10 players to keep an eye on in World Cup qualification
Diego Costa (Spain)
The Premier League’s top scorer with six goals from seven games, Chelsea’s Spanish-Brazilian striker seems to have broken his bad spell with the national team by netting twice against Liechtenstein. His excellent form and his rapport with Lopetegui should
Aymeric Laporte (France)
The Laporte saga will finally come to an end this week with the Athletic Bilbao centre-back in line to make his senior debut for France. It had been rumoured that Spain, his home since the age of 16, could have tempted him to play for la roja had he not b
Alessio Romagnoli (Italy)
The young AC Milan defender is likely to replace the suspended Chiellini against Spain on Thursday night. Just 21, Romagnoli has the trust of Italy coach Giampiero Ventura despite the fact that he has little experience of playing in a back 3. Formerly at
Joshua Kimmich (Germany)
Kimmich has stood out during Bayern’s strong start to the season under Carlo Ancelotti and featured for Germany at Euro 2016. There he played on the right and it’s yet to be seen whether Joachim Löw will bring him back to his natural position through the
Emre Mor (Turkey)
Just 19, Mor impressed at Euro 2016 despite playing mostly from the bench. Now at Dortmund, he shone against Real Madrid in the Champions League and now looks like a key piece to Turkey’s attempt to reach the World Cup. Fatih Terim’s side face Ukraine and
Thorgan Hazard (Belgium)
Thorgen has begun to emerge from his brother Eden’s shadow at Borussia Mönchengladbach and has turned the head of Belgium coach Roberto Martínez. A fixture in Gladbach’s forward line, he has his work cut out to find a place in the starting XI for the nati
Pione Sisto (Denmark)
Sisto made his debut for Denmark back in 2015 but has now been recalled to the squad after a bright start to his career at Celta Vigo and impressive performances against Espanyol and Barcelona. He could be in line to start against both Poland and Monteneg
Gelson Martins (Portugal)
The Sporting wide man impressed in his side’s agonizing defeat at the Santiago Bernabéu last month and has been rewarded with his first call-up to the senior squad for what should be straightforward matches against Andorra and the Faroe Islands. Rumoured
Michail Antonio (England)
Gareth Southgate has taken temporary charge of England following Sam Allardyce’s unceremonious dismissal last month and has included a number of surprise names in the squad to face Malta and Slovenia. Michail Antonio, who has scored five goals in seven ga
Labinot Kabashi (Kosovo)
Kabashi, who is currently part of the youth team set-up at Barcelona, has been called up to the Kosovo senior side at the age of just 16. UEFA’s decision to allow Kosovo to play full international fixtures has opened the door for many players born abroad