The Best Players At The 2014 Brazil World Cup

June 7, 2014 - PRLog -- With the start of the eagerly awaited World Cup a little more than a week away, this may be a good time to look at some of the top players on show for the next few weeks, and to speculate as to which of them will make the greatest impact and create the most memorable moments in Brazil.

The bookies have Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Germany well ahead of the pack in terms of betting for the outright winner, more perhaps than any previous World Cup tournament. Belgium have some great players and their chances should not be dismissed – likewise Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, France and Uruguay.

England are bringing some exciting young talent to the event – and let us not forget that Colombia came second only to Argentina in CONMEBOL qualifying. Somewhere among the others there may be a surprise semi-finalist; Mexico perhaps – or maybe Switzerland.

Many years ago, a cursory examination of World Cup squad names and details would reveal that most of the assembled players plied their trade in the domestic league of the country that they represented. Apart from anything else, this added to the element of anticipation and surprise when the key players began to get noticed. Who is he? Where does he play? Not anymore.

The majority of the leading superstars have gravitated to the best known and most watched leagues in world football – those in countries like Spain, Germany, Italy, France and England. Fans everywhere will recognise at least some of the global icons in the majority of the 32 squads heading for Brazil.

There are far too many potential game changers in this tournament to pick out more than a handful to highlight in just one article, so here are a few to kick things off:

Lionel Messi – Argentina

This man needs little introduction. Widely regarded as the best player in the world, he will be looking to justify and augment his reputation on this, the biggest stage, especially after a disappointing trophy-less season with Barcelona.

Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal

Ronaldo is the most recent winner of the FIFA Ballon D’or and the other legitimate claimant to the title ‘best player in the world’. Outscored Messi (and everyone else) in the Champions League and La Liga this season, he will be desperate to ensure that his side emerge successfully from a very tricky group, making it at the very least to the knock-out stages. If he’s firing on all cylinders, the man recently dubbed ‘the worlds most marketable footballer’ could carry his team a long way.

Luis Suarez – Uruguay

A recent injury scare raised the hopes of even the most admiring of his English fans, but latest intelligence is that Suarez will be fit for the tournament. Previously known for being both brilliant and very controversial, he seems to have focussed recently on just being brilliant – and has succeeded, being overwhelmingly recognised as the English Premier League’s outstanding player of the season and the bane of defenders everywhere.

Andres Iniesta – Spain

The holders of both the World Cup and the European Championship have a lot to live up to and are still relying on a number of very familiar faces who have been around for a while. Iniesta, at 29, has been described as ‘Spain’s most complete player’ and a good tournament for this midfield maestro could mean another fruitful summer for Spain.

Neymar – Brazil

The hosts are the most successful team in the history of the tournament, but have failed to reach past the quarter-finals in their last two attempts. This will definitely not be acceptable to the home fans this time around, and Neymar will be one of the key men entrusted with the task of ensuring that Brazil keep the nations party alive.

Arjen Robben – Holland

The Flying Dutchman tends to be at his best at the highest level and if he performs as expected, he is going to strike fear into opposing defenders every time he sets off in the general direction of their penalty area. After a consistent season with Bayern Munich, Robben will be hoping to carry that form into the World Cup.

Wayne Rooney – England

Other than at Euro 2004, Rooney has never really excelled on the international stage as he has in the Premier League. If the right Wayne Rooney turns up and starts doing the things we know (or hope) he is still capable of, then England’s chances will go up several notches. Fans will be desperately hoping so, as they are in a very tough group and could easily fall to the wayside if they start slowly.

Mario Balotelli – Italy

Balotelli has a tendency to create more headlines for his off-the-pitch antics than on it – and he hasn’t had the best of campaigns in Serie A this time around either. He did however make an impression at Euro 2012 though and we shouldn’t rule out the possibility that he can sparkle in Brazil. With rumours of a summer move away from AC Milan, Balotelli will be looking to prove his doubters wrong on the biggest stage of all.

Mezut Ozil – Germany

The German has blown a bit hot and cold after a very notable start at Arsenal, but if this attacking midfield wizard is on his game it could make all the difference to Germany, who are used to making it through to the knock-out stages almost as a matter of routine. His dip in form towards the end of Arsenal’s season could cost him his place in the starting line-up, with the likes of Mario Gotze and Marco Reus all vying for a first team birth.

A few slightly less well-known names to watch out for:

Raphael Varane – France

An outstandingly good central defender who could be one of France’s key players, Mourinho described him as “the best centre-back in world football for his age’”. After recently winning the Champions League at just 21-years of age, who could argue?

James Rodríguez – Colombia

This 22 year-old midfielder, considered to be one of the best young players in the world, has the potential to become a very familiar name in the next few weeks. Many Colombians see him as the country’s natural successor to the legendary Carlos Valderrama, though we don’t think his hair will stand out quite as much as his predecessor.

Christian Atsu – Ghana

Known as ‘the African Messi’ this attacking midfielder could help to make Ghana very competitive in the ‘Group of Death’ with Germany, Portugal and USA. Chelsea fans will be keen to see their new young starlet having just signed for the club back in September 2013 – he’s spent the season on loan at Dutch club Vitesse.

We’ll be back with a few more potential game-changers in another article before the tournament begins. Think you’ve identified someone to watch out for in Brazil? Let us know in the comments section below!