LM. Denis Cheryshev – Russia
Denis Cheryshev scored two goals against Saudi Arabia, and was one of the standout performers alongside Golovin.
He scored one of the goals of the tournament so far – a sublime trivela goal which flew right past the goalkeeper and asserted Russia’s dominance.
Cheryshev didn’t catch the eye when the team sheets were announced, but he came out of the tie with recognition from around the globe.
He was a real menace to the Saudi Arabian defense, making his country proud in front of the biggest audience.
His two goals were something of pure delight, and manager Stanislav Cherchesov will surely be considering starting him again in the match with Egypt.
He has what it takes to be a real star in this competition, something which the Villarreal faithful will back me up on. Let’s just hope he takes the confidence with him into matchweek 2 of the World Cup, on home soil of course.