Former City stars impress during World Cup matchweek one

The first round of fixtures was completed on Tuesday and the World Cup in Russia has sprung a few surprises.

Mexico completed the shock against the world champions, Germany, with Japan, Iceland and Switzerland frustrating their South American opponents.

There are a number of familiar faces for Manchester City fans to recognise in Russia, with the club leading the way with 16 players featuring in the qualified nations. 

In addition to the current crop, avid City supporters would have seen a few stars that have donned the sky blue colours at the Etihad Stadium in previous years.

The player that stood out for many was former favourite Aleksandar Kolarov as he brought memories back for fans as his winning free-kick was enough to win all three points for Serbia against Costa Rica.

The 32-year-old, who had won two Premier League trophies with City, gained a reputation for scoring a wonder goal and the leading candidate to strike a direct free-kick during his time.

An important win for Serbia, especially as group favourites Brazil, drew with Switzerland in their opener.

Another full-back who impressed with his set pieces during England’s victory against Tunisia was Kieran Trippier. He created six chances for England down the right flank and from set-piece situations, more than any player so far.

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The defender is more well known for his career at Burnley and now at Tottenham, however, Trippier began his career in the youth system at the Etihad but failed to make a senior appearance for City.

Dedryck Boyata was hailed by national teammates and fans for a solid display in Belgium’s 3-0 victory over Panama after he deputised for injured City captain Vincent Kompany.

There was a contrasting match for two former keepers with Kasper Schmeichel and Willy Caballero both featuring on ‘Super Saturday’.

The Danish keeper was excellent in goal as he kept out Peru’s relentless attacks while seeing a penalty from Christian Cueva rise over his bar. The Leicester City keeper was so impressive that many fans on social media nicknamed him ‘the wall’.

Many blamed Caballero for Iceland’s equaliser as he parried a weak cross/shot into the path of Alfreð Finnbogason to score Iceland’s first World Cup goal. Argentina failed to break their opponents down and Sergio Aguero’s goal was the only positive for the South American giants to take out of the game.

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Another former City player who drew criticism from their national media and fans was Jerome Boateng. Germany’s inefficient defensive performance against Mexico allowed the North American team to come away victorious and put increasing pressure on Boateng and the current World Cup champions.

A number of former players failed to feature for their nations, with Gelson Fernandes, John Guidetti, Vedran Corluka not moving off the bench while Kelechi Inhenacho was not given enough time to overturn Nigeria’s fortunes.