WORLD CUP ROSSONERI: KEISUKE HONDA

A star of the 2010s with the number 10 on his back: Keisuke Honda is the first and only player in Japanese history to have scored in three consecutive World Cups. These all took place in a decade where he was a leading international figure, becoming AC Milan's first Japanese player, for example.

Honda enjoyed a highly successful career with the Japanese national team, scoring 37 goals (fourth all-time leading goalscorer) in 98 appearances (ninth in the all-time ranking) and winning the 2011 Asian Cup. For Honda, the 2010 World Cup was the first major international event of his career and came after he'd made his mark in Europe with VVV-Venlo and CSKA Moscow.

In South Africa, Japanese Head Coach Okada decided to field Honda in a false nine role, at a time when it wasn't as popular as it is today and in an area of the pitch where Morimoto, a youngster on the books of Catania, and Okazaki, who later became a Premier League champion with Leicester, were hoping to start. Keisuke only needed 39 minutes to repay his coach's faith, scoring the decisive goal in a historic 1-0 success over Cameroon.

It was historic because, on that afternoon in Bloemfontein, Japan recorded their first World Cup victory on foreign soil. Previously, their only wins had come when they hosted the competition in 2002. The three points propelled the Japanese to the round of 16, which they qualified for thanks to their subsequent 3-1 win over Denmark, with Honda finding the net once again. However, Japan's dream came to an end immediately after the group stage as Paraguay knocked them out following a penalty shootout that Honda scored in.

Six months after signing for AC Milan, where he was initially coached by Allegri and then Seedorf, Keisuke took part in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. However, even if he bagged against the Ivory Coast, things didn't go well for Japan, who didn't progress from their group after losing against the Ivorians and Colombia (a heavy 4-1 defeat) and drawing 0-0 with Greece.

By the time the 2018 World Cup in Russia came along, Keisuke was no longer a Rossonero (he scored eleven goals in 92 appearances for AC Milan) and, aged 32, knew it was probably going to be his final chance to impress in the competition. In scoring in Japan's 2-2 draw with Senegal, Honda became the highest-ever Japanese goalscorer in World Cup history. Honda helped his country progress to the round of 16, at which point, however, they lost to Belgium, who came from two behind to win 3-2 in one of the most spectacular matches of that edition of the tournament.

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