World Cup: How are Serie A’s stars performing?
A World Cup without Italy is something we’re still coming to terms with – we’ll probably never really get over it – but at least there are several Serie A stars on show in Russia to keep us interested. How are they performing, so far?
Let’s start with a player who really needed a slice of better fortune – Juventus winger Juan Cuadrado. The 30-year-old had barely got warmed up during Colombia’s opener against Japan before he was substituted; hauled off as a sacrifice after a red card for Fiorentina’s Carlos Sanchez just three minutes in. Thankfully for Cuadrado, the next match, against Poland saw happier times as he rounded off the scoring in a 3-0 victory.
Milan didn’t enjoy the happiest of campaigns in Serie A in 2017-18, finishing way off the top four and trailing in sixth, and concerns over the financial situation at the club remain. Ricardo Rodriguez was a virtual ever-present in that Milan side and he’s enjoyed a fine start to the tournament, playing in both of Switzerland’s opening Group E matches. He was excellent in the 2-1 comeback victory over Serbia, as was midfielder Blerim Dzemaili. The 32-year-old spent half of last season on loan with MLS side Montreal Impact but returned to Bologna for the second half of the campaign. Dzemaili started against Brazil and Serbia for the Swiss, playing in the centre of a midfield three.
If Rodriguez and Dzemaili both had excellent games for the Swiss against Serbia, two Serie A-based players in the opposition line-up had disappointing nights. We’re used to Adem Ljajic’s hot and cold form, and the Torino midfielder was left out of the Serbian starting X1, later coming on a sub. Few players, meanwhile, carried as much expectation on their shoulders heading into the tournament as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The 23-year-old has been valued in the £80m region by Lazio, heading into the World Cup, but a couple of matches in he’s looking short of that value. He played well enough against Costa Rica but the game against Switzerland passed him by – he needs to raise his game.
Belgium are flying, and Napoli’s Dries Mertens has played a key role. The Napoli forward played well against both Panama and Tunisia and, despite a wealth of attacking options, seems to be one of those players coach Roberto Martinez trusts. Whatever else happens during the tournament, Mertens will be remembered for scoring one of the best goals in the World Cup – his instinctive volley against Panama.
What of Uruguay’s two highly-rated midfield prospects, Rodrigo Bentancur of Juventus and Sampdoria’s Lucas Torreira? It’s fair to say they haven’t set the tournament alight yet, but perhaps we’re expecting too much. After all, Bentancur is only 20 and Torreira, bound for Arsenal, not much older at 22. Bentancur did play the full 90 minutes against Egypt, but Torreira was a late sub, on for Inter’s Matias Vecino. Bentancur played the entirety of the next match, against Saudi Arabia, but Torreira was again a sub – Arsenal fans won’t really have had a decent look at their potential new signing.
Argentina have had a miserable World Cup so far and the Juventus pair Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala have barely had a look-in. Both came on as second half subs against Croatia but made little impact. They were both overshadowed by Inter’s Marcelo Brozovic, who scored a cracking opening goal, and his club mate Ivan Perisic, whose strong running was a key feature in Croatia’s play.
Finally, Brazil – still right up there as favourites according to football odds from www.williamhill.com and many other online betting companies – kickstarted their campaign with a late, late victory over Costa Rica. Mixed news for the Serie A contingent though. As expected, Roma goalkeeper Alisson Becker has been starting games ahead of Manchester City’s Ederson but Juventus winger Douglas Costa could be out of the tournament completely with a thigh injury.
