Its that time of the year when players take their roles a bit more seriously. Despite the busy schedule encountered by the top European clubs and their players, there is always a thought at the back of the players' minds that the world cup is around the corner and it is crucial that their contributions on the pitch gets noticed by national team managers. Some players don't even have to worry about things like that. But there are a few who might have dropped down the ranks, picked up an injury or fallen out of favor with management and need to re instill the faith.
Let's start with some of the players who have a guaranteed place in their respective national teams. Few players who are going to be absolutely crucial for their teams are Christiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) and Luiz Suarez (Uruguay). Even though these teams have other good players in the main team, the aforementioned players can hold the key to a successful run in the tournament for their teams. If we take a look at previous world cups, there has almost always been a certain key player, who has been consistently exceptional, responsible for helping their team to win the world cup. Some examples that come to mind are Diego Maradona (Argentina) in 1986 and Zinedine Zidane (France) in 2006. Christiano Ronaldo is a key figure for Portugal and their attacking prowess largely depends on the Real Madrid star. Most of their attacking play goes through or ends with Ronaldo. Having recently been voted as Ballon D'Or winner, there are huge expectations from Ronaldo to carry Portugal to at least the semi finals of the world cup. Real Madrid, having fallen out of contention for the Spanish league title, Ronaldo will be eager to make the most of the Champions League final at his former club, Lisbon. The squads haven't been announced yet but one can be sure to see his name on the roster.
Eden Hazard has been a revelation for Chelsea this season. Chelsea have developed a certain dependency on the Belgian international. Similar to Ronaldo's situation at Real, most of Chelsea's attacking play depends on and forms with Hazard. His ball control, skill and lack of errors makes him one of the brightest young talents in the game today. He has a serious work ethic just like Ronaldo and will prove to be a key player for Belgium this summer. Even though Chelsea are out of every competition, it is safe to say that the PFA young player of the year has cemented his place in the Belgian national team. When it comes to Drogba, Ivory Coast wholly depend on him to help them progress from the group stages. Their team is not as strong as four years earlier but with Drogba playing, they can breathe a bit easier as the former Chelsea player can turn the tide of any match in a matter of seconds as displayed during Chelsea's only Champions League triumph against Bayern two years ago. Luiz Suarez will have the luxury of sharing the attacking line with the likes of Diego Forlan and Edinson Cavani which provides Uruguay with probably the most lethal front three in the tournament, maybe after Argentina. Having grabbed the PFA player of the year, Suarez will look to erase the memories of Liverpool's late premier league collapse in order to focus on national duties. Some of the other high profile players who have a guaranteed place in their respective national teams are Neymar (Brazil), Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria (Argentina), Iniesta and Xavi (Spain), Wayne Rooney (England), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie (Netherlands), Andrea Pirlo (Italy) and Franck Ribery (France). These were some of the names that could be pivotal to their teams progress in the tournament and their possible path to the final at the Maracana stadium.
Let's now look at some of the interesting squad selections made by national team managers. The selection process is still going on but some of the omissions have been surprising. The one that stands out and baffles me is the exclusion of Lucas Moura from the Brazil side. He is one of the most talented players in Europe and probably has the best skill on the ball. He hasn't had the same impact for PSG as other players at the club, but he could have lit up this year's world cup. Nonetheless, Brazil still has a strong side with exceptional players at every position. Another surprising omission is John Terry from the England squad, especially after his exceptional performance with Chelsea during the 2013-2014 season. Chelsea, under Jose Mourinho, have displayed a rock solid and impenetrable defense during the season, owing much to the successful combination of John Terry and Gary Cahill at the back. It only makes sense that they play together for the national team as well. Without Terry, Cahill might have to partner Phil Jagielka, Phil Jones or Chris Smalling at center back, none of whom have really showed too much promise during the season. The most recent high profile squad omission has been Samir Nasri from the France squad. It comes as a surprise especially due to the fact that Nasri just assisted Manchester City to lift the Premier League trophy. He had been instrumental in their run in to the last few games. Although he hadn't featured regularly in the team, he has enough skill and experience to make it into at least the 23-man squad.
