Stats: The top 5 players at the World Cup
James Cox
France and Argentina will face off in the World Cup final on Sunday as the Qatar tournament comes to an end, so who have the best performers been?
According to stats from Sofascore, the top 10 is as follows (including the rating for each player):
- Lionel Messi (8.12)
- Antoine Griezmann (7.80)
- Kylian Mbappe (7.45)
- Dominik Livakovic (7.45)
- Cody Gakpo (7.42)
- Theo Hernandez (7.40)
- Daley Blind (7.38)
- Harry Maguire (7.34)
- Jude Bellingham (7.34)
- Olivier Giroud (7.32)
Here, we take a closer look at the top five.
Lionel Messi
It will come as a surprise to nobody that Lionel Messi has emerged as the top player at the World Cup so far, according to Sofascore statistics.
The likes of Antoine Griezmann and Bruno Fernandes have led at different stages of the tournament, but Messi's inspired performances have catapulted him to the top of the list.
He has five goals and three assists in his six games so far. On five, he is joint top scorer with Kylian Mbappe so the straight shootout for the Golden Boot will add another interesting element to Sunday's mouthwatering final.
Messi has registered 4.5 shots, and three key passes per game. He has also created six big chances, with all the stats contributing to his 8.12 average rating.
Antoine Griezmann
Griezmann has been crucial for reigning champions France.
While his workrate often goes under the radar compared to stars Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud, he has been their best player statistically with an average rating of 7.80.
He has yet to score but has chipped in with three assists and created a hugely impressive seven big chances.
Griezmann has also averaged 3.5 key passes per game.
Kylian Mbappe
Kylian is the joint top scorer with Lionel Messi on five goals.
He also has two assists to his name while he has averaged 4.2 shots and 1.8 key passes per game.
Mbappe will be crucial as France look to retain the trophy.
Dominik Livakovic
Livakovic was solid for Croatia in their run to the semi-finals.
While he conceded six goals, three of them came in the semi-final loss against Argentina.
He averaged four saves per game and 80 per cent save rate. Livakovic also saved four penalties.
He will be hoping for another clean sheet in the third place playoff clash against Morocco on Saturday.
Cody Gakpo
Gakpo was one of the stars for Louis van Gaal's side in their run to the quarter-finals.
Gakpo, a January transfer target for Manchester United, scored three goals in five games.
He also averaged two key passes per game.
