When the World Cup comes around, the pressure is unlike anything else in football. It hits everyone — national teams, referees, coaching staff — but no one feels it more than the players. Pulling on a national jersey at a World Cup carries a weight that club football simply doesn’t match, and for certain players, expectations from fans and entire nations can be suffocating.

Here are four players who will be carrying that load in this tournament

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo, arguably the greatest player of his generation, arrives at what is widely expected to be his last World Cup still gunning for the one thing that would complete the picture. He has not scored a goal in the knockout stages of the tournament. That stat haunts him, for a man of his records and reputation, and Portugal knows this is their best, and maybe last, shot at glory with him. There is no room to fall short.

2. Kylian Mbappé

Two World Cup finals in two appearances. Winner’s medals: 1. Hat-trick in a final game. Mbappé has nothing to prove on paper, but football’s not on paper. There are some fair and some unfair questions about whether 2018 was a team effort that flattered him and whether he can carry France the way Zidane once did. Two seasons without trophies at Real Madrid haven’t helped. He is the undisputed leader of this French side now and sets the standard. The challenge is to match it.

3. Harry Kane

Kane has rewritten the club record books. Across the world, the picture is very different. England has not won a major trophy in more than 60 years, and Kane, as captain, is tipped to be the man to finally end that drought. He has the squad around him, Bellingham, Saka, and the others, who can win games on their own, but leadership in a tournament is a different beast. A Ballon d’Or contender without a piece of cutlery for his country is a tricky legacy to leave behind.

4. Neymar Jr.

Neymar carries expectations that few players ever face when he is not 100 per cent fit. Brazil is always the most talked-about team in any World Cup, but they have not delivered under Neymar. Questions on his influence on the squad, his fitness, and whether this is still his team to lead have followed him into the tournament. He will have to answer them on the pitch.

They are the top players of their generation. Whether they rise to the challenge or buckle under the pressure – that’s why the World Cup is the greatest stage in football.