Player profile: Jakub Kiwior

(Image: j.kiwior Instagram )

The World Cup is the best place for players to breakout. It is the biggest stage in world football and it's a great place for up and coming players to announce themselves to the world. Poland's Jakub Kiwior could be one such player.

Playing style: Kiwior is a centre back who plays for Spezia Calcio in Serie A. He is left footed and plays on the left side of a back 3 for both club and country. The 22 year old, like most new age defenders is really comfortable on the ball. He is capable of breaking lines from the back with his ball-carrying. In fact this trait of his has seen him being deployed in midfield as well. Defensively also he is very solid and doesn't hesitate to put his body on the line.

National team record: Most Polish fans (atleast on twitter) seem to agree that Kiwior is their best defender, going into the World Cup. He has only played 4 tpp0imes for the national team, but the games have come against difficult opposition in Netherlands, Belgium and Wales. In an otherwise average backline, Kiwior looks like a bright ray of hope for Poland.

Club form: As previously mentioned, Kiwior turns out for Spezia in Italy. Although the club aren't doing very well, the same can't be said for the player. Kiwior is in the top 10 percentile among centre backs across Europe for shots blocked, clearances, passes blocked and interceptions, when it comes to per game stats, over the last 365 days.

A good World Cup could put Kiwior right on top of the scouting lists of big clubs, heading into the January window. He will undoubtedly be one of the players to watch out for in Qatar.