Too often have we seen the words ‘impact substitutes’ in recent times. Theo Walcott has been a one, now Thierry Henry is being used as one as well.
While every team at this World Cup relies on such players to make an impact coming off the bench, you will not find them on the coach’s top list. Put this down to lack of experience, or stamina, or both, these players have what it takes to alter the flow of a game in the short time they step onto the pitch. Here’s my take on the top fringe players to keep an eye out for – the World Cup will be their chance to prove their worth, and attract interest from top clubs across the globe.
1. Danny Miguel Alves (Portugal/Zenit St. Petersburg):
A Venezuelan-born attacking midfielder, who has impressed in Russia with first Dynamo Moscow and then Zenit St Petersburg, who signed him for €30m two summer ago. Plays centrally and drives directly at goal.
Why: Because Portugal’s midfield is far too functional and not creative enough, with Deco increasingly playing a static midfield role rather than looking to support the forwards. Nani’s injury has further damaged Portugal’s creativity, and Alves basically gives Portugal exactly what they’re crying out for.
2. Riccardo Montolivo (Italy/Fiorentina): A central midfielder with excellent passing skills. Neither an attacking or defensive midfielder, he took over the Fiorentina captaincy in January. At 25, can no longer be described as promising – now needs to step up and prove his quality.
Why: Italy lack a trequartista and their most talented midfield playmaker, Andrea Pirlo, may miss the first two games through injury. Claudio Marchisio may be favourite in the centre of midfield for Marcello Lippi, but Montolivo offers a more intelligent option, and probably a closer resemblance to Pirlo.
3. Fabio Coentrao (Portugal/Benfica): A 22-year-old former left winger who has been pushed back to left-back at Benfica, where he has just won the league title. He is incredibly skilful for a full-back, loves to get forward and has the stamina to do so for a whole game. He does sometimes look like a winger playing out of position though, and gives away too many free-kicks.
Why: Because he might provide the most penetration from any Portuguese player. If Carlos Queiroz persists with a Pepe-Meireles-Deco midfield, Portugal will need their full-backs to provide support and direct running. That’s unlikely to come too much from Paulo Ferreira on the right, and Coentrao will be playing behind either Cristiano Ronaldo or Simao Sabrosa, both of whom like to cut in onto their stronger right foot. An overlapping full-back is a must, and Coentrao will do that far more than the alternative, Duda.
4. Javier Pastore (Argentina/Palermo): A 20-year-old enganche who has impressed in his debut season for Sicilian club Palermo. A creator rather than a goalscorer himself, he plays just behind the forwards and has both passing ability and a love for running directly at defences. He only won his first cap two weeks ago against Canada.
Why: Because Argentina don’t really have anyone in his mould. They have Carlos Tevez, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero, but these are deep forwards rather than attacking midfielders. Juan Veron plays in the role Pastore would look to fill, but doubts remain about his ability to compete for 90 minutes in the centre of midfield, and he has an unfortunate characteristic of looking like a luxury player when things are going badly. Pastore would play slightly higher up the pitch and look to play the killer pass.
5. Christian Eriksen (Denmark/Ajax): A small creative central midfielder for Ajax, at 18 he is the youngest player in the tournament. He only has 15 senior club appearances and three international caps, but there have been calls for Morten Olsen to give him a starting place.
Why: Because he is exactly what Denmark are lacking. They are relying on a bunch of rather elderly players to create chances, and Nicklas Bendtner’s injury problems aren’t helping the situation. Eriksen offers a great turn of pace and direct running at goal, and could be a game-changer from the bench.
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