Qatar 2022 World Cup: 10 players to watch

The 2022 World Cup gets underway tomorrow in Qatar, with France hoping to become the first team to successfully defend the title since Brazil 60 years ago. Listed are 10 of the world’s best players who will be competing in the tournament:

LIONEL MESSI (ARGENTINA)

Arguably the greatest player of all time, Messi has yet to emulate past legends Pele and Diego Maradona by winning football’s biggest prize. He did finally win a major international tournament with Argentina when he was the driving force behind their Copa America triumph last year. The 35-year-old has said this will “very likely” be his last World Cup and will be desperate to go one better than 2014, when Argentina lost the final to Germany in extra time. Lionel Scaloni’s side have high hopes of winning a third world title, heading into the tournament on a 36-match unbeaten run. Messi scored his 91st international goal in a 5-0 friendly win over the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.

CRISTIANO RONALDO (PORTUGAL)

Messi’s long-time rival for the status of world’s best player, Ronaldo will also surely be appearing at a World Cup for the final time, aged 37. International football’s all-time record scorer recently netted the 700th club goal of his career. Ronaldo won an emotional title at Euro 2016 with Portugal but their best effort with him on a global stage remains a semi-final exit in 2006. He will be expecting to score in a record-breaking fifth straight World Cup, surpassing Pele, Miroslav Klose and Uwe Seeler. Ronaldo will have to put a difficult start to the season with Manchester United behind him, having struggled for form before accusing the club of “betraying” him.

KYLIAN MBAPPE (FRANCE)

His France teammate Karim Benzema is the current Ballon d’Or holder but the world champions’ most important player remains Mbappe, more than four years since he starred at the 2018 World Cup. The Paris Saint-Germain forward became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pele with his strike in France’s 4-2 victory over Croatia. Mbappe, now 23, has denied reports he is attempting to leave PSG mid-season just months after signing a lucrative new contract. After winning the best young player trophy in Russia, he will have his eyes set on the senior prize this time around.

NEYMAR (BRAZIL)

Brazil head into the tournament as favourites to win a record-extending sixth World Cup. The strong form of Neymar this season for PSG will be a big plus point for coach Tite after a difficult spell for the 30-year-old. Neymar heads to Qatar just two goals short of equalling Pele’s all-time Brazil scoring record, albeit having already played 29 more matches. The Selecao were beaten by Belgium in the quarter-finals four years ago, leaving Neymar still waiting to make up for 2014, when he missed the humiliating 7-1 semi-final thrashing by Germany on home soil through injury.

KARIM BENZEMA (FRANCE)

Benzema, at the age of 34, has had to wait eight and a half years to feature again in the World Cup. He wants to make up for lost time.

After all that time away from the national team, he came back with a bang at the Euros in 2021 with four goals in four appearances, but the last 16 elimination left a sour taste in his mouth. Now, after winning the 2022 Ballon d’Or, he is ready to make this World Cup count. It is likely to be his last one, so this marks his biggest opportunity to write his name in the competition’s history books.

DE BRUYNE (BELGIUM)

After Belgium’s 2-1 wins over Wales in September, Belgium manager Roberto Martinez was asked about De Bruyne. Sometimes managers prefer to focus on the collective, rather than the individual, but when it comes to De Bruyne, his ability is so remarkable and abundantly clear, that there’s little point in holding back on celebrating his talents.

At Manchester City, Guardiola has recently challenged De Bruyne to improve. A week after Guardiola’s ask, the player responded by scoring their winner against Leicester City, to sit alongside his Premier League-leading nine assists this term. He’s indispensable for club and country, and his ranking of third in the last Ballon d’Or was the highest spot ever reached by a Belgian player.

LEWANDOWSKI (POLAND)

There will be few nations in Qatar whose hopes are pinned so much on one player. That’s not to say Poland do not have other good players, but the reality is none are close to Lewandowski’s level.

Now 34, the striker has seamlessly translated his form with Bayern Munich to Barcelona, where he has already scored 18 goals this season after being signed for €45 million in the summer.

MODRIC (CROATIA)

What else is there to say about Modric? Croatia’s record appearance holder — with 154 caps since he made his debut in 2006 — and arguably greatest ever player will be turning out for his eighth major international tournament in Qatar. Modric was key to Croatia’s surprise run to the 2018 World Cup final and at 37; his level hasn’t dropped a bit, starring in last season’s LaLiga and Champions League-winning campaign for Real Madrid.

MENDY (SENEGAL)

The Chelsea goalkeeper lost his place as first-choice goalkeeper under Graham Potter this season after a string of costly errors but will be crucial to Senegal’s hopes of becoming the first African World Cup semi-finalists. Mendy, a Champions League winner in 2021, saved a penalty as Senegal beat Egypt in a shootout in the Africa Cup of Nations final earlier this year.

SON (SOUTH KOREA)

The Tottenham forward is undoubtedly Asian football’s biggest star and he will be carrying South Korea’s hopes in a tight-looking Group H if he can recover from a fractured eye socket. Son shared the Premier League Golden Boot last season with Liverpool’s Salah, despite not taking penalties for Spurs. He has netted 35 times in 104 internationals, including the second goal of the Koreans’ stunning 2018 win over Germany which dumped the reigning champions out in the group stage.