1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Cristiano Ronaldo had already achieved one major honour with Portugal. They are the reigning European Champions. The Portuguese forward will be searching for more records to break in Russia.
Ronaldo will be pivotal for Portugal in Russia, as his experience and capacity to lead from the front will give him the best chance of creating goal-scoring opportunities.
Equipped with a very strong right foot and an equally powerful left foot, Ronaldo will be a threat from every angle.
While the whole world expects and backs Messi and his Argentina to have a good showing in Russia, expect Santos and his pragmatic Portugal, led by Ronaldo, to stun the world again in Russia, as they did in France in 2016.