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Scouting World Cup Stars: Denis Zakaria
Denis Zakaria is the third youngest player on the Swiss roster for this summer and is coming off a season where he played an integral part in Borussia Monchengladbach’s midfield as they finished 9th in the Bundesliga. The six-foot three inch holding midfielder for Switzerland will surely leave an impact on the World Cup in…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Gonçalo Guedes
15 October 2017: in a topsy-turvy La Liga encounter, which Valencia won 6-3 away to Real Betis, winger Gonçalo Guedes scored a stunning goal to make it 2-0 to the visitors. A collective gasp, before the away fans celebrated, could be heard at Estadio Benito Villamarín after Guedes’ shot flew into the top corner from…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Hirving Lozano
In every World Cup, there’s a long list of players who have been the ‘breakout stars’ of the tournaments. In the days before the explosion of the Champions League, players like the Brazilian Ronaldo, Paul Gascoigne and even Michael Owen have emerged from World Cup tournaments as future stars or new talents for the world…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Viktor Claesson
Sweden, one of the tournament’s underdogs this summer – after having beaten Italy in the qualifiers – are a nation with plenty of hidden gems such as Kiese Thelin, Alexander Isak, Joel Asoro, Ludwig Augustinsson, Felix Beijmo to name a few. However, possibly the biggest of them all, Viktor Claesson, has gone completely under the…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Saeid Ezatolahi
Saeid Ezatolahi was brought up in a footballing hot bed. Originating from the North Iranian town of Bandar Anzali, the dynamic midfielder was always destined to play professionally. His father and uncle both played for Iranian club Malavan, one of the most famous teams in the country. The footballing seed was sewn early and his…
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Dear Antoine Griezmann: You’re Not a Gang Member, You’re a Tourist
Today, the World Cup starts, and for the next month, I, like many, will attempt to shut off and ignore absolutely everything around me that does not concern the World Cup. So why does Antoine Griezmann think he can just kick open the door while my eyes are glued to Russia-Saudi Arabia on Match Day…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Achraf Hakimi
Before Achraf Hakimi had even yet to emerge from the tunnel and take his first steps on the hallowed pitch of the Santiago Bernabeu, he had made history. In uniform and penciled in on Zidane’s team sheet to start at right-back against Espanyol, Achraf had officially become the first Moroccan international to ever play for…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Rodrigo Bentancur
With Lucas Torreira reportedly on the verge of completing a big money move to Arsenal, much of the international media’s attention has been focused towards him with regard to Uruguay’s prospects of success at the FIFA World Cup in Russia. However, international teammate Rodrigo Bentancur is every bit as important to the La Celeste’s chances…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Gareth Southgate chose his England squad for the upcoming World Cup in Russia on 16th May 2018, and needless to say there were quite a few eyebrow-raisers. One interesting pick was 22-year old-Ruben Loftus-Cheek, a midfielder at Chelsea who spent the 2017/18 season on loan at Crystal Palace. Although naturally a centre midfielder, manager Roy…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Nemanja Radonjić
Nemanja Radonjić is 22 years old, has never played a competitive game at the senior level for Serbia, and now plays for Red Star Belgrade after a failed stint in Italy. He may just be Serbia’s secret weapon this summer. When Serbia coach Mladen Krstajić picked Radonjić in his 23-man squad for Russia, quite a few eyebrows…









