The first intermediate milestone has been overcome at the World Cup, the first round of group stage matches has been played, and the first heroes have emerged. Among them, by the way, there are many unexpected ones. Terrikon.com closely examines fresh, although in places already somewhat aged faces…
Nikola Katić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
A true “workhorse” – although, considering his size (194 centimeters), he is more of a “work horse.” A central defender whom the Canadian forwards simply could not deal with – he took the ball from them 5 times, intercepted passes twice, and made an incredible 16 (!) clearances. His motto is “Never let anyone convince you that you can’t do something.” He is 29 years old. His club is Schalke, which struggled in the Second Bundesliga but eventually returned to the First, meaning Katić still has a chance to make everyone sweat at the highest level! However, he has already started at the World Cup…
Emam Ashour (Egypt)
Not everyone in the Egyptian national team is an international star. There are also those who spend their entire careers in local waters. Ashour is one of them. He had an attempt to latch onto Danish Midtjylland, but nothing came of it. At home, however, he is a beloved figure. Watching him in the match against Belgium, one could understand why. He is nimble, cunning, and persistent. And he is equipped with considerable technique. The calculated and simultaneously powerful shot with which he placed the ball in the corner of the goal past Thibaut Courtois was simply a sight to behold!
Yasin Ayari (Sweden)
One of the not-so-Scandinavian-origin players of the “Tre Kronor” fully participated in the festival that Sweden held in the match against Tunisia. To the very attentive fans of English football, he is, of course, known (from Brighton, Coventry, and Blackburn), but he has never been a big star. Yet here he outshone both Alexander Isak and Viktor Djikereš. Impeccable efficiency: two shots – two goals. But let’s see how bright he will be against the Netherlands.
Voziñha (Cape Verde)
The 40-year-old goalkeeper could only dream of the World Cup in the sweetest dreams of the longest winter night for about 15 more years. Until he was 26, he was not even called up to the national team, but somehow the main goalkeeper of the “Blue Sharks” got injured – and Voziñha was urgently plugged into the lineup. And he went on to become a hero of the Africa Cup of Nations. But playing at the World Cup… That was still science fiction. And now, Cape Verde managed to qualify – and Voziñha in the match against Spain managed not to concede, making 7 saves. Now the whole world is talking about him. It’s a pity that at 40, this is most likely just a powerful full stop in his career.
Ali Olwan (Jordan)
Jordan lost its first-ever World Cup match, but the best player in the match against Austria was precisely the Asian representative. Ali Olwan was the true engine of the team, scored a goal, hit the crossbar, constantly created danger, tracked back in defense, and made two clearances from his penalty area. Experienced TV viewers could only shrug their shoulders. They had no idea that before them was a star of at least national significance, with 60 matches and 28 goals for his national team.
Julián Quiñones (Mexico)
Colombian by birth, Mexican by citizenship. The 29-year-old midfielder is little known in Europe, but he is the most expensive sale in the Mexican championship: for 16 million dollars, he moved to Saudi Arabia, where last season he scored 33 goals, two more than Cristiano himself. He grew up in poverty, played barefoot. He moved to Mexico, where he quickly adapted and became one of their own. He scored the first goal of the entire championship and was definitely the best player in the match against South Africa (5 shots on goal, 5 successful dribbles, 2 key passes).
Patrick Beach (Australia)
Another heroic goalkeeper, who made even more saves than Voziñha – 8. But unlike Voziñha, he is very young – 22 years old, and he has everything ahead of him. Only thanks to him did Australia manage to sensationally defeat Turkey 2-0. He ended up in goal by accident, showed no great promise – he was considered slow and dull. But where did all that go over the years! At Melbourne FC, he is the undisputed number one, but in the national team, he sat behind the veteran Matthew Ryan, a participant in three World Cups. And suddenly, the coach chose the young player for the match against Turkey… Thus, a fairy tale was born before the eyes of the whole world.
Ramin Rezaeian (Iran)
The 36-year-old defender has hardly ever left the Middle East (only briefly appeared for a season at the little-known Belgian Oostende), so the football elite would never have known about his existence if Iran had not qualified for the World Cup. The match against New Zealand became his showcase. A goal plus an assist, 3 key passes – and many other active, intelligent actions. He became the oldest Asian to score in the final stages of the World Cup. A favorite of Iranian female fans.
Elijah Just (New Zealand)
Short, fast, technical, nimble, and intelligent – all this describes him. He has been repeatedly written off as not having enough size, but at 26, he is still here, on the right flank of Scottish Motherwell and the New Zealand national team. On his mother’s side, he is Chinese; on his father’s, German; altogether, a symbol of New Zealand’s multiculturalism. In the match against Iran, he scored twice, becoming the first representative of his country to achieve such a feat at the World Cup.
Caleb Yerenky (Ghana)
There is a famous football academy in Ghana called Right To Dream. Almost all local talents fall into its network, then scatter all over the world. Caleb Yerenky is one of them. In 2024, he flew out of the nest of this alma mater and ended up in Denmark, where he started playing for Nordsjælland. There, this energetic, enduring midfielder is still registered – but after the World Cup, where he scored the decisive goal against Panama in the 5th minute of added time, he may find himself in a much more interesting place.
