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

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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Football – Fifa World Cup Russia 2018 / ‘rSaudi Arabia Team _ Preview Set – ‘rNawaf Al Abed (Ksa) – Yuto Nagatomo (Jpn) /

Saudi Arabia: Nawaf Al-Abed

Saudi Arabia return for their fifth World Cup appearance after missing the 2014 and 2010 editions of the tournament. Despite qualifying with relative ease, things have been far from tranquil in the Saudi camp. The Green Falcons have fired two coaches, with Edgardo Bauza dismissed after just five friendlies in charge and Bert van Marwijk, who led the Netherlands to the World Cup final in 2010, fired shortly after leading the Middle Eastern side to Russia.

Current coach Juan Antonio Pizzi has been tasked with improving on Saudi’s best finish so far, a second-round exit to Sweden in 1994. If he wishes to achieve an objective, he will need the spine of his team in form, including the playmaker Nawaf Al-Abed. The 28-year-old scored only five goals in qualification, a distant 11 away from Saudi Arabia’s striker Mohammad Al Sahlawi, however all his goals came in the final round of qualifying, where he finished joint top scorer.

Al-Abed has struggled with injury for much of this season and, though not prolific, not having a player with the track record of showing up on the big occasion would be a huge miss for Saudi Arabia.

In a group where the Green Falcons are likely to concede goals, having a player with the ability to both create and score will be crucial if they hope to upset the odds at Russia during the summer.

Honorable mentions: Mohammad Al Sahlawi, Fahad Al Muwallad

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