The stats that prove Jesse Lingard is England’s real star of the World Cup

That’s Jesse Lingard.

Jesse Lingard’s World Cup may have appeared underwhelming to observers, but the statistics show that in fact he has been one of the tournaments’ star performers.

He may not have scored many – his second ever international game came in the easy 6-1 win over Panama – he set up fellow midfielder Dele Alli for a goal. He has also completed double the number of dribbles compared to anyone else, and only 6.5% of his passes have found an opposition player.

He ran 15.4km, just under 10 miles, in the attritional first round knockout game against Colombia, where England ran out as winners on penalties, and ran the most distance for England against Tunisia in the group stages and the quarter-final against Sweden.

His teammates at England and Manchester United alike praise Lingard for his hard work and tireless running, and he has been rumoured to be on the cusp on signing a new, £125,000-a-week deal, just a year after signing one worth £100,000 a week.

Lingard won his first international cap in October 2016, after Gareth Southgate replaced Sam Allardyce. He became a preferred starter when England moved to three central defenders, finding room for him on the right-hand side of midfield, though he has swapped positions with Raheem Sterling and Dele Alli at times in Russia.

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The 25-year-old United midfielder is expected to retain his place against Croatia on Wednesday, as England try to reach their first World Cup final since 1966.