of his career and will feel confident at helping Denmark qualify from a competitive group featuring France, Australia, and Peru.
He's scored 21 goals in 77 appearances for Denmark so far and bagged an amazing 8 goals for his country during the qualification process. Winner of several titles during his time at Ajax and plenty of individual awards, Eriksen has really stepped up for his country recently. In 2017 alone, he appeared in 9 games and scored 9 goals, and goes into the World Cup as the top scorer in the 23-man squad selected by coach Åge Hareide.
Fans will be looking to him to make the difference, but Eriksen has always seemed to cope well under pressure and will be one of the key midfielders to keep an eye on when the games get underway.