World Cup 100: Ranking the Top Players in Russia After Every Team's Third Game
The 2018 World Cup group stage is in the books! Three full rounds of games completed in just two weeks. That means it's time to update our WC100: a ranking of the top-performing players in Russia, position by position.
We've watched every game, rated every player and constructed a top 10 or 20 for each position and crowned the kings of each. It will update after every round of matches, so keep your eyes peeled for future editions.
Please bear in mind that only performances at these World Cup finals are considered for these rankings. Reputations count for nothing. Play well in Russia and be rewarded; don't, and you won't find your name here.
In terms of categorising player positions, we've introduced the following rule:
- If a player has played multiple positions, he is placed in the one he's played the most minutes in (example: David Silva, Spain).
- If he has played the exact same number of minutes in two separate positions, he is placed in the one he played in most recently.
Due to managers rotating options for the third round of games, we're also in a position where some players have played one more match than others. In this instance, those who have kept consistently higher performances over the larger number of games are rewarded with a higher rank.
You can view the second edition here.
Goalkeepers
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The World Cup has a habit of producing the most spectacular stories; it can propel a player from relatively nowhere to the height of our attentions, broadening their horizons considerably and enhancing their careers.
South Korea's Jo Hyeon-woo is one who is benefitting from this most global of stages. His country was eliminated in the group stage, but he (along with a few others) has impressed greatly, surely etching his name onto many recruitment lists he wouldn't have dreamt of being on before.
He was an easy choice for top spot following his performance against Germany, but the cluster just below him—Alireza Beiranvand, Yann Sommer, David Ospina, Keylor Navas and Kasper Schmeichel—were tough to order.
Biggest rise: Alireza Beiranvand (+9)
Biggest fall: Hannes Halldorsson (-5)
| Rank | Player | Nation |
| 1 | Jo Hyeon-woo (+4) | South Korea |
| 2 | Alireza Beiranvand (+9) | Iran |
| 3 | Yann Sommer (New!) | Switzerland |
| 4 | David Ospina (-1) | Colombia |
| 5 | Keylor Navas (-4) | Costa Rica |
| 6 | Kasper Schmeichel (-2) | Denmark |
| 7 | Hannes Halldorsson (-5) | Iceland |
| 8 | Robin Olsen (-1) | Sweden |
| 9 | Guillermo Ochoa (-3) | Mexico |
| 10 | Thibaut Courtois (New!) | Belgium |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
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Last week's No. 1, Mario Fernandes, was intended to be rested in game three, but the sending off of Igor Smolnikov forced him onto the pitch after 30 minutes. Already 2-0 down and with a man disadvantage to boot, he did well come out of it with his stock intact.
Henrik Dalsgaard is one of Denmark's least heralded, yet best performers. The Brentford right-back is putting wingers under lock and has been firing in some dangerous crosses.
The end of Peru's adventure means we don't get to see Luis Advincula anymore, and that's a real shame.
Biggest rise: Ramin Rezaeian (New!)
Biggest fall: Moussa Wague (-4)
| Rank | Player | Nation |
| 1 | Mario Fernandes (Stay) | Russia |
| 2 | Henrik Dalsgaard (+6) | Denmark |
| 3 | Ramin Rezaeian (New!) | Iran |
| 4 | Luis Advincula (+1) | Peru |
| 5 | Kieran Trippier (-3) | England |
| 6 | Thomas Meunier (-2) | Belgium |
| 7 | Moussa Wague (-4) | Senegal |
| 8 | Sime Vrsaljko (-2) | Croatia |
| 9 | Cristian Gamboa (-2) | Costa Rica |
| 10 | Victor Moses (New!) | Nigeria |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
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Last week's top three left-backs—Jesus Gallardo, Aleksandar Kolarov and Ehsan Haji Safi—all had difficult third games.
Gallardo was booked in minute one and therefore struggled with the disciplinary tightrope, Kolarov was at fault for a Brazil goal, and Haji Safji was substituted by his manager before the referee had the chance to show him a red card.
