1. Making a statement

There are plenty of players with points to prove. First of all, Paul Pogba still faces criticism for not living up to his promise. He’ll be keen to use the World Cup to push himself up into that rarefied atmosphere inhabited by the modern greats. And he won’t be the only Frenchman with designs on the peak of world football. Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé will both be hoping for a great campaign. From Australia’s perspective, Mat Ryan has stated he felt he let the team down with his performances in the 2014 World Cup. He’ll be very keen to show how he has progressed as a keeper.

2. Speed demons

Peru and Australia feature some very fast men. Peruvian defender Luis Advincula was proclaimed the fastest player in world football this year with a 36.16kph run. Australia’s Matthew Leckie has been credited as the fastest man in the Bundesliga hitting 35.18kph. Robbie Kruse for Australia hit the top speed recorded at the Asian Cup. The French meanwhile have opted to leave two of their fastest men behind with Anthony Martial and Kingsley Coman clocking excellent speeds but that wasn’t enough to impress coach Didier eschamps.  

Catch him if you can - Peru's Luis Advincula

3. Nicknames

You just know there are some good nicknames out there and the commentators are going to talk about them as soon as they can. The Peruvians have Farfan who is known as La Foquita ‘the little seal’. Denmark have got ‘Lord’ Bendtner who’ll we’ll talk about later. For Australia, Tim Cahill has been called Super Tim in the past but this year he might get stuck with Cahilltex.

4. Pin-ups

French striker Olivier Giroud was once voted the hottest premier league player and he stripped off for a French charity calendar. After his move to Spain, Australian keeper Mat Ryan had the women of Valencia drooling when they saw his topless pic. Meanwhile most of the Danish team could be characters on the hit show Vikings.  

Strike a pose - Olivier Giroud

5. Lord Nicklas Bendtner

This Danish striker is an internet fan sensation. Akin to Chuck Norris, Bendtner’s name gets thrown about as someone whose football skills are unmatched. He has scored more goals for Denmark than Messi has for Argentina! Mind you, he might not be seeing much game time in this World Cup, Denmark have a few younger strikers forcing their way into the team.