Lionel Messi and David Silva also pipped by Bosnian midfielder…
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These ten players have played more key passes in the opening two matches of the World Cup than any other so far…
(Stats courtesy of WhoScored.)
10) Benoit Assou-Ekotto – Cameroon – 6 key passes
The only defender in the top 10, surprisingly, Tottenham owned left-back Assou-Ekotto has made six key passes already for his African nation! It’s not yet known whether Mauricio Pochettino plans on keeping him at White Hart Lane ahead of next season.
9) Xherdan Shaqiri – Switzerland – 7 key passes
Liverpool have been linked to the excellent young Swiss playmaker, who got nowhere near the playing time his talents deserve at Bayern Munich last term.
8) Sullley Ali Muntari – Ghana – 7 key passes
The former Portsmouth ace is one of Ghana’s most important players, and his seven key passes so far proves this. He was especially excellent against Germany.
7) Lionel Messi – Argentina – 7 key passes
Arguably the world’s greatest player (although Cristiano Ronaldo fans will disagree), Messi has so far bagged two winners, made seven key passes – but has arguably yet to even reach his peak level.
6) David Silva – Spain – 7 key passes
The Manchester City man played more key passes last season at club level than any player in Europe, and while he translated this creative form to the World Cup – it didn’t stop his country from crashing out.
5) Christian Bolanos – Costa Rica – 7 key passes
Costa Rica, the conquerors of England and Italy, are probably the biggest surprise nation of this summer;s World Cup so far. Bolanos, who plays in Denmark – has been one of their biggest success stories.
4) Karim Benzema – France – 8 key passes
Benzema has bagged three times so far, but also missed a penalty, and had three goals disallowed as well! An early front-runner for the Golden Shoe…
3) Joao Moutinho – Portugal – 8 key passes
Portugal have struggled so far in total, and only scraped a point against the USA last night. Moutinho has not been noticeably affecting matches, although this stat perhaps proves otherwise.
2) Eden Hazard – Belgium – 8 key passes
The Belgian superstar brilliantly created the winner against Russia to send the dark horses through to the next round – and will need to be at his best if they’re to reach their lofty expectations.
1) Miralem Pjanic – Bosnia – 10 key passes
The Bosnians are going home after losing their opening two matches, but surprisingly, their star player Pjanic, who excelled for Roma in Serie A last term, has made more key passes than anyone else at the World Cup.
