Carlos Tevez, Xavi and Arjen Robben are among eight greats who want to rule the world

In terms of excitement, drama and tension, the last eight of a World Cup is where the tournament really starts. The weak and the feeble — in other words, England — have gone home and the real heavyweights remain. 

Starting tomorrow, battle will commence in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg as eight nations seek to take their place in next week’s semi-finals. 

It’s a tantalising prospect for the neutral, made more so on this occasion by the fact that some of the world’s best attacking players are still here and bang on top of their game. 

Sportsmail’s Ian Ladyman has seen all eight remaining teams play over the last two-and-a-half weeks and here he looks at the men who can win their country the World Cup...

XAVI HERNANDEZ (SPAIN)

Games: 4. Minutes played: 335. Goals: 0. Stat attack: None of Spain’s central midfielders have had an assist yet. 

Somebody once wrote that catching Xavi is like trying to trap a ghost. If players like Lionel Messi, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo are regularly cited as the best players on the planet, then this guy is not far behind. 

He has comprehensively outshone the three of them here. The cog around which Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team turns, Xavi pretty much plays the same role for Spain. 

Perhaps that’s not surprising given that he has four or five of his Barca teammates
alongside him here.

Everything Spain do in the opposition’s half goes through him. His vision is stunning and, along with club-mate Andres Iniesta, he is the conductor of this orchestra.

The 30-year-old may not get the chance to play in another World Cup but that doesn’t
seem to matter. ‘Xavi,’ said Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque, ‘he plays every game as if it’s his last.’ Quite.

ARJEN ROBBEN (HOLLAND) 

Games: 2. Minutes played: 88. Goals: 1. Stat attack: Holland have won 11 of the 12 matches in which Robben has scored, drawing with Germany in the other. 

The man who took Bayern Munich to the Champions League final almost single-handedly came late to this tournament as he was once again struck down by injury.

Since his arrival as a substitute in Holland’s final group game against Cameroon, however, he has made a sublime and memorable impact. The amazing thing about the former Chelsea winger is that he seems to have one stock party trick... and nobody seems to be able to stop it. Receiving the ball wide — on either flank — he will cut inside on a diagonal course and strike vicious shots with his left foot. 

He did it against Cameroon to set up Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s winner, then did it again to score himself in the last 16 game against Denmark. 

He’s a temperamental player, yet everything he does is turning to gold at the moment — and that’s a precious knack to have during a World Cup.

(ARGENTINA)

Games: 3. Minutes played: 234. Goals: 2. Stat attack: Has scored twice from his three shots on target.

Those who have worked with Tevez know that he needs time on the field to find his true form. Hence a quiet opening for ‘Carlitos’ as Argentina eased through their group. Now, though, he is very much in the tournament, announcing his arrival with a two-goal burst against Mexico. 

When he is firing, Tevez is like a whirlwind. His first goal may have been offside but it still showed a poacher’s instinct, while his second, struck from 25 yards, was one of the goals of the tournament. 

Utterly selfless, Tevez will not mind if fellow forwards Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain are indulged by coach Diego Maradona. Do not expect him to miss many more minutes of his tournament. Do expect him to score more goals.

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