World Cup best XI eliminated
players
Tim Howard, Serge Aurier,
Kenneth Omeruo and
Alexis Sanchez make
WhoScored's highest-
ranking XI of players
eliminated from the World
Cup.
The round of 16 may have
gone with the form book in
terms of results, with each of
the eight group winners
progressing to the quarter-finals, but it was still full
of surprises, with all of the tournament favourites
taken right to the wire.
Of eight matches, five were forced into extra-time,
two to penalties and just the one was separated by
more than a single goal.
In this piece WhoScored.com look at the top rated XI
players to have been eliminated from the
competition thus far, with players having to have
appeared at least three times to this point in order to
qualify.
Tim Howard (USA) - 7.87 WhoScored.com
rating
Everton number one Howard unsurprisingly makes
the cut following his heroic display against Belgium,
earning himself a hashtag on Twitter courtesy of a
tournament-high 15 saves against the Red Devils.
It was enough to earn the experienced shot stopper a
perfect match rating of 10 from WhoScored.com -
only the second of the competition behind Oscar's
masterful opening night performance against Croatia
- and took his average for the tournament to 7.87.
Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast) - 7.65 rating
Having expressed a desire to make the next step in
his career after a superb campaign with Toulouse in
Ligue 1, Aurier certainly did his chances of earning a
move this summer no harm despite Ivory Coast's
group stage exit.
The youngster started all three games at right-back,
picking up two assists and a man of the match award
against Japan, with his average rating the best in the
squad by a distance.
Aurier made at least three more interceptions than
any other teammate (9) as well as completing the
most accurate crosses at the other end (4).
Kenneth Omeruo (Nigeria) - 7.44 rating
If any Chelsea fans were keeping a watchful eye over
their young defender Omeruo, who spent the last half
of the season on loan at Middlesbrough, they'd likely
have been suitably impressed.
The centre-half was composed throughout Nigeria's
four-game campaign, playing with a maturity beyond
his 20 years.
Emerging as the Super Eagles' top rated player
according to WhoScored.com, Omeruo won the most
aerial duels for his side (12), while no team-mate
made more interceptions (11).
Diego Godin (Uruguay) - 7.43 rating
It could have been a very different campaign for
Uruguay had it not been for Godin.
The centre-back could easily have been sent off
against England but avoided a second yellow to help
ensure the Three Lions early exit before scoring a
crucial late winner - he's made a habit of that -
against Italy to set up a round of 16 clash with
Colombia.
The Uruguay captain led by example, winning more
aerial duels (15) and interceptions (11) than any
teammate.
Ricardo Rodriguez (Switzerland) - 8.11 rating
Another player to carry his excellent club form onto
the international stage was Rodriguez, whose
impressive performances at left-back weren't enough
to see the Swiss upset the odds against Argentina.
The 21-year-old has been attracting interest across
Europe and displayed exactly why, picking up two
assists and averaging an exceptional five tackles per
game - only Oscar and Javier Mascherano (both 21)
have produced more in total at the World Cup so far.
Ivan Perisic (Croatia) - 7.59 rating
Croatia may have fallen at the first hurdle but they
still displayed an impressive attacking threat at
times, none more so than Perisic.
In three appearances the winger scored twice and
registered an assist, mustering 11 shots at goal in
total. The Wolfsburg wide man also won five aerial
duels and completed five dribbles, proving an
effective threat on the counter on the Croatian right-
flank.
Miralem Pjanic (Bosnia & Herzegovina) - 8.20
rating
It might not have panned out the way Bosnia &
Herzegovina hoped in their debut World Cup finals,
exiting at the group stages, but they certainly gave it
a good go, with playmaker Pjanic at the centre of
things.
No player created more chances for team-mates in
the group stages than the Roma midfielder (12), with
the 24-year-old perhaps warranting more than his
one assist.
He also scored in the dead rubber with Iran and
completed an impressive 13 successful dribbles in
the middle of the park.
Keisuke Honda (Japan) - 7.48 rating
Japan may well have a number of creative talents
within their side but they still look to their poster boy
Honda to pull the strings, forcing the likes of Kagawa
and Okazaki into more peripheral roles at
international level.
The 28-year-old stepped up to the plate to lead the
way for the side in terms of shots (10), key passes
(7) and dribbles (6), but it wasn't enough to see
Japan progress to the round of 16.
Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland) - 7.71 rating
He may have started the campaign relatively quietly
but versatile Bayern Munich attacker Shaqiri came to
life in Switzerland's final group game, netting a hat-
trick - one of only two in the tournament so far -
against an admittedly weak Honduras outfit.
He again looked the biggest attacking threat in
defeat to Argentina but was unable to prevent the
narrow, extra-time defeat, though only Lionel Messi
has created more chances in the tournament to date
(17).
Alexis Sanchez (Chile) - 8.17 rating
The star of the show for a Chile side that again won
over the neutrals at this World Cup having been such
a breath of fresh air in South Africa four years ago,
Sanchez's campaign ended in the heartache of a
penalty miss.
It was a cruel outcome for a player that had shone so
brightly throughout the tournament, netting twice
and picking up an assist as the South Americans fell
short of a quarter-final berth.
Only the Argentine pairing of Messi and Di Maria
have completed more dribbles than the Barca-man
(22), and it's no coincidence that no player was
fouled more times than the apparent Liverpool target
(24).
Enner Valencia (Ecuador) - 7.50 rating
If there was an award for the 'Best Newcomer' at a
World Cup then Valencia's name would certainly
have been in the hat this time around, with the
Ecuador forward a relative unknown prior to the
tournament.
He scored three times from just eight shots in an
eventually unfruitful group phase for the South
Americans, as well as completing seven dribbles to
attract admiring glances from a number of clubs
across Europe. Source: www.teamtalk.com

Big ups to Kenneth,shows all hope aren't lost$shaqiri's Hat trick is d First all Left foot hat trick in WC history$d 50th

Deserves it!!