Lionel Messi - Great Expectations

The Barcelona star and one of the best players in the world needs no introduction. Only 26 and already the recipient of the prestigious Ballon d'Or for three consecutive years, the Argentinian has a plethora of honours and accolades to his name. 

Captaining the Argentinian team and having scored a beautiful goal in their World Cup opener against Bosnia, Messi has a lot riding upon him. He's shown to display a very unique control over the ball, making it hard for the opposition to steal it from him. He misses chances to score more because of the opposing goalkeeper's skills rather than the capacity to get the ball past the defenders. 

Messi shows a dramatic boost in confidence once he manages to score a goal. He seemed rather lacklustre in the game against Bosnia till he scored a phenomenal goal, after which he was unstoppable. He seems to be very intrinsically motivated and pushes himself to give his all in every game. 

His position is generally that of a forward or winger. He's able enough to be able to draw back in the pitch, allowing himself to be surrounded by wingers or going even further back to reinforce defence. He literally plays on the pitch as he fights for dominance over the ball, and his game is usually a delight to watch. 

Being a world top player also means that his every move is weighed down by expectations from his team, managers and fans. There's immense pressure upon the player, who decidedly has a better national team than his counterpart Cristiano Ronaldo. It would be amazing to watch Messi command more of the action on the pitch and play with his usual flair, inspiring his team to win by a great lead against Iran.