It only comes along every four years but the World Cup is still the biggest advertising space for young players trying to catch the eyes of the world.
2014 was no different with many young players making their marks in Brazil and the final image of the tournament was 22-year-old Mario Gotze having the honour of winning the World Cup for Germany.
I looked at eight players prior to the World Cup and here's how they fared...
James Rodriguez (10/10) was a big favourite on Team 33 before the tournament but none of us could have imagined that Ham-ez would go on to take the tournament by storm for Colombia and win the Golden Boot with six goals.
Plus we have to remember that he notched all those goals in five games with a wide variety of finishes from that volley against Greece to the team goal in the same game.
Antoine Griezmann (8/10) also had a great tournament for France, whether it was coming off the bench or from the start. Prior to the tournament, I spoke to French football expert Matt Spiro who was cautious about Griezmann's prospects of playing time. But that was before Franck Ribery suffered an injury. Les Bleus often looked more vibrant up front when the Real Sociedad winger was stationed on the left of their front three. He created seven chances during the tournament, the third most for France and also played a central role in the second goal against Nigeria. But his greatest achievement was the fact that Ribery was barely missed.
Serge Aurier (7/10) was a target for Arsenal before Mathieu Debuchy stole his thunder. But the Toulouse right back still had a fine tournament for Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba was credited with turning the game when Ivory Coast beat Japan 2 - 1. But both goals for the Elephants were created by the tenacious wing back who delivered two pinpoint crosses. Going forward he succeeded with three-quarters of his dribbles. Defensively he also won 78 per cent of his tackles during the tournament.
William Carvalho (6/10) had been expected to play more of a central role for Portugal this summer and was likened to Sergio Busquets by Team 33's Portugal contributor Vasco Mota Pereira. However, the Sporting Lisbon youngster found his playing time limited in a poor Portugal side, starting once and being a second half substitute in the draw against the USA. He was tidy enough in his work, with a pass accuracy of 90 per cent and also made five interceptions.
Similarly to Carvalho, Mateo Kovacic of Croatia, Mexico's Alan Pulido, Netherlands' Jordy Clasie and Ghana striker Abdul Majeed Waris did not have breakout tournaments.
Waris' buildup to the tournament was hampered by an injury and the Spartak Moscow forward did not make his first appearance until the final group stage defeat to Portugal.
Croatia's tournament ended in disappointment and although Kovacic started the opening day loss to Brazil, he found less playing time in the final two group matches, playing 52 minutes in total.
Feyenoord's Clasie was one of the last outfield players to make an appearance for Holland, setting foot on the pitch for the first time in the second half of the semi-final against Argentina. He did start the third/fourth place playoff against Brazil.
Pulido failed to play a singled minute for a Mexican side which made a run to the last-16.
All stats are courtesy of statistics website Squawka. Learn more about Squawka and the free app by clicking here.
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