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The quarter finals are underway and there are 4 West Ham players still in the competition. With 2 players representing West Ham in the 2014 World Cup and 3 in 2018 and none of those players making it to the quarter finals shows how much West Ham have improved in recent years. The players that are still in the tournament have played vital roles in there team's success in the tournament so far.
Declan Rice
Declan Rice has been an instrumental part of England’s team over the last few years and this World Cup hasn’t been anything different. Rice has started in all 4 of England’s games so far racking up a total of 328 minutes on the field. The 23 years old’s passing continues to play a big part of his game with a 94% success rate. His ability to win the ball whether it’s the middle on the park or inside the box and either burst forward or find an important pass has been so vital in England racking up 12 goals so far in the competition. He is still yet to register an assist or goal this World Cup but doesn’t hasn’t negated his contribution to the England team.
Lucas Paqueta
The Brazilian has been a crucial part of his team so far, featuring in 3 out of 4 Brazil’s games starting in all of them. He has mainly featured in a central midfield role alongside Casemiro a role which he has thrived in but has shown he can get into attacking positions as well. He has averaged 2 tackles per game and 1.7 key passes every game. His standout performance was during a 4-1 win over South Korea which he scored Brazil’s 4th in the 36th minute. He had a 90% pass accuracy during the game winning 4 out of his 7 duels during the match and playing 3 keys throughout the game proving he can be important in a number 8 and number 10 role.
Nayef Aguerd
Aguerd may have limped off with an ankle injury in Tuesday’s round of 16 victory against Spain but he has proved to be an influential part of Morocco’s defence. They have conceded just one goal in the tournament so far which was an unfortunate own goal from him in their final group game against Canada. His performance’s against Belgium and Croatia have been impressive with an 87% and 89% pass accuracy respectively and blocking a shot in each of those games. His ability to be in the right place at the right time has been a big part of his game averaging 3 clearances a game and averaging a interception every game.
Thilo Kehrer
The German's world cup campaign was cut short after Germany failed to get out of there group for a second consecutive tournament. He only made 1 appearance in which he played 70 minutes in there 1-1 draw with Spain. He put in a relatively poor performance as he was constantly caught off guard running back and failing to close down his opponents and eventually got booked for a lunge against Ferran Torres in the 37th minute.
Alphonse Areola
The French goalkeeper probably went into the World Cup with the expectation that he wouldn’t play much and that has rung true. Being the 3rd choice goalkeeper to Tottenham’s Lloris and Rennes’s Mandanda. Despite the total absence of gametime he’ll be looking to play a role from the side-lines and encourage his team to possibly go on and win it.