There was enough material for heroic stories in the preliminary round and in the round of 16 duels of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But it wasn’t always just the absolute top stars who played themselves to the fore on the big stage.
sport.de draws up an interim balance before the quarter-finals and chooses the best players of the final round to date.
The players were evaluated with statistical parameters for four different positions. It didn’t matter whether the winners were still in the competition or already eliminated. A former BVB professional also made it into the selection.
World Cup best goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczesny (Poland)
The goalkeeper from Juventus Turin had a lot to do during the tournament and, with some outstanding saves, made sure that the Poles reached the round of 16. Only after 226 minutes was the 196 cm long keeper defeated by Argentina’s Alexis Mac Allister for the first time.
With a total of 23 saves and two penalties saved – one of which he saved with a superb reflex – Szczesny has earned the title of best goalkeeper.
His personal highlight was perhaps Lionel Messi’s saved penalty in the third group game, which was ultimately decisive for Poland’s progress. Because if they had conceded one more goal, their team would have been eliminated in the group stage.
World Cup Best Defensive Player: Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
In the round of 16 against Spain, former Dortmund player Achraf Hakimi converted the decisive attempt on penalties and sent his country into ecstasy: Morocco is in the quarter-finals of a World Cup finals for the first time.
Hakimi, who often acts more as a winger in the club, played very disciplined in the Moroccan system and closed the right-hand side of defence. Morocco have only conceded one goal at this World Cup and that was an own goal.
Hakimi recorded the most tackles (17) of any defender in the tournament and made six interceptions, another top tally. For the full-back position, his tackle win rate of 61 percent was above average.
The best midfielder: Bruno Fernandes (Portugal)
The Manchester United midfield star recorded two goals and three assists in just 267 minutes of play – that’s the most goal involvement by a Portuguese in a World Cup since 1966 (Eusébio 10 & José Torres 6). The 28-year-old was rested in the last group game against South Korea (1-2).
Fernandes, who is enjoying a rather modest season in the Premier League, is so impressive at the Qatar tournament that Real Madrid are reportedly looking into the feasibility of transferring the playmaker, according to a report in Portuguese sports daily Record.
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The best midfielder of the previous World Cup at the most successful club in the world – that would only be logical.
Best attacking player: Kylian Mbappé (France)
One would love to come up with a more surprising name, but there’s no escaping French superstar Kylian Mbappé. The best goalscorer and scorer in the tournament has five goals and two assists. He excelled in the 3-1 win over Poland in the round of 16 and was directly involved in all of the Équipe Tricolore’s goals.
A look at the expected goals shows that his five goals did not belong to the “Abstauber” brand: According to this, Mbappé should only have scored 2.7 goals.
Incidentally, Robert Lewandowski (2.9) recorded the highest expected goals value and, as is well known, he only scored two goals. How unstoppable Mbappé is is also shown by his 13 successful dribblings (top value of all players behind Germany’s Jamal Musiala, 19).
Lars Wiedemann
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