The World Cup players who do the most for their countries

When we think of the best football players in history, we rarely think of the relatively insignificant goals that they scored for their mid-season club teams against their mid-pack competition. Instead, we think about how they played for their national teams, and especially how they played at major international tournaments like the World Cup. We think of a Pele, 17, who delivered his first title in Brazil in 1958; we think of Diego Maradona who tore up the defenses of England (and who had a little help with the ball in the area) in 1986; we think of French maestro Zinedine Zidane scoring twice at home to overthrow Ronaldo and Brazil in 1998.

Some players seem just built to wear the jersey of their national team.

We wanted to know if there are some players who play well for their club but disappear playing for their national team – and some players who increase their production by playing for the country. So we looked at goal goals and 90-minute passes for each World Cup player and compared the difference between club stats and the country since 2014. We also looked at each player's share in the goals. expected. 19659002] Among the other stars of the 2018 World Cup, the best example of the one who thrives in representing his country is the Belgian Eden Hazard – at least based on gross production. The fast and cunning man of Wallonia has the knack for playing his best football when the world looks on. From 2014 to 2018, Hazard scored 0.30 more goals per 90 minutes and added 0.68 more per 90 minutes while wearing a Belgian jersey than during Chelsea's takeover, while his goals and passes were 0.45 best for Belgium. The form has been postponed in this World Cup: In three matches, he contributed two goals and two assists – whose matched the match against Japan after Belgium lost 2-0. The Belgian boy danced in the left corner of the penalty area, pushing a Yuya Osako through the intermediary before delivering a perfect cross with his left foot at the edge of the box of 6 yards and on the head of Marouane Fellaini . Fellaini scored, but Hazard's brilliance was responsible.

The form and contributions of Hazard are expected. The form and contributions of Thomas Meunier, on the other hand, are a little surprising. The right-back is perfectly competent for Paris Saint-Germain, but he has been a world champion: since 2014, he scored 0.32 more goals per 90 minutes and provided 0.73 more passes per 90 minutes playing for Belgium than for his clubs. The biggest of his 10 assists was the one he provided to Nacer Chadli to bring down Japan on Monday. Both Meunier and Hazard are among the top seven players in the World Cup in terms of the expected goals, plus the help for the country against the club. But based on real goals and real passes, both Belgians are in the top 3.

The rankings are among the players who made the difference in Russia: Switzerland's Blerim Dzemaili and Xherdan Shaqiri led their team to the round of 16. , while the Barcelonan Ivan Rakitic and Real Madrid Luka Modric were the backbone of the Croatian attack. Another fast and clever midfielder – Colombia's – has been very good for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich over the past four seasons, but he's downright wonderful for Los Cafeteros: From 2014 to 2018, James Rodriguez scored nearly half a goal by 90 minutes while wearing the Colombian yellow kit only when wearing the colors of the club. In our sample, his difference in expected goals and club-to-country passes is second only to Dzemaili, who plays for Bologna in Italy. It is therefore not surprising that Colombia was eliminated by England in the round of 16 when a calf injury sidelined James.

Hazard and James are built to wear their jerseys from the national team. But there are others – two of which are often invoked in the G.O.A.T. they seem to have a little less success, or at least to score with less frequency, on the international scene. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the two best players in the world, but both have a little disorientated by representing their country.