Ten names to watch out for at the World Cup

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10 April 2012

We take a look at ten lesser known players who could become the next big names after the South Africa World Cup...

Yoann Gourcuff – France
The 23 year old Frenchman has been dubbed the new Zinedine Zidane and currently fills the legend's old playmaker role in the French team. Gourcuff began his career in France at FC Lorient and then Rennes before moving to AC Milan in 2006. There he was unable to break into the first team, mainly because his competition was the world renowned Brazilian Kaka, so moved on loan to Bordeaux in 2008 where he was such a success he transferred permanently for between £10-15 million in 2009. Gourcuff quickly established himself at the club, winning French Player of the Year in 2009 ahead of the likes of Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery.

Alexis Sanchez – Chile
Alexis Sanchez is part of the new 'Golden Generation' of young Chilean footballers which has emerged. He began his career in South America before a move to Italian club Udinese. He played on loan in Argentina for a season for River Plate where he established himself as a skilled dribbler and all round attacking player. He returned to Udinese for the 2009/10 season and became a crucial part of the team and his flair made him a fans favourite.

Marek Hamsik – Slovakia
Napoli's Marek Hamsik is another youngster who is considered hot property in Europe at the moment. He began his career in Slovakia before moving to Brescia in Serie A at the age of 17, where he quickly became a first team regular. He moved to Napoli in 2007 and again quickly made his mark scoring his first league goal in September of that year. He won Young Slovak Player of the year in 2007 and 2008 and then won Player of the Year in 2009. A move to a bigger European side seems inevitable, especially if he has a good World Cup.

Angel Di Maria – Argentina
Angel Di Maria has exploded onto the football scene in the last couple of seasons with his performances for Benfica, especially 2009/10 as he terrorised defenders in the Europa League. The young Argentine first caught the eye in the 2007 Fifa U20 World Cup before playing an important role in the Beijing Olympics, alongside Leo Messi, where he scored a sublime chip to win the tournament. Di Maria has been chased all season by big name clubs looking to sign him with the most recent reports claiming Jose Mourinho is interested in signing him.

Gregory Van Der Wiel – Holland
Gregory Van Der Wiel is yet another exciting product of the Ajax youth academy. While originally a centre-back he was switched to right back by Marco Van Basten in 2008 and has flourished since. That season saw him become a first team regular for Ajax, score two league goals, make his international debut and be named 'Ajax Talent of the Year.' The 2009/10 season continued in a similar vein scoring yet more goals and being named as the Young Player of the Year.

Javier Hernandez – Mexico
Javier Hernandez is the new Manchester United signing that few people know much about. His rather quiet performance in England's game against Mexico was perhaps the first that people will have seen of him. Another young player who stars on YouTube, Hernandez has been an important part of the Guadalajara team in Mexico and was topping scoring charts. How soon he can break into the United first team remains to be scene, but we can be certain he will be looking to prove himself at the World Cup.

Nicolas Lodeiro – Uruguay
Dubbed the 'new Lionel Messi' Nicolas Lodeiro has been attracting a lot of attention from European clubs over the last couple of seasons. His performances in the South American U21 Championships, a hotbed of young talent, and for his club Nacional have made it almost inevitable that he will end up moving to Europe in the near future. Like Messi, Lodeiro is small in stature and attacking playmaker. However he also has a dogged determination to track back and defend, a rare attribute in South American midfielders.

Milos Krasic – Serbia
Milos Krasic has been a slow burner in the football world, at 25 he would seem to have past the period of 'being discovered.' However the Serb has exploded onto the international scene over the last year with his national side after long being overlooked by previous managers. He was the only player to play all 10 qualifying games for his country and his unpredictable style, full of pace and trickery, tormented all of Serbia's opponents. This form earned him the title of Serbian Player of the Year 2009.

Gervinho – Ivory Coast

This Ivorian striker/playmaker is currently playing for French side Lille. His versatility and attacking ability make him a useful and dangerous player, such is his talent that it was reported in 2009 that Arsene Wenger was keen to add him to his Arsenal side. As one of the lesser known Ivorian players he has the potential to really burst onto the scene, his performances in both the Olympics and the African Cup of Nations were impressive and this tournament is his chance to really establish himself as an international name.

Sami Khedira – Germany
Sami Khedira is a German international of Tunisian decent who has been hotly tipped to excel at this World Cup. The young midfielder has been given increasing responsibility at his club Stuttgart as well as at international level where he has been lined up to replace the injured Michael Ballack in the German midfield. These are big shoes to fill and how he performs will say a lot about his character as well as his ability. If he can pull off this role he will almost certainly become Europe's hottest property.

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Ten names to watch out for at the World Cup

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