Top 5 Players from Around the World This Weekend

It's the international break which means our weekly search for the five best players in the game right now must delve through a weekend of friendlies and World Cup qualification playoffs to find the standout performers we seek.

With plenty at stake—be it safe passage to Brazil or the opportunity for individuals to play their way into their national coach's regular plans—there's been plenty of top-class action to consider. 

To whittle things down into a final five, we've looked at the quality and importance of each player's contribution to their teams' results and what their goals, assists or general excellence means to their careers for club and country.

Do you disagree with any of the picks? Are there any standout omissions or are all five questionable in your eyes? Let us know in the comment section below.

Alexis Sanchez

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In a week that it was reported by Alan Nixon of The Daily Mirror that Sir Alex Ferguson twice tried to bring Sanchez to Manchester United, the Chilean showed England just what he was capable of just in case anyone was still wondering what all the fuss is about.

His two goals against England bookended Chile's 2-0 with Wayne Rooney and Co. unable to reply to the Barcelona man's decisive strikes.

While Alexis, as he is known in Spain, at first struggled to replicate his Udinese form at Camp Nou, he looks to be coming into his own this season, with Lionel Messi's injury set to offer him more time in the spotlight to impress.

Jean II Makoun

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The man of the match in the only game that really mattered at the weekend, Makoun scored a brace to seal Cameroon's 4-1 victory over Tunisia and fire his country into the World Cup.

The Stade Rennais midfielder was at the heart of the Indomitable Lions' victory and was a relentless force through the middle linking up play, intercepting balls and driving his team on.

Although it took him until the 66th minute to score the first of his goals, his timing couldn't have been more vital, as Tunisia looked to grow into the game having scored just 15 minutes earlier.

Another strike would have levelled the score and seen the visitors through on the away goal rule, but Makoun shattered their belief and confidence by extending Cameroon's lead once more.

Hulk

Hulk came on to replace Neymar in the second half of Brazil's 5-0 friendly thrashing of Honduras to score arguably the goal of the weekend.

The Zenit St. Petersburg striker smashed home a gorgeous finish to put the World Cup hosts five up with no reply.

Having replaced Bareclona's Brazilian wonderkid due to the unwelcome and heavy-handed attentions of Honduras' defenders, head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will be heartened that Hulk's arrival didn't hamper his team's style of play.

In fact, the excellence of his goals was in the flair-filled build-up play that precipitated it.

As Brazil played in and around the Honduras box, Willian, Ramires and Robinho each pinged back heels through the gaps until Hulk unleashed a powerful finish to seal the deal.

Hulk also provided the cross for Willian's goal, which preceded his own.

Shinji Kagawa

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While Kagawa has struggled to make the impression he wanted to at United first under Ferguson and now under David Moyes, the Japanese playmaker showed he can still produce the goods for his country at the weekend against The Netherlands.

Coming on like Hulk as a substitute, the attacking midfielder resumed his creative partnership with Keisuke Honda, switching positions and overloading defenders at will.

His introduction at halftime eventually helped Japan equalise through Honda to make it 2-2 before the United creator went close to firing home a winner late on.

Only a save by Jasper Cillessen denied Kagawa a dramatic 20-yard decider.

Dimitris Salpingidis

Salpingidis was the man who made all the difference for Greece in their World Cup Friday night playoff.

The PAOK player laid on a perfectly weighted lob for Olympiacos striker Konstantinos Mitroglou to latch onto with an exquisite finish after just 14 minutes to put the home side ahead.

Bogdan Stancu, who plays his football in Turkey with Genclerbirligi, equalised a few moments later before Salpingidis reasserted Greece's lead to make it 2-1.

Running late into the box to get on the end of a searching cross, the striker pinged the ball home at close range.

Had that not been the winning goal, Mitroglou may have claimed this slide, with the 25-year-old scoring another screamer with a volley from a Kostas Katsouranis flick-on.

However, having supplied a beautifully crafted assist and the decisive second goal it was Salpingidis who was the player who made the biggest difference during the game.