The Fifa World Cup is well on its way and we are now looking at the quarter finals. The standard of football has generally been low, but there has been huge interest thanks to the flurry of goals, unexpected results and of course, the excitement of the VAR.

Then there are players who are performing beyond expectations.

Kylian Mbappe, the young French striker has been towering above all newcomers in the scoring front. He is one of the few strikers who have been impressive in this tournament and with good reasons.

The 19 year old, who plays for also stars for Paris Saint-Germain, made his World Cup debut in Russia.

He has thrilled with his goal-scoring ability and has excited several, including yours truly, with his breathless runs with the ball. His qualities are evident as you watch him on the field. He is one of the few players in the world that can use both feet. His left foot is as strong as the right, he is very good at dribbling on the run and have taken on five to six defenders and left them on his wake.

He is good with assists too. He is physically strong so no defender could just push him over. He also tracks the opponents when his team goes on the defence. He is a complete player and France will keep on benefiting from his service in the years to come.

Luka Modric, the conductor of the Croatian orchestra, has perhaps not fully dominated the midfield in all their games. But then not too many have played as well as him in this World Cup.

The pint-sized 'giant' has entertained the world with his brilliance. He has scored a breathtaking goal. He is one of the midfielders in the World Cup who actually passes the ball forward. Most of his peers will pass sideways all through the 90 minutes. He turns into a tiger while defending. Being of small stature and height, he has a good rapport with gravity. You never see him keeling over while tackling. His team is brought together by his accurate passing.

A workaholic, Modric will run all day to defend Croatia, as he does when he plays for Real Madrid.

Then there is Paulinho. From the very first minute of their first match, I noticed that Brazil have a fabulous player in their ranks. Though he stars in the midfield, you can see Paulinho wherever the action is. His industry from the midfield is unparalleled in this tournament. He is too much of a handful for his opponents.

Artem Dzyuba came to the World Cup simply because Russia are hosting it. The team came into the World Cup by default as hosts, but few gave them any chance of making a mark. Russian fans were not expecting anything great from their team because their team never gave them any reason to hope, ahead of the World Cup. Seven losses in seven warm-up matches could not really gladden a Russian heart.

But then, under the 'Presidential decree', Vladimir Putin brought back Dzyuba into the squad. Dzyuba is probably the tallest player in this tournament and at 38 years of age, he is surely one of the oldest.

He rallied behind the players to give them self-belief and hope to the Russian fans. Through his hard work, he has solicited the support of the desperate Russian public.

The man always work his socks off. He has put his height to great use by nodding down the ball for his teammates and in scoring. He has brought hope and belief to the team and also the supporters. He bolstered that hope with his outstanding performances laced with three goals that is has already scored. He has been a champion of sorts, with Russia making it to the quarter finals.