FIFA World Cup 2022: Gone with the grind!

Eden Hazard 31 BelgiumA flop show by Belgiumrsquos Golden Generation led by skipper Eden Hazard saw them exit in the first round itself Considered to be one of the best attacking midfielders or wingers in the business Hazard was a pale shadow of his otherwise skillful self as Belgium who lost to France in the semis and then beat England in the thirdplace match at the 2018 edition managed just one win in three matches here and that too against Canada Hazard has aptly rightly announced his retirement from international footballSergio Busquets 34 SpainSpains central midfielder had put in a nearflawless performance at the back as his tiki takaloving team qualified for the knockouts with the highest per game average of passes completed 854 compared to the average of 817 per game of other teams However it all ended when he stepped up to take his teamrsquos third penalty in the shootout against Morocco during their Roundof16 match on Tuesday night Busquetsrsquos attempt was saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou who even palmed away Spain in the bargainLuis Suarez 35 UruguayFor an aggressive striker Luis Suarez had a rather anticlimax end to his World Cup journey finishing in tears when Uruguay failed to qualify for the knockouts after South Korea stunned Group H toppers Portugal in their last group match to finish second Suarez had a quiet first two matches as Uruguay drew 00 v Korea before losing 02 to Portugal However in the third match v Ghana he returned to his original avatar sprinting for every ball and even pushing and shoving en route Uruguay won 20 but their exit means Suarez canrsquot add to his tally of seven World Cup goalsManuel Neuer 36 GermanyConsidered to be the safest pair of hands in the business and voted the best goalkeeper of the decade from 2011 to 2020 Germanyrsquos skipper and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer couldnrsquot save his team from a second successive group stage exit at the World Cup Having conceded just once and twice in the group stages at the 2010 and 2014 editions respectively Neuer let in four goals in 2018 and was beaten five times in Qatar suggesting that age could be a factor in his drop in formAlso ReadWe arent going to change says Spain coach Luis EnriqueEnner Valencia 33 EcuadorOne of the heroes of this World Cup striker Enner Valencia scored thrice in three matches as Ecuador beat hosts Qatar 20 and held The Netherlands 11 before losing 12 to Senegal and failing to make the knockouts Having scored three goals in the 2014 edition Ecuador did not qualify for the 2018 tournament Valencia made history by scoring his teamrsquos sixth consecutive World Cup goal in this competition also becoming his countryrsquos highest scorer at World CupsThomas Mueller 33 GermanyKnown for his consistent goalpoaching ability that saw him score as many as 10 World Cup goals Thomas Mueller drew a blank at this edition A poor start was the main reason for Germanyrsquos early exit as they were shocked firstup 12 Japan before holding Spain 11 and beating Costa Rica 42 Mueller however couldnrsquot do much other than chase balls and frequently raise his hands in appeal or show his displeasure to the refereersquos decisions