World Soccer

MARCEL SABITZER

- Milorad Stojmanovs­ki

Marcel, whose father Herfried won six caps for Austria in the 1990s, has played a key role in the rise of Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.

He joined the club in 2014 and was immediatel­y loaned out to sister club RB Salzburg, but was brought back for 2015-16 when they were still in the second tier. He was ever-present as they won promotion that season and has been a firm fixture in the Bundesliga ever since.

Sabitzer was raised at Admira Wacker and turned down the chance of an early move to German side Borussia Monchengla­dbach so that he could get regular first-team football.

At Leipzig, he has always been somewhat out of the spotlight, which has shone instead on the likes of Naby Keita, Emil Forsberg and Timo Werner.

But that suits him. He has all the qualities of a player who plays under the Red Bull system – integral at sparking counter-attacks, tactically aware and extremely versatile. He has been a regular for Austria since 2015 (making his debut in 2012) but injuries have restricted him to just 44 caps.

Brian Homewood

With his gentle touch past the Georgian goalkeeper – his 36th goal in his 114th game – Pandev fulfilled a promise to his children: to come back home from Georgia with a win.

The highest goalscorer in North Macedonia’s history is a Genoa veteran, one of the longest-serving players in Italy. He was a part of Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning Internazio­nale side in 2010, but nothing compares with the feeling of hearing your anthem at a European Championsh­ip.

There were some bad times for Pandev in his relationsh­ip with the North Macedonian FA, but he has been proven right in deciding to lead the team again, with the UEFA Nations League offering a chance of qualificat­ion. His winning spirit was contagious for the rest of the team.

At one point, a coronaviru­s outbreak within Genoa threatened his chances of travelling to Georgia for the play-off, but fate had other ideas.

Now aged 37, he will struggle to play 90 minutes at the finals, but 20 years after his internatio­nal debut, he will give everything to make more history for his country.

After England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia in 2018, one player stood out as the difference between the two sides: Luka Modric.

While Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard huffed and puffed, the Real Madrid midfielder floated and probed, always willing to take the ball and play the right pass. Calls for England to find a playmaker of their own became a priority, and two years later the prime candidate has emerged.

Grealish’s autumn displays triggered something of a national debate. Simply outstandin­g on his debut against Wales, he was left on the bench versus Belgium three days later, much to fans’ frustratio­n. He did play in the return clash however – following another man of the match display against the Republic of Ireland – and was unquestion­ably England’s best performer in the 2-0 defeat.

Southgate is unlikely to appease fans by accommodat­ing Grealish in a new system alongside Raheem Sterling, Kane and Rashford. Yet the Aston Villa skipper offers a skillset that is not only different from that trio, but also extremely well suited to internatio­nal football.

Jamie Evans

Since the 2006 World Cup in Germany (where Modric made two substitute appearance­s), Luka has been Croatia’s most important player. The national team’s performanc­es pretty much depend on him, not only because he is the best Croatian player of all time, but because he is an authority on the field. With the Real Madrid man in their line-up, Croatia are a much stronger force than without him, regardless of the fact that he turned 35 years old last September.

He will most likely go to the European Championsh­ip as Croatia’s most capped player too, currently standing just one game behind Darijo Srna’s record of 134.

While he may not again reach the heights of 2018, when he won the Ballon d’Or, FIFA’s Best Player and the World Cup Golden Ball, Modric is a key figure for club and country. Real Madrid still select him for the biggest games; he came off the bench to score in

And when he runs out for Croatia, Modric is still the main man.

Zdravko Reic

Secured the gratitude of every Scot with his goal against Serbia, but his emotional post-match interview in Belgrade captured the heart of the nation, too.

The Celtic midfielder’s tears struck a chord as he hoped the win would lift the coronaviru­s cloud that hangs over Scotland. The 25-year-old is now one of the most influentia­l players for club and country, with four goals in 14 caps.

This is no surprise to World Soccer, who named Christie the Scottish Newcomer of the Season after he helped his hometown club, Inverness CT, win the Scottish Cup in 2015.

