Ten star players to watch at the 2022 World Cup

This article was updated on Nov. 17 when Senegal’s Sadio Mané was ruled out of the World Cup due to a leg injury he suffered in early November. We’ve put in one of his teammates instead.

The number one player on this list is obvious: the world’s biggest star, the game’s best talent for over 15 years now, and top three among the all-time greats. Messi’s dazzling skill for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain has earned four Champions League titles, 11 domestic league titles across Spain and France, and a record seven Ballon D’Or trophies — soccer’s most famous player of the year award.

Last year, he finally lifted silverware with Argentina, delivering the country’s record-tying 15th Copa América. It was the nation’s first continental crown since 1993, and Messi was runner-up in 2007, 2015, and 2016. The last two came after a runner-up finish at the 2014 World Cup.

At age 35, Messi doesn’t have the speed he used to, but he has as much skill and guile as ever. And he has a stacked squad of Argentina teammates that complement him and bring their own firepower: Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan), Ángel Di María (Juventus), Rodrigo De Paul (Atlético Madrid), and a crown-jewel young prospect in Julián Álvarez (Manchester City).

They’re fired up, they’re hungry, and they’re on a 36-game winning streak dating back to 2019. If Argentina wins it all, the triumph will be celebrated across the globe, and Messi will be enshrined above Pelé and Diego Maradona as the greatest of all time.

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He’s Messi’s longtime foil, among fans worldwide and for years in Spain. When Ronaldo was at Real Madrid and Messi was at Barcelona, the world stopped for two hours.

The debate was also fueled by their national team feats. Ronaldo has five European Cups to Messi’s four, and for five years he had the national team trophy that Messi didn’t: the 2016 European Championship.

As with any great sports rivalry, fans of one of the players often disdain the other. But Ronaldo, it must be said, is rather more disdainable. Yes, he’s got an outrageous career goals total, with 701 club goals in 949 games and 117 national team goals in 191 caps. And he’s got a body that seems to have been sculpted by the Greek gods, not just the soccer gods.

He’s also got an ego to match, and it rubs a lot of people the wrong way. He isn’t afraid to throw a public tantrum, as he did just a few days ago about his lack of playing time at Manchester United. And he stood accused for over a decade of committing a rape in 2009 in Las Vegas. A lawsuit about it was dismissed this past June.

Ronaldo is 37 now. This will be his last World Cup. Will he go out with a swan song, or with another combustion?

» READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo played against the Union with Real Madrid in 2011

France’s 2018 World Cup title launched a then-19-year-old Mbappé to superstardom. He’s still there, as the flagship player for his country and its biggest club, Paris Saint-Germain. In fact, he’s such a big deal that French president Emmanuel Macron reportedly asked Mbappé to turn down a move to Real Madrid this summer.

We’ll never know if it truly helped, because PSG — which is owned by Qatari’s state sovereign wealth fund — had the money to keep Mbappé. The club also gave Mbappé a lot of power off the field, and he has used it to build his business interests.

Now comes a new challenge: lifting his country to a second straight World Cup. There hasn’t been a repeat men’s champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. France has the talent to do it, but also has locker-room friction that Mbappé has been part of. And history brings an omen: Les Bleus crashed out in 2002 after winning it all in 1998.

Only three African teams in men’s World Cup history have reached the quarterfinals: Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002, and Ghana in 2010. This year’s Senegal squad had the talent to match them until Mané was ruled out.

The Lions of Teranga, who won the Africa Cup of Nations nine months ago, are still a very good team. But instead of winning with Mane’s attacking brilliance, they’ll have to do it with defense. That starts with Koulibaly, a rock of a centerback, and goalkeeper Édouard Mendy. They are starters for their country and the same club, England’s Chelsea.

As for the attack, the key players now will be Bamba Dieng of French power Marseille and Ismaïla Sarr of English second-tier club Watford.

» READ MORE: Our soccer staff's predictions for who will win the World Cup

England has its best chance in decades to win its first World Cup since 1966, and Saka is a big reason why. The 21-year-old from London is an electric winger for the Three Lions and Arsenal, and has one of both teams’ most engaging personalities.

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Just 18 years old, the Barcelona midfielder has jumped up the line of the world’s top young prospects. This year, he won two of Europe’s top awards for players under age 21: France Football’s Kopa Trophy (the same publication runs the Ballon D’Or), and the Golden Boy trophy organized by newspapers across the continent.

Gavi is already a regular player for his club and has 12 senior Spain caps. This World Cup could be his global breakout.

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Another of this World Cup’s big-time youngsters will face Gavi in the group stage. Musiala, 19, has rocketed to prominence with Bayern Munich and Germany this year. In just the half-season so far with Bayern, he has 12 goals and 10 assists in 22 games.

Not much is expected in Qatar of a German squad whose mix of ages isn’t quite right. But if Musiala takes off, he could take Die Mannschaft on a big run.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia has strong connections to the U.S. team players and staff in past World Cups

If you watch the English Premier League, you know that De Bruyne is the midfield maestro for powerhouse Manchester City. There are few more technically-gifted players on the planet, especially in his part of the field.

Four years ago, he helped the Red Devils to fourth place, the nation’s best World Cup finish. This year’s team has lots of talent, but De Bruyne is one of 11 players among the squad of 26 who’s age 30 or older. That’s a warning sign that a repeat run might not happen.

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When El Tri was drawn into a group with Argentina and Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, the howls of anguish could be heard across the Rio Grande. Mexico’s rabid fan base is desperate to reach el quinto partido, the fifth game of a World Cup, for the first time since it hosted the tournament in 1986.

Manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino made some big calls in leaving marquee names out of this squad such as Diego Lainez, Santiago Giménez and Javier Hernández. The top striker Martino did call in, Raul Jiménez, hasn’t played for his club (Wolverhampton Wanderers) or country since the end of August because of a groin injury — and he’ll be held out of Mexico’s warmup game vs. Sweden on Wednesday.

All of this makes the man nicknamed “Chucky” even more important. If Lozano thrives, the masses will sing his name to the tune of “Seven Nation Army.” If he flops, Mexico could go home in a hurry.

» READ MORE: Brenden Aaronson celebrates making the U.S. men’s World Cup team

We’ve saved the best national team for last, or at least the world’s most famous one. No team has more World Cups than Brazil’s five, and the Seleçao are a big betting favorite to make it six this year. They have immense talent at every position, from defense up to the front line.

If you were expecting to see Neymar’s name here, that’s understandable. He’s Brazil’s biggest star of all, But Vinícius is a player you want to know about. He’s been ticketed for stardom since his childhood days in Rio de Janeiro, and he has lived up to the hype at Real Madrid.

Now age 22, he has 10 goals and 5 assists in 22 games this season, after scoring the winner in last season’s Champions League final. Many of his plays have gone straight onto highlight reels, accompanied by great dancing celebrations.

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