All this creates room for a new No. 1, and the choice was looking pretty difficult until Youssouf Sabaly put in a defensive masterclass on Juan Cuadrado. He played 73 excellent minutes and then came off. Colombia scored in the 74th.
Biggest rise: Ludwig Augustinsson (New!)
Biggest fall: Aleksandar Kolarov (-5)
| Rank | Player | Nation |
| 1 | Youssouf Sabaly (+6) | Senegal |
| 2 | Ludwig Augustinsson (New!) | Sweden |
| 3 | Ehsan Haji Safi (Stay) | Iran |
| 4 | Jesus Gallardo (-3) | Mexico |
| 5 | Yuri Zhirkov (Stay) | Russia |
| 6 | Yuto Nagatomo (Stay) | Japan |
| 7 | Aleksandar Kolarov (-5) | Serbia |
| 8 | Aziz Behich (-4) | Australia |
| 9 | Martin Caceres (Stay) | Uruguay |
| 10 | Jordi Alba (New!) | Spain |
Centre-Backs
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Diego Godin and Andreas Granqvist have been in a personal battle for the No. 1 centre-back spot all tournament, and today they switch with each other again.
Granqvist scored another penalty to set his team on course for the knockout rounds whilst simultaneously defending like a brick wall. Godin was excellent against Russia, handling the giant Artem Dzyuba extremely well but is overtaken regardless.
Many of the top central defensive performers are, understandably, those who have played in weaker or struggling teams, so we're actually saying goodbye to a number of the guys in this list now. Nikola Milenkovic, Kim Young-gwon, Trent Sainsbury and Morteza Pouraliganji have been among the most pleasant surprises of the finals.
Biggest rise: Thiago Silva (New!)
Biggest fall: Carlos Salcedo (-11)
| Rank | Player | Nation |
| 1 | Andreas Granqvist (+1) | Sweden |
| 2 | Diego Godin (-1) | Uruguay |
| 3 | John Stones (Stay) | England |
| 4 | Morteza Pouraliganji (+1) | Iran |
| 5 | Jose Gimenez (-1) | Uruguay |
| 6 | Manuel Akanji (Stay) | Switzerland |
| 7 | Thiago Silva (New!) | Brazil |
| 8 | Nikola Milenkovic (Stay) | Serbia |
| 9 | Miranda (+4) | Brazil |
| 10 | Simon Kjaer (Stay) | Denmark |
| 11 | Kim Young-gwon (New!) | South Korea |
| 12 | Jan Vertonghen (Stay) | Belgium |
| 13 | Majid Hosseini (New!) | Iran |
| 14 | Andreas Christensen (-3) | Denmark |
| 15 | Toby Alderweireld (Stay) | Belgium |
| 16 | Yerry Mina (+3) | Colombia |
| 17 | Domagoj Vida (-1) | Croatia |
| 18 | Carlos Salcedo (-11) | Mexico |
| 19 | Trent Sainsbury (-10) | Australia |
| 20 | Kalidou Koulibaly (New!) | Senegal |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
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If Croatia continue to beat all-comers, and Luka Modric's influence on the team remains at a high level, get your Ballon d'Or bets at the ready. The 32-year-old has been magnificent at these finals so far and, in our estimation, has been the best player over the course of three games in any position.
He's closely followed in this list by N'Golo Kante, who is playing some fine football even if his nation (as a collective) are not, and Philippe Coutinho, who has assumed the role of difference-maker in this Brazil side while Neymar finds his stride.
While many of these players have been a little up and down in performance levels, Rodrigo Bentancur of Uruguay has been a solid, consistent 7/10 throughout. Props to him.
