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Russia 2018: The best player on every team at the World Cup

By Kristofer McCormack

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JULY 13: Mario Goetze of Germany celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Final match between Germany and Argentina at Maracana on July 13, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JULY 13: Mario Goetze of Germany celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Final match between Germany and Argentina at Maracana on July 13, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) /
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BRONDBY, DENMARK – MARCH 22: Nicklas Bendtner of Denmark and fans after the International friendly match between Denmark and Panama at Brondby Stadion on March 22, 2018 in Brondby, Denmark. (Photo by Lars Ronbog / FrontZoneSport via Getty Images)
BRONDBY, DENMARK – MARCH 22: Nicklas Bendtner of Denmark and fans after the International friendly match between Denmark and Panama at Brondby Stadion on March 22, 2018 in Brondby, Denmark. (Photo by Lars Ronbog / FrontZoneSport via Getty Images) /

Denmark: Lord Bendtner

Denmark are back in the World Cup after missing out on Brazil in 2014 and it’s been a long time since they had such an exciting squad. Pione Sisto, Yussuf Poulsen and Christian Eriksen provide a good balance of youth and class.

However, there’s no doubt Demark’s most important player will be our lord and saviour, lord Nicklas Bendtner. Denmark’s charismatic and deadly striker was forced to play a bit part role during his country’s qualifiers after FIFA decreed that to have a player of Bendtner’s raw ability was cheating.

That didn’t stop the lord having an impact, however, as he scored a vital goal in Denmark’s narrow 5-1 win over Ireland in the playoffs. European soccer will have the lights fixed on the frauds such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but it will be the Lord who will likely steal the show in Russia this year.

Firmly in Bendtner’s shadow is Eriksen, who, outside of dictating Tottenham’s attack, has scored 11 goals in eight different games during Denmark’s long unbeaten streak. Among those 11 goals was a hat-trick against Ireland in Dublin before the main man secured the win with his vital penalty. The 26-year old has been involved in 25 goals for Tottenham this season, scoring 15 of those. His form is very impressive, but nothing could push Bendtner off his godly throne at the pinnacle of this sport. Eriksen will have to settle for being the second most important player for his nation.

Honorable mentions: Pione Sisto, Yussuf Poulsen, Thomas Delaney

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