Heading home, but this great eight still left a mark on the World Cup

STANDOUT PERFORMER: Ghana's Mohammed Kudus celebrates after he scored his side's second goal during the World Cup group H soccer match against South Korea. Pic: AP Photo/Lee Jin-man

Half of the competing teams at the World Cup went home after the group stages. And while collectively their performances weren’t good enough, there were a number of standout individual performances from players representing countries who fell at the first hurdle.

Tunisia finished third in Group D behind Australia and France. Despite this, midfielder Aissa Laidouni put in three superb performances. He set the tone early on in the first game against Denmark when he put in a feisty tackle on Christian Eriksen. It highlighted the 25-year-old’s physical side.