Biggest rise: Philippe Coutinho (+12)
Biggest fall: Roman Zobnin (-6)
| Rank | Player | Nation |
| 1 | Luka Modric (Stay) | Croatia |
| 2 | N'Golo Kante (Stay) | France |
| 3 | Philippe Coutinho (+12) | Brazil |
| 4 | Paul Pogba (Stay) | France |
| 5 | Valon Behrami (-2) | Switzerland |
| 6 | Andres Iniesta (+4) | Spain |
| 7 | Casemiro (+1) | Brazil |
| 8 | Idrissa Gueye (New!) | Senegal |
| 9 | Hector Herrera (-3) | Mexico |
| 10 | Kevin De Bruyne (-1) | Belgium |
| 11 | Roman Zobnin (-6) | Russia |
| 12 | Omid Ebrahimi (-5) | Iran |
| 13 | Ivan Rakitic (+1) | Croatia |
| 14 | Jordan Henderson (-1) | England |
| 15 | Sergio Busquets (+1) | Spain |
| 16 | Aaron Mooy (-4) | Australia |
| 17 | Jesse Lingard (Stay) | England |
| 18 | Rodrigo Bentancur (New!) | Uruguay |
| 19 | Saeid Ezatolahi (-1) | Iran |
| 20 | Gaku Shibasaki (Stay) | Japan |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
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This section has been hit the hardest by the classic game three rotation, with managers opting to rest their most influential attacking midfielders or wingers if in a position to do so.
Isco has been one of the best players at this tournament so far, second only to Luka Modric perhaps, keeping his performance levels high even when those around him are struggling. His goal against Morocco was a beauty.
Two names who stick out here are Dusan Tadic and Nordin Amrabat. Both came into this World Cup having had so-so seasons either in the Premier League or on loan away from it but have shone in Russia, dominating the flank for their nations and creating far more than expected.
Biggest rise: Andre Carrillo (New!)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-3)
| Rank | Player | Nation |
| 1 | Isco (+3) | Spain |
| 2 | Nordin Amrabat (+5) | Morocco |
| 3 | Denis Cheryshev (-1) | Russia |
| 4 | Eden Hazard (-1) | Belgium |
| 5 | Aleksandr Golovin (-1) | Russia |
| 6 | Juan Quintero (+2) | Colombia |
| 7 | Hirving Lozano (-2) | Mexico |
| 8 | Andre Carrillo (New!) | Peru |
| 9 | Takashi Inui (Stay) | Japan |
| 10 | Carlos Vela (-4) | Mexico |
| 11 | David Silva (New!) | Spain |
| 12 | Xherdan Shaqiri (-2) | Switzerland |
| 13 | Ante Rebic (-2) | Croatia |
| 14 | Kylian Mbappe (-2) | France |
| 15 | Dries Mertens (-2) | Belgium |
| 16 | Neymar (New!) | Brazil |
| 17 | Ivan Perisic (New!) | Croatia |
| 18 | Dusan Tadic (+2) | Serbia |
| 19 | Ismaila Sarr (New!) | Senegal |
| 20 | Christian Eriksen (-3) | Denmark |
Strikers
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Picking the No. 1 striker was a difficult task. It's clearly between one of three—Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane—but comparing them was tough.
Cristiano Ronaldo's tournament started incredibly but has gone downhill since. That monster performance against Spain feels a long time ago, and his most recent showing (against Iran) was awful. Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane have four and five goals respectively, but the strength of their opposition hasn't been high.
In the end, we placed Ronaldo third because he's been the least consistent and Kane the highest because of how clutch his header against Tunisia was.
Further down, it was good to see Edinson Cavani grab a goal at the death against Russia, as his overall play—not just in that game but in the tournament as a whole—deserved it. Despite Luis Suarez notching one more than him, the Paris Saint-Germain forward has been the better of the two.
Biggest rise: Edinson Cavani (+4)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-2)
| Rank | Player | Nation |
| 1 | Harry Kane (+1) | England |
| 2 | Romelu Lukaku (+1) | Belgium |
| 3 | Cristiano Ronaldo (-2) | Portugal |
| 4 | Diego Costa (Stay) | Spain |
| 5 | Artem Dzyuba (Stay) | Russia |
| 6 | Edinson Cavani (+4) | Uruguay |
| 7 | Ahmed Musa (+2) | Nigeria |
| 8 | M'Baye Niang (-2) | Senegal |
| 9 | Paolo Guerrero (New!) | Peru |
| 10 | Heung-Min Son (New!) | South Korea |
