Ones to watch: Achraf Hakimi - Morocco
Age: 19Club: Real MadridCaps: 10
Making the breakthrough at Real Madrid is no easy feat, but Achraf Hakimi took the first strides to doing exactly that this season with some exciting displays when opportunity knocked.
An injury to Dani Carvajal during the 2017/18 season brought an opening, one which Hakimi seized to make regular appearances at right-back.
Fleet-footed, aggressive in getting forward and capable of taking on defenders before crossing or passing into the box, Hakimi is an outlet on the counter and adds technique in the final third.
Still a teenager, the Madrid-born defender opted to represent Morocco even at youth level, before making his senior debut in 2016.
This term for Real Madrid he played in the Champions League and Club World Cup, earning winners medals for both, as well as showing his attacking prowess by netting twice in his limited game time in LaLiga.
Hakimi has quickly become a regular starter for Morocco, playing on either side of defence; in Russia it might well be that he starts on the left side rather than right but he's a potent threat going forward on either flank, and continues to learn defensively.