Gallery: 15 players to watch in Brazil

Neymar – Brazil: The pressure is on the hosts to cap this tournament with its sixth World Cup trophy and Neymar has been tabbed as the man to make it happen. If the 22-year-old has a showing anywhere near his Confederation Cup performance, Brazil has a great chance.

Yuto Nagatomo – Japan: An aggressive attack means the defence is often exposed. That’s where Nagatomo comes in; the Inter defender will be the key to Japan slowing down the likes of the Ivory Coast and Colombia.
Yuto Nagatomo – Japan: An aggressive attack means the defence is often exposed. That’s where Nagatomo comes in; the Inter defender will be the key to Japan slowing down the likes of the Ivory Coast and Colombia.
ronaldo_cristiano

messi_lionel

neymar

suarez_luis

rooney_wayne

hazard_eden

buffon_gianluigi

iniesta_andres

vidal_arturo

toure_yaya

benzema_karim

lahm_phillip

bradley_michael

pjanic_miralem

nagatomo_yuto

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.