Christie joined Celtic in September 2015 for £500,000 but needed patience. He could not get a place on the bench during Celtic’s invincible campaign of 2016-17. It took a couple of loans at Aberdeen for him to find his feet, and he returned to Celtic in 2018-19 to make his breakthrou­gh, scoring the winner in the League Cup final against Aberdeen.

A crisp passer, he has added goals to his game too, including seven in last season’s Europa League.

Phil Gordon

Tall, handsome and talented, Schick is Czech football’s poster boy-in-waiting – tipped for greatness but yet to fulfil his early promise. 25 in January, the powerful yet elegant striker has already seen his share of ups and downs.

A teen sensation in the Czech League, Schick moved to Sampdoria, aged only 20, and almost signed for Juventus a year later. After failing medicals at Juve, he instead joined Roma as one of the most expensive Czech players of all time.

Schick’s career stalled in the Italian capital but a loan spell with RB Leipzig put him back on track. A permanent move to their Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen followed last summer.

First called up to the national team in 2016, the left-sided forward scored on his debut and has since become the Czechs’ main threat, with four goals in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

A thigh injury sidelined Schick for much of the first half of this season but the delayed Euro finals should be the right tournament at the right time. The young pretender now has a chance to prove himself at the highest level.

Sam Beckwith

“Madness,” Ferran Torres called it. He stood, the match ball in his hand, grinning having just scored a hat-trick in only his seventh game for the Spanish national team, and against Germany too. A European champion at Under-17 and Under-19 level, the Manchester City attacker has long been seen as the outstandin­g player of his generation – there is a reason Pep Guardiola wanted him in the first place – but that is not the same thing as expecting him to lead the senior national team. Or, rather, was not.

And yet, given that Spain seemed uncertain about their attacking positions (other options include Gerard, Adama Traore, Dani Olmo, Rodrigo and Ansu Fati), given Luis Enrique’s belief in him, Guardiola’s willingnes­s to play him as a false nine, and with that extraordin­ary, fearless display against Germany, it seems logical to assume that he now has a big role to play – despite being just 20 years old. Fast, skilful, a good finisher and with great technique, the kid who joined Valencia at eight and had no doubts about departing so soon is a star in waiting.

“Is the teenage Sweden striker Borussia Dortmund’s next great No.9?” asked the Bundesliga’s official website two years ago, following an impressive loan spell at Willem II. When it became clear that the answer was no, many feared that Alexandar Isak’s career would go downhill.

Prior to that, Isak’s career had been on a rapid upwards trajectory. Aged 16, he became the second-youngest scorer in the history of the Swedish league, and a year later become the national team’s youngest-ever goalscorer too. When he joined Dortmund for a reported fee of €9 million, he was inevitably dubbed “the new Zlatan”.

Isak fell short of expectatio­ns in Dortmund, and even after a successful loan spell in the Netherland­s, he was sold to Real Sociedad. But the lanky striker has flourished in Spain, regaining his confidence and goalscorin­g abilities.

In 2019, Isak collected ten caps and became Sweden’s establishe­d first choice up front. The upcoming Euros will be his first major tournament, and his chance to prove that Dortmund made a big mistake by letting him go.

 ??  ?? Midfield maestro…Sabitzer
Midfield maestro…Sabitzer
 ??  ?? Leader…Pandev holds onto the ball in Georgia
Leader…Pandev holds onto the ball in Georgia
 ??  ?? Fans’ favourite…Grealish skips past Kevin De Bruyne
Fans’ favourite…Grealish skips past Kevin De Bruyne
 ??  ?? Leader…Luka Modric
Leader…Luka Modric
 ??  ?? Match-winner…Christie scored in Sarajevo
Match-winner…Christie scored in Sarajevo
 ??  ?? Shock…Schick controls the ball in Czech Republic’s 2-1 win over England
Shock…Schick controls the ball in Czech Republic’s 2-1 win over England
 ??  ?? Hat-trick hero…Ferran Torres was on fire against Germany
Hat-trick hero…Ferran Torres was on fire against Germany
 ??  ?? Leading the line…Isak is Sweden’s first-choice striker
Leading the line…Isak is Sweden’s first-choice striker

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