🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Marc Guehi (MCI, 25)

There are storylines everywhere you look in this England side and you could pick out a few players worth watching at the World Cup, but my specific focus is on the backline.

This is the weakest area of the England side, with centre back being a particularly problematic position which means that Guehi will have to be at his very best if England are to end their curse in international tournaments and lift the World Cup.

Guehi has been the best English centre back for a few seasons now in my view, and his move to Manchester City has further solidified him in the discussion as one of the best centre-backs in Europe. 

Guehi was brilliant in England’s run to the final of the European Championships in 2024, featuring in six matches and notably ranking high for key metrics which could prove to be essential to England’s chances of going deep:

Marc Guehi 2024 European Championship: 

• 78.5 touches per 90

• 66.0 successful passes per 90 (93.5%)

• 3.79 duels won per 90 (51.1%)

• 1.26 fouls won per 90

• 0 times dispossessed

Guehi is clearly ready to perform at this level and should be trusted by Tuchel as his main centre back, with Stones’ position still unsecured due to injury issues. Guehi offers England so much on the ball as well, that 93% pass completion rate is not a fluke and a standard that Guehi achieves regularly.

🇫🇷 Michael Olise (BAY, 24)

Kylian Mbappe always gets the headlines whenever France are discussed, but in truth they have a few superstars that could power them to the trophy and I think this tournament is set up perfectly for Olise to show his talent on the biggest stage.

Olise has been sensational since making the move to Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace, which isn’t a jump that should be underestimated - Olise hadn’t played in the Champions League before joining Bayern Munich but has adapted to the biggest stages with ease, suggesting that he is tailor made for pressure environments like the World Cup.

Olise has only registered 13 caps for France, but I can’t see him being too far away from Deschamps’ plans in the summer. He’s too talented for the French coach to ignore, and should line up either just behind Mbappe or on the right wing at the World Cup.

🇦🇷 Nico Paz (COM, 21)

Naturally, the conversation steers towards Messi when Argentina are mentioned - but there is a core group of younger talent coming through which may take centre stage at this World Cup.

I’ve picked out Nico Paz from that young core that is slowly emerging from Argentina with the 21 year old continually impressing me for Como over the last two seasons. Paz has made six appearances for his national team, and was called up to Argentina’s most recent camp back in November.

He’s far from a fixture in the side as there is plenty of competition in Argentina’s midfield - including Premier League stars Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister. However, it is impossible to ignore the form of Paz if you are Lionel Scaloni with the former Real Madrid man registering 14 goal contributions across his 22 starts for Como in Serie A this term.

🇵🇹 Bruno Fernandes (MUN, 31)

This tournament will be hyped up as Cristiano Ronaldo’s last chance of winning the World Cup, but if Portugal are to go deep in the tournament - I think it will be down to the brilliance of Bruno Fernandes.

Fernandes is a polarising player and regularly splits opinion, more due to his occasional petulance and constant passion rather than his ability as a footballer. 

Fernandes is also likely to see this as his final chance of winning the World Cup as a key member of the squad, he’ll be 35 by the time the next tournament rolls around and Portugal have far too much talent for Fernandes to still be a fixture in the side at that point.

Fernandes has 85 caps for Portugal, notably registering 50 goal contributions across these matches (28 goals, 22 assists). This output is similar to the numbers that we see Fernandes produce regularly for Manchester United, and this season is no different with Fernandes currently sitting on 18 goal contributions across just 23 appearances in all competitions.

🇩🇪 Joshua Kimmich (BAY, 30)

I think this could be the weakest Germany side I've seen at a World Cup, there isn’t much quality in the squad compared to previous iterations of the national team and I also think that Nagelsmann's side are a little light in the final third.

Any success that Germany does have in the summer will be down to Nagelsmann and Joshua Kimmich. The pair have a strong understanding having worked together at Bayern Munich, and Kimmich is the ideal player for a manager with the 30 year old often being the brain and the heartbeat of the side on the pitch.

Kimmich has made 106 appearances for the German national team, making him the most experienced player expected to be called up to the World Cup squad. He can also play in a variety of positions with Kimmich able to fill in at right back and in central midfield.

I’d keep a particular eye on Kimmich’s assist numbers throughout the tournament, he’s registered 10+ assists in seven of his last eight seasons for Bayern Munich - and is on track to cover that line again with eight to his name so far this campaign.

🇳🇱 Micky van de Ven (TOT, 24)

The World Cup always throws out intriguing transfer sagas which would otherwise fail to materialise with clubs having a strange relationship with the tournament. There isn’t another competition in football, maybe even sport, where people place so much emphasis on a seven game stretch. 

From James Rodriguez to Enzo Fernandez, the World Cup creates hype for players in a way that few other tournaments can and I think Micky van de Ven will be at the heart of a transfer saga this summer. Netherlands’ main strength is their defence, this was the case at the recent European Championships and should continue to be true at this tournament.

Ronald Koeman couldn’t really ask for a better centre back pairing at international level with van de Ven and Van Dijk expected to line up alongside each other in America. I’ve long thought that Van de Ven is too good for Tottenham, and would eventually get swooped up by a top club - there are already rumours of Liverpool circulating and that will only intensify if he has a strong World Cup campaign.

🇳🇴 Antonio Nusa (RBL, 20)

Another player that I think could earn a move on the back of a positive World Cup campaign is Antonio Nusa. I’ve been keen on Nusa for a while, he took a while to find his feet at Leipzig but is starting to show why he is such a highly rated player.

Nusa has made 20 appearances for Norway which is an impressive feat at just 20 years of age. He’s registered 16 goal contributions across these caps, showing just how effective he can be for his national side. He scored in both of Norway’s games against Italy as they topped their qualifying group and was impressive throughout the campaign with his speed and willingness to run in behind.

Nusa also has the benefit of having someone like Erling Haaland to get on the end of his deliveries into the box. Nusa is clearly still quite erratic and far from the finished product, but this is a stage where he can shine and potentially change the course of his career with a big club bound to come knocking if he can impress in the summer.

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