The 2022 World Cup was the perfect stage for some players to shine, but also others struggled more than expected. Serie A will be back on Jan. 4, almost two months after the break, and there are some key players that aim to show that their performances in Qatar were signs of what’s to come and others that need to respond after a disappointing tournament. Let’s take a look in particular at five players to watch in the coming weeks.
Lautaro Martinez, Inter Milan
Argentinian World Champion Lautaro Martinez had a particularly quiet and poor tournament. He was a starter in the first couple of matches but then lost his place to Manchester City’s striker Julian Alvarez. Despite the disappointment, Martinez scored the deciding penalty in the quarterfinal match against Netherlands and was a key player also in the final when he came on in the extra time. In the first part of the Serie A season, he scored seven goals in 15 games and more importantly a crucial goal against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou that helped Inter Milan to reach the round of 16 where they will play against Porto next month. There are now a lot of expectations around him, especially after winning the World Cup with Argentina and helping set up Lionel Messi’s extra time goal.
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Rafael Leao, AC Milan
Despite the disappointment of being eliminated with Portugal in the quarterfinals against Morocco, Rafael Leao had a quite positive World Cup. He didn’t play much and was always subbed in for all the five games Portugal played, but he scored two goals and showed on the pitch that he will definitely be a key player in the coming years for…
