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The last round of matches have begun, so now we can take a look at who were the best players of the second matchday at the World Cup. If you ask us, this World Cup is moving way too fast. We wish it could last forever, but we live in a cruel, cruel world.
We could easily have named Croatia's entire starting eleven for this week, but that would be too easy.
Like our last starting 11 of the best players of matchday one, we’ve gone with a simple 4-4-2 formation. Let us know if you agree or completely disagree with our picks, and tell us who could be the standout players of matchday three!
GOALKEEPER: Keylor Navas (Costa Rica)
We're well aware that Brazil won this game 2-0. But, both of those goals came in stoppage time and for the most part, Navas couldn’t do much to about them. Before that, he was a colossus in goals for Costa Rica, making plenty of incredible saves to try and keep his side in the game. Unfortunately, his herculean efforts came to a halt when Philippe Coutinho blasted a shot past him in stoppage time.
DEFENCE: John Stones (England), Diego Godin (Uruguay), Ricardo Rodriguez (Switzerland), Yerry Mina (Colombia)
This quartet of defenders were crucial in getting their sides over the line. John Stones scoring a double (yes, that really did happen) against Panama helped the Three Lions demolish their opponents. Granted, they were quite basic goals, but for Stones to score a double as a center back is an impressive feat.
#MundialTelemundo Así lo narró @CopanAlvarez : Goooool de #ENG así lo definió John Stones con un cabezazo dentro del área pic.twitter.com/EFRIhdNqUP
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 24, 2018
Godin again was a rock for the Uruguayans, and despite their opponents being Saudi Arabia, Godin was constantly alert to every attack, as well as communicating very well with his fellow defenders. Rodriguez was a constant threat down the left side for the Swiss, as his barnstorming runs created a number of chances for Switzerland on their way to a tough victory over Serbia.
Yerry Mina scored the opener for Colombia in its match against Poland, and he also performed incredibly well to keep Robert Lewandowski quiet for essentially the entire 90 minutes.
#MundialTelemundo Así lo narró @AndresCantorGOL : ¡Llega el primero de #COL! Un bonito centro de @jamesdrodriguez que hace que Yerry Mina se eleve para rematar de cabeza #POL 0-1 #COL pic.twitter.com/Gw8NKw7UmS
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 24, 2018
MIDFIELD: Luka Modrić (Croatia), Ivan Rakitić (Croatia), Juan Cuadrado (Colombia), Eden Hazard (Belgium).
Saying that Modrić and Rakitić were superb against Argentina is a massive understatement. Both players broke up play, passed the ball around with ease and both ended up scoring a goal each — Modric with an absolute screamer, and Rakitic with a goal at the end to put the cherry on the top.
Fantastic strike by Luka Modric.
It always looked like a goal as soon as he looked up.#VTSports #WorldCup18 #ARGCRO pic.twitter.com/bFc9bI6rMV— Valentine Madzhie (@Mr_TVMadzhie) June 21, 2018
Cuadrado was a menace all game long for Colombia against Poland, scoring one and playing a key role in another. He tormented Poland’s defence all game long and didn’t stop running ever. Last but certainly not least is Belgium’s Eden Hazard. Against Tunisia, Hazard was scoring goals and creating plenty of chances for his teammates to finish. If Hazard can keep his form up for the rest of the tournament, Belgium could win the whole thing.
#MundialTelemundo @hazardeden10 no se quiso quedar atrás y ya marca su primer doblete en Rusia 2018. #BEL 4-1 #TUN pic.twitter.com/8lAUY0t413
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 23, 2018
FORWARDS: Harry Kane (England), Ahmed Musa (Nigeria).
Captain Kane banged in a hat-trick against Panama in its 6-1 rout. Kane finally could be the answer to England’s previous scoring woes at the World Cup, and while some people may argue that it’s only Panama, scoring six goals will undoubtedly provide plenty of confidence for this relatively young England squad ahead of its crucial match against Belgium.
Musa was the saviour for Nigeria, scoring both of its goals in a 2-0 victory over plucky Iceland. Musa showed incredible control to score his first with a beautiful touch and volley to open his account at the World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo , I'll let you finish but Ahmed Musa of Nigeria @NGSuperEagles has scored two of the best goals in the world cup so far. #nga #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/1Ice30UbxC
— RockBoys (@ROCKBOYSonline) June 22, 2018
HONORABLE MENTIONS: David Ospina (GK, Colombia), Hector Herrera (CM, Mexico), Granit Xhaka (CM, Switzerland), Dejan Lovren (CB, Croatia), Kevin de Bruyne (CM, Belgium), Romelu Lukaku (ST, Belgium), Radamel Falcao (ST, Colombia).
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