The best players in the middle of the park so far in Brazil.
It has been an exciting and surprising 2014 World Cup in Brazil so far and there have been some brilliant individual performances from some of the best players on the planet.
Here are the 10 best central midfielders according to CaughtOffside.
10. Marouane Fellaini, Belgium
Having only played one game from the substitutes bench it seemed unfair to put Fellaini higher up this list, but his brilliant goal after coming on against Algeria means the Manchester United man at least deserved a place.
9. Miralem Pjanic, Bosnia & Herzegovina
With defeats to Argentina and Nigeria leaving the Bosnians on the brink of elimination in their maiden World Cup, it seems harsh that the fine AS Roma star Pjanic has to be on the losing side after his displays.
8. Granit Xhaka, Switzerland
After a decent season with Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga this 21-year-old has been trusted in the middle for the Swiss and even netted in the 5-2 defeat to France on Friday.
7. Andrea Pirlo, Italy
It was a frustrating game for this veteran in the 1-0 loss to Costa Rica, but for his display against England in the Italians’ 2-1 victory in their opener showed the Juventus ace can still cut it.
6. Christian Noboa, Ecuador
The South American side were unlucky to lose to Switzerland in their first match after a 93rd minute winner and Noboa was dominant as his nation bounced back with a 2-1 victory over Honduras.
5. Javier Mascherano, Argentina
It’s hardly been an inspiring start to the World Cup for the Argentinians, but wins over Bosnia and Iran have been enough to take them to the last-16 and Mascherano has been solid in the middle.
4. Luka Modric, Croatia
After a disappointing 3-1 opening day loss to hosts Brazil – a scoreline which flattered the victors – the Croatians responded with a 4-0 rout of Cameroon and Real Madrid’s Modric has shown his world-class ability.
3. Toni Kroos, Germany
With Spain out the Germans are now the favourite European side to win the first World Cup in South America for the continent and this Bayern Munich ace is helping to ensure that happens.
2. Blaise Matuidi, France
The French arrive at international tournaments with a distinct unpredictable nature, but in 2014 it looks positive as Matuidi has inspired the nation to successive victories and therefore progress to the knockout phase.
1. Arturo Vidal, Chile
Topping the list is a box-to-box midfielder who has been impressing for Juve for some time and now looks set to help guide his country to perhaps their greatest ever World Cup showing.
SEE ALSO: The 50 best players at the 2014 World Cup.