Johannesburg – The Round of 16 fixtures at the Fifa World Cup has been drawn up with a couple of powerhouses missing the cut.
The group stages have seen outstanding individual performances, beautiful goals, shocking upsets and remarkable World Cup moments that will live long in the hearts of football fans for decades to come.
IOL Sport football writer Smiso Msomi provides the top five players of the group stages:
Kylian Mbappe – France
The mercurial Frenchman was touted to be one of the players of the tournament before the first kick-off, and he has certainly lived up to the bill.
Mbappe, who lit up the 2018 edition as Le Bleu powered to the title seems to have taken his game a notch up in terms of quality.
What used to be an energetic speedster at 19-years-old has matured into a more controlled, instinctive, and powerful dribbler with an efficient right foot, his three goals and an assist testament to the levels he's playing at.
Bruno Fernandes – Portugal
The 28-year-old midfield dynamo is another player that has lived up to the pre-tournament billing, with near-ridiculous performances in his first World Cup participation.
The Portuguese has four goal involvements in two matches with his two assists against Ghana on the opening day, and a brace against South American side Uruguay.
He had rapidly shown himself to be Portugal's most important figure in the World Cup, a symbol of his excellence as he shares a changeroom with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cody Gakpo – Netherlands
The doubts over the fitness levels of Dutch number 10 Memphis Depay presented Netherlands coach Louis Van Gaal with quite a conundrum ahead of the global showpiece.
However, step in and step up did the 23-year-old Cody Gakpo as he shoulders the responsibilities of being a part of one of the world's powerful football nations.
Gakpo has scored a goal in each of his first three World Cup matches, and his consistency has seen him nail down a place in his nation's starting 11 in the biggest event of his career.
Mohammed Kudus – Ghana
With the two Ayew brothers in the twilight years of their national team careers, the Black Stars were in desperate need of a spark for the next decade, and Ajax man Mohammed Kudus is dead set on becoming that for Ghana.
The 22-year-old forward has produced sparkling performances in the group stages of his first World Cup, a trend that is expected to continue as he looks to add to his two goals already.
Wojciech Szczęsny – Poland
It is not often that a goalkeeper single-handedly carries a nation's dreams and aspirations in football, let alone at the World Cup; however, Szczesny has proven that possible.
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The Juventus shot-stopper, often criticised over his lack of consistency, has already saved two penalties in Qatar, one of them from Argentina's Lionel Messi.
His five saves against the Albicelestes to add to his five against Saudi Arabia have seen Poland qualify for the Round of 16 on goal difference, and he will be a strong contender for the Golden Glove.
IOL Sport