The numbers behind Harry Souttar’s excellent World Cup for Australia | OneFootball

Centre-back Harry Souttar has been excellent for Australia in their march towards the Round of 16 of the World Cup so far. His showings at the back have been vital, as the Socceroos have progressed past the group stages of the competition for the first time since 2006.

His performances have been so imperious so far that many have forgotten that the defender recovered from an ACL injury only recently and he played only one Championship game for Stoke City after his recovery.

As per FBRef, he is the third-best in the World Cup for the highest number of blocks made (7). More than that, only Kamil Glik and Kalidou Koulibaly have made more clearances in the tournament than the Australian and this shows how great a back-to-the-walls job Souttar has done.

His trademark actions have come quite deep in the box and that perhaps has helped him, considering the fact that he returned from injury recently. He has had to cover a less amount of ground than he would have, if he played higher up on the pitch. But regardless, Australia may not have come this far without the Stoke City man.