Federico Valverde
If you picture the kind of teammate every team desperately wants — the guy who sprints back to defend, then somehow shows up at the other end to score a crucial goal — that's basically Federico Valverde in a nutshell. He's the engine of both Real Madrid (one of the most famous clubs on the planet) and Uruguay's national team, a midfielder who covers so much ground and plays with so much intensity that coaches basically build their game plans around him. At the 2026 World Cup, he's the main reason Uruguay could genuinely make a deep run, because he has the rare ability to completely flip a game on his own when things get tight. When you're watching Uruguay play, keep an eye on the guy who never seems to stop running — if a long-range rocket of a shot goes in or a last-ditch sliding tackle saves the day, there's a good chance it's him.