As the
World Cup in Russia draws ever-closer fans are beginning to drool at the prospect of the month-long football feast that lays before them.
Besides the blatantly obvious players to keep an eye on that include the likes of Ronaldo, Messi, Pogba and Neymar – there are a handful of lesser known superstars hoping to guide their underdog teams to unlikely glory.
First up for the hosts is midfield maestro Alan Dzagoev who plies his trade for CSKA Moscow, a club which he has spent the last 10 years of his career winning three Russian Premier League titles as well as four Russian Cups. He broke into the international scene when he finished joint-top scorer at Euro 2012 alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and Mario Balotelli despite Spornaya crashing out at the group stage of the competition. Dzagoev bagged seven goals and eight assists in all competitions this season as CSKA finished runners-up to local rivals Lokomotiv by just two points as well as reaching the last eight of the Europa League.
Premier League followers may have fond memories of Ashkan Dejagah’s wonder strike for Fulham against Norwich City in January 2014 but what some may not be so familiar with is the fact the he will lead his country, Iran, out for the first time at a World Cup in Russia. Dejagah most recently turned out for Nottingham Forest in the English Championship after joining in January on a short-term deal but after making just one appearance for them, he underwent surgery on a knee injury he picked up in training which kept him out of action until he was released by Forest at the end of the season. The 31-year-old midfielder has netted nine goals in 46 appearances for Team Melli including a brace on his international debut against Qatar in a World cup qualifier in February 2012.
Next up under the microscope is Danish forward Kasper Dolberg. Besides his eye-catching appearance and even catchier name, 2o-year-old Dolberg has really lit up the European scene since making his debut for Silkeborg in his native Denmark before a dream move to Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam in July 2016. He reached the Europa League final with Ajax at the end of his first season with the club, Dolberg contributing seven goals along the way, from 16 outings in the competition as the finished eventual runners-up to Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. A disappointing second season saw him bag just nine goals in 30 appearances in all competitions as Ajax finished second behind PSV.
Eindhoven’s main man in their third league title triumph in the last four years was Mexican winger Hirving Lozano who signed from Pachuca in the summer. A record of 43 goals from 149 appearances across four seasons led PSV to snap him up and the 22-year-old repaid their faith with 19 goals as well as a further 11 assists from 34 games in his first season in the Dutch top-flight. He will form a formidable front three at the World Cup for Mexico alongside famous names in the footballing fraternity, record goal-scorer Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez and former Arsenal and Real Sociedad forward Carlos Vela. Lozano, who has earned himself the nickname ‘Chucky’ has scored seven times in 27 matches for El Tri.
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