The 23 best World Cup players so far — Harry Kane kicked off top spot
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The 2018 FIFA World Cup has not disappointed.
The semifinal fixtures are fast approaching and boy, has the tournament created drama.
We've watched the 2014 champions Germany get dumped out of the competition, a game-of-the-year nominee in France's 4-3 thrashing of Argentina, and England — finally — winning a World Cup penalty shootout. And there's still plenty more to come.
So who are the key players so far?
Business Insider has put together a power ranking of the 23 best soccer players in Russia using statistical data from number-crunching soccer site whoscored.com. The website grades players based on how the individual performs relative to his position, and ranks each player out of a maximum score of 10. In the interest of fairness, we have only counted players who have made at least three World Cup appearances.
Keep scrolling to see who made the list, ranked by score in ascending order.
23. Russia midfielder Aleksandr Golovin — 7.5.
Getty ImagesOn June 14, a star was born — and that star was 22-year-old Aleksandr Golovin.
Golovin was the best player on the pitch in Russia's thumping 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia on June 14.
The central midfielder created five goal-scoring opportunities, produced two assists, and even scored one goal — a well-placed free-kick struck from the edge of the penalty area.
Against Egypt, Golovin again excelled as he roamed between defensive expert and attacking lynchpin.
Golovin's World Cup adventure may well be over over, but his soccer story could just be beginning as his form alerted Premier League clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea, who could bid for the CSKA Moscow player in the coming weeks.
22. Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel — 7.51.
Getty ImagesYou have to feel for Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who excelled in his country's Round of 16 match despite suffering a penalty shootout defeat to Croatia.
That match, on July 1, should forever become known as the Battle of Novgorod — yet the battle was really contested by only two men, the goalkeepers, who provided the last line of defence in a sudden death scenario that determined the fate of both nations.
Schmeichel lived up to his iconic surname, summoning his father's shield-like gloves to beat out an extra-time penalty from Luka Modric, before shootout saves against Milan Badelj and Josip Pivarić.
See former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel's reaction to his son's glorious saves right here:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1013521381781360641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Peter Schmeichel's amazing reaction to his son Kasper Schmeichel saving Modric's penalty! #CRODEN #DEN pic.twitter.com/PyvAneWeAM
21. Uruguay defender José Giménez — 7.52.
Getty ImagesJosé Giménez is one of this list's highest-ranked defenders for good reason.
When Uruguay squeaked past Egypt with a 1-0 victory on June 15 it was an end-to-end performance from Giménez that stole the show.
Giménez was inpenetrable at the back, and ferocious up front. He attempted four tackles, eight clearances, and nine interceptions — a defensive contribution every 4.2 minutes. Oh, and he scored the game's only goal, too.
Since then he has continued to excel, helping Uruguay defeat Saudi Arabia and Portugal, before eventually getting bested by France.
Beast.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The most mesmerizing photos from the World Cup so far
- Here's when the 2018 FIFA World Cup final starts where you live — and how you can watch it live online
- Hugo Lloris pulled off one of the best saves of the 2018 World Cup — but Twitter was more captivated by a horrible-looking bug that tried to fly into his mouth