Let's finally look at some of the young and promising talents that could add some spice to the world cup. We start off with Julian Draxler (Germany and Schalke). He has proved his talent in the Champions League over the past season and also in the German Bundesliga. He is not the traditional German player who likes to work hard and fight for every ball. He more closely resembles a South American player that contains flare and style. His ball control is impeccable and often likes to take on defenders on his own. His preferred position would be in attacking midfield and might also shift out to the wings if required. Our next addition to this list is Chelsea's Brazilian midfielder Oscar. He was highly favored by Mourinho during the first half of the season due to which Juan Mata was left out of the main team. He is more of a midfield general than a play maker. He likes to be in a free role right behind the main strike force and likes to create or set up those final balls. He also has a knack of scoring by arriving late in to the box much like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. Paul Pogba has been the key to Juventus's Serie A success this season. He immensely resembles Patrick Vieira in the type of position as well as the physique he possesses. He still lacks a lot of experience but has the potential to become even better than Vieira. He will be crucial to France's success in the world cup and should easily make the main team. Spain's ever lasting search for a dependable striker continues. After Raul and Fernando Morientes, no one has been quite prolific in terms of goals. David Villa was good at the last world cup but has fallen out of favor this time around. Fernando Torres is but a shadow of his former self and Roberto Soldado is certainly not world cup material. That has left Vicente Del Bosque with prolific Athletico Madrid striker Diego Costa. He is an out and out striker and has a great built. He has the chance to win the La Liga as well as the Champions League with Athletic this season but his position already seems to be guaranteed with other strikers failing to live up to the expectation. Another striker who has been terrific this season is Daniel Sturridge of Liverpool and England. England's golden generation might be reaching their twilight but with the likes of Sturridge and other young players, England could still pose a threat. Sturridge is exciting to watch and gets into great scoring positions. He is the second highest scorer in the Premier League after Suarez and has a great eye for goal. Finally we end with Romelu Lukaku (Belgium and Chelsea). He has been on loan at Everton this past year and has scored 15 Premier League goals. With Christian Benteke ruled out of the world cup for Belgium, Lukaku has the opportunity to spearhead Belgium's strike force. Again, I stressed on only some of the promising players. There are many others like Marco Reus (Germany), Raheem Sterling (England), Raphael Varane (France) and Hulk (Brazil) who could set the world cup on fire. We'll have to wait and see what these players make of their opportunities but with only a month left for the tournament, the countdown begins.
Let's finally look at some of the young and promising talents that could add some spice to the world cup. We start off with Julian Draxler (Germany and Schalke). He has proved his talent in the Champions League over the past season and also in the German Bundesliga. He is not the traditional German player who likes to work hard and fight for every ball. He more closely resembles a South American player that contains flare and style. His ball control is impeccable and often likes to take on defenders on his own. His preferred position would be in attacking midfield and might also shift out to the wings if required. Our next addition to this list is Chelsea's Brazilian midfielder Oscar. He was highly favored by Mourinho during the first half of the season due to which Juan Mata was left out of the main team. He is more of a midfield general than a play maker. He likes to be in a free role right behind the main strike force and likes to create or set up those final balls. He also has a knack of scoring by arriving late in to the box much like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. Paul Pogba has been the key to Juventus's Serie A success this season. He immensely resembles Patrick Vieira in the type of position as well as the physique he possesses. He still lacks a lot of experience but has the potential to become even better than Vieira. He will be crucial to France's success in the world cup and should easily make the main team. Spain's ever lasting search for a dependable striker continues. After Raul and Fernando Morientes, no one has been quite prolific in terms of goals. David Villa was good at the last world cup but has fallen out of favor this time around. Fernando Torres is but a shadow of his former self and Roberto Soldado is certainly not world cup material. That has left Vicente Del Bosque with prolific Athletico Madrid striker Diego Costa. He is an out and out striker and has a great built. He has the chance to win the La Liga as well as the Champions League with Athletic this season but his position already seems to be guaranteed with other strikers failing to live up to the expectation. Another striker who has been terrific this season is Daniel Sturridge of Liverpool and England. England's golden generation might be reaching their twilight but with the likes of Sturridge and other young players, England could still pose a threat. Sturridge is exciting to watch and gets into great scoring positions. He is the second highest scorer in the Premier League after Suarez and has a great eye for goal. Finally we end with Romelu Lukaku (Belgium and Chelsea). He has been on loan at Everton this past year and has scored 15 Premier League goals. With Christian Benteke ruled out of the world cup for Belgium, Lukaku has the opportunity to spearhead Belgium's strike force. Again, I stressed on only some of the promising players. There are many others like Marco Reus (Germany), Raheem Sterling (England), Raphael Varane (France) and Hulk (Brazil) who could set the world cup on fire. We'll have to wait and see what these players make of their opportunities but with only a month left for the tournament, the countdown begins.
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