It is fair to say that World Cup 2018 has not exactly started with a bang. Games have been tight, goals have been hard to come by and many of the world’s top stars have struggled to show their best form.
There have been a number of world-class players who have been genuinely mediocre in the opening games, making uncharacteristic errors and sometimes even costing their sides points that could prove to be important.
After a round of games in which perhaps only Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane of the game’s biggest stars have shown their capabilities, here are the five who let fans down the most.
Luis Suarez
It took until just the second game of the tournament for a big name to come a cropper, though Uruguay ultimate came away with maximum points, despite a curiously off-key performance from striker Luis Suarez.
The Barcelona ace arrived at the tournament expected to be a contender to finish as top scorer, though his performance against Egypt was so poor that by the end of the match Edinson Cavani had snatched free-kick duties from him after countless fluffed attempts.
Indeed, it was centre-back Jose Maria Gimenez who ultimately got Uruguay out of jail, heading home with just a couple of minutes remaining, thereby sparking a bench-emptying celebration that was met by the wrath of FIFA, who fined the South Americans for their jubilation.
“Even Pele had off days,” reasoned head coach Oscar Washington Tabarez in the game’s aftermath, though he will be acutely aware that if the 31-year-old cannot find his shooting boots, it will be a tough operation to get his side to live up to their billing as dark horses.
- Lionel Messi: 11 shots, 0 goals
- Cristiano Ronaldo: 4 shots, 3 goals
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Lionel Messi
Perhaps Lionel Messi pays little heed to the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo, but to the footballing world the Portuguese threw down the gauntlet to his Argentine rival by scoring a hat-trick against Spain on Friday.
It was a challenge that Messi was unable to respond to, although it should be pointed out that he got precious little help from his team-mates on an evening upon which the South Americans were held to an embarrassing draw by Iceland – a country with a population approximately quarter that of Rosario, where the Barcelona ace hails from.
The Messi that fans saw in Moscow was clumsy, careless and indecisive. Nevertheless, he had an opportunity to win the game from the penalty spot, but Hannes Halldorsson - by now football’s most famous film director – stopped his effort.
For the 31-year-old, there was nowhere to hide. His team’s game plan seemed to be constructed solely around giving him the ball and waiting for something to happen, so when it didn’t, they looked utterly and hopelessly lost.
Messi has been known to have his problems at international level, but he cannot remain at this modest standard – surely?
David de Gea
One of the outstanding goalkeepers in world football over the course of the last year, David de Gea made an uncharacteristic blunder to begin his World Cup. There were barely a couple of minutes on the clock when the normally reliable shot-stopper allowed a Cristiano Ronaldo shot to slip through his grasp and into the net, giving Spain a mountain to climb in a vital encounter against Portugal.
In the context of the tournament, it could have been a disastrous blow. Spain boss Julen Lopetegui had been sacked just days earlier after agreeing to join Real Madrid after the tournament, and the sense of turmoil the squad were apparently in seemed to be encapsulated by that moment.
“That happens to the best,” club manager Jose Mourinho reasoned to RT. “It hurts me to say it but he knows it was a bad mistake. It's a mistake he doesn't make with us at Manchester United because he was named player of the season for fantastic performances.”
Expect to see the Old Trafford version of De Gea back between the sticks when Spain tackle Iran next on Wednesday.
Already waiting for the Spanish fans to find evidence of a concussion...
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Antoine Griezmann
Ostensibly, Antoine Griezmann had a positive impact on the France team that faced Australia in their World Cup opener, after all, it was the Atletico Madrid attacker who opened the scoring from a penalty that he had won.
A more reflective statistic of the 27-year-old’s performance, however, was that he was withdrawn with barely an hour played by head coach Didier Deschamps, who was displeased with what the Macon-born player was giving him.
Griezmann, it seems, has his head caught up in the type of hype that is normally reserved for Paul Pogba, whose contribution to the side was also well below what is expected of a player with such a giant reputation.
It is to the attacker, though, that the French media have pinned their hope. ‘Grizou’ was the man who led them to the final of Euro 2016 with a series of devastating performances and he is expected to be the man to shoulder much responsibility in Russia. He must produce more if France are to achieve their ambitions.
Joshua Kimmich
Recent World Cups have not been kind to the defending champions. Since the millennium, France, Italy and Spain have all been dumped out at the group stage as defending champions, with only Brazil in 2006 avoiding that fate.
Play like they did on Sunday against Mexico and Germany will be a shock name added to that unwelcome list.
Joachim Low’s side turned in a performance that was the antithesis of the German stereotype. They were ineffective going forward and disorganised at the back, with Bayern Munich defender Joshua Kimmich seemingly caught in the hype of his first World Cup outing.
The 23-year-old was constantly caught too far forward, leading team-mate Mats Hummels to complain after the match: “Our stability is not good, you have to say - often only Jerome [Boateng] and I were at the back, so they mercilessly attacked us.”
Sweden are up next for the Germans, who cannot afford another slip. As for Kimmich, a player who has been hailed as the best right-back in the world over the course of the last year; he must to better.
