10 Players You’ve Never Heard Of Who Could Star At World Cup 2018
This could be their time to shine.
Unless you’re the most hardcore football fan of them all, you probably won’t recognise plenty of players set to feature at this summer’s World Cup. We all know the big stars from the top teams like Germany and Brazil, but every four years, we also get a glimpse of dozens of players we never even knew existed.
Many of these players justify their status as relative unknowns with pretty poor performances at the big tournament, but some of them burst onto the stage and grab the opportunity with both hands (and feet!), astonishing the world and propelling themselves into stardom.
Back in 2010, for example, we saw little-known players like Javier Hernandez and Asamoah Gyan burst onto the big stage. In 2014, we were introduced to previously unknown goalkeepers like Rais M'Bolhi and Keylor Navas, and Ecuador’s Enner Valencia earned himself a high-profile move to West Ham after scoring three goals.
We all know that Messi and Ronaldo are probably going to do well, but one of the most exciting things about watching a World Cup is waiting to see which ‘unknown’ player is going to surprise us next. These players are relatively unheard of right now, but could be household names in just a few weeks’ time.
10. Daniel Arzani (Australia)
At just 19 years of age, Daniel Arzani will be the youngest player at this summer's World Cup. That alone is a great reason for fans to keep an eye on him, but he's got a whole lot of talent too and could be one of the tournament's most exciting young stars.
During the latest domestic season, Iranian-born Arzani was one of his team's most dynamic players, creating a huge number of scoring chances for his teammates, as well as contributing with two goals and three assists of his own in 18 appearances. He was the A-League's leading dribbler and is regarded as an exciting X factor for the Socceroos.
He won't necessarily be starting his team's first group game, but we can expect to see him being used as an impact sub, with his pace and trickery giving Australia some exciting options if ever they need to turn the tide of a game or score a late goal. Right now, Arzani is a real unknown, but he has all the potential to follow in the footsteps of fellow national team icon, Tim Cahill.