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World Cup: Most underrated player from each of the three favourites

Every World Cup-winning team has an underrated player that most onlookers instantly forget.

Who played left back for Spain during their successful campaign in South Africa in 2010? Who played alongside German maestros Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos in the final in 2014, stepping in for Sami Khedira on short notice when he went down with an injury in the pre-match warm-up?

Any takers? For Spain, it was Villarreal’s Joan Capdevila and for Germany, it was forgotten former Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder, Christoph Kramer. You’ve probably just Googled both of them right now!

With the World Cup less than two months away, online betting sites have their odds priced up, and their favourites list likely won’t change too much between now and the tournament opener between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City on June 11.

The latest World Cup betting at Bovada lists Spain as the 9/2 favourites, followed by France at 5/1 and England at 15/2.

Each of these teams will likely have an underrated player in their starting line-ups this summer, a player that you never even considered a part of the team.

Let’s take a look at each of the three front-runners’ most underrated players, and what we can expect to see from them once the World Cup gets underway.

Spain: Mikel Oyarzabal

When anyone thinks of Spain, they think of young wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams. They think of that playmaking midfield anchored by Manchester City’s Rodri, with Pedri, Dani Olmo, and Fabian Ruiz just ahead of him. But who is the man tasked with scoring the goals at the tip of the attack?

Two years ago, it was former Real Madrid man Alvaro Morata who was leading the line at the 2024 European Championship, even wearing the captain’s armband.

However, his form has fallen off a cliff in the last two years, and he can’t currently get a game for Cesc Fabregas’ high-flying Como in Serie A.

The goalscoring responsibility has now fallen to Real Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal, a man that most neutrals wouldn’t even think of when it comes to La Liga strikers.

Oyarzabal came off the bench to score the winner in the Euro 2024 final victory against England in Berlin, and that goal kicked off a purple patch for the striker.

He has netted 13 goals in his last 16 appearances, beginning with that goal against the Three Lions in the Olympiastadion.

To put that run of form into perspective, the 28-year-old has only netted 12 goals all season at club level, with those goals coming in 27 La Liga appearances.

Just a few short weeks ago, you could get odds of 33/1 finishing the World Cup as the top scorer. Following his brace against Serbia in a friendly on March 27, those odds have come down to just 16/1. And we wouldn’t be surprised to see that bet cash.

France: Adrien Rabiot

The current French midfield is a who’s who of superstars. The veteran N’Golo Kante. Real Madrid duo Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.

But one man who consistently starts ahead of them and has done for the better part of a decade is the unheralded Adrien Rabiot.

We’re not sure what it is about the 31-year-old, but he certainly doesn’t get the respect he deserves from the footballing public.

He was an incredibly unpopular figure throughout his five-year stint at Juventus. Now at AC Milan, he often comes in for criticism from the Rossoneri faithful. But he remains one of the favourites of Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps.

Rabiot started all but two of France’s games on the run to the World Cup final in Qatar two years ago. He was rested for the dead-rubber third group stage game against Tunisia as the French were already guaranteed top spot in the group.

He then missed the semi-final win against Morocco due to illness. He started the rest, though, including the final, and he played a crucial role in Kylian Mbappe’s brilliantly taken equaliser with just ten minutes remaining.

He is likely to start in midfield for France’s opener against Senegal at MetLife Stadium on June 16, with any one of Kante, Tchouameni or Camavinga alongside him.

England: Elliot Anderson

If you’d have told an England supporter 12 months ago that Elliot Anderson would be starting in central midfield alongside Declan Rice at the World Cup, they’d have laughed at you.

It seemed that Kobbie Mainoo would be England’s midfield pivot alongside the Arsenal man for the next decade after his displays at Euro 2024, while Jude Bellingham was also a lock just ahead of them.

However, neither Mainoo nor Bellingham is guaranteed a spot in the starting line-up after form issues this season. Meanwhile, Anderson is, and here’s why.

Not only is he tenacious when pressing the ball and covering ground for the team, but he also looks to drive forward and spring counter-attacks as soon as he recovers possession, which is crucial to the way Thomas Tuchel likes his team to play.

He has gathered big-game experience at club level this season by leading Nottingham Forest to the Europa League semi-finals.

Anderson will almost certainly start England’s opener against Croatia in Dallas, alongside Rice, with either Bellingham or Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers ahead of them.

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