The most functional unit often wins the World Cup, but moments of individual brilliance tend to last longest in the memory.Whether it’s in the final or in the group stages, players can go from relative nobodies to global celebrities with a swing of a boot or an outstretched hand. In some cases, all it takes is a video of a sideline warm-up to become a national celebrity — more on that later. The World Cup provides an unrivalled opportunity to become a star or cement a legacy with the world watching, and the last edition was no different.Sometimes, those stars have their 15 minutes of fame. For others, they carry on in an upward trajectory…Azzedine OunahiWithin a year, Ounahi went from playing in the third tier of French football to starting in a World Cup semi-final, and many expected that to be the first major step on his way to becoming a star.Ounahi was excellent in 2022 as Morocco shocked the world, reaching the last four, beating Spain and Portugal along the way. Ounahi, who was then 22, played 120 minutes before being substituted for the penalty shootout win over Spain. He then bossed the midfield in the 1-0 quarter-final win over Portugal.After the semi-final defeat by France, Ounahi was considered one of the hottest breakout stars of the World Cup and was reportedly courted by major European clubs. In fact, Luis Enrique — who recently became a three-time Champions League-winning coach with Paris Saint-Germain but, at the time, managed Spain — said Ounahi was the player who surprised him most at the tournament… after initially forgetting his name.Unfortunately, now aged 26, Ounahi did not quite fulfil his promise. He signed for Marseille in January 2023, a month after the World Cup final, but featured just 28 times in the league and was sent on loan to Greek side Panathinaikos after an underwhelming 18-month spell. He left permanently to join Girona at the beginning of last season, but suffered relegation from La Liga on the final day of the season. He has been included in Morocco’s squad again, so he will be hoping for another strong tournament to revive his career.Azzedine Ounahi was relegated last season (David Ramos/Getty Images)Sofyan AmrabatPlaying slightly deeper than Ounahi in that Morocco midfield was Sofyan Amrabat, whose tough-tackling style allowed his team-mates to shine and attracted the attention of top clubs around Europe.Amrabat entered the 2022 tournament as a fairly unknown quantity to spectators unfamiliar with Italy’s Serie A, where he had been playing for Fiorentina for two years, but he made a great impression in their run through the knockout rounds, helping marshal Spain and Portugal’s world-class attacking talent. Like Ounahi, Amrabat was linked with moves away from Florence in the upcoming January window, but stayed put until the summer, when he secured a season-long loan to Manchester United, one of the world’s biggest clubs.Again, similarly to his international team-mate, he has not made much of a splash since. He struggled to make much of an impression in Manchester, and United declined to exercise their buy option. He did, however, become the first Moroccan player to win the FA Cup, the world’s oldest domestic cup competition, and started the final as they beat local rivals Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.He spent last season on loan at Spanish club Real Betis from Fenerbahce, who are based in Istanbul, Turkey, and was again named in Morocco’s World Cup squad.Salem Al DawsariSalem Al Dawsari will forever be remembered for his brilliant curling effort against Argentina, as Saudi Arabia pulled off arguably the greatest modern World Cup upset, beating the eventual champions 2-1 in the opening game.Al Dawsari was already a national footballing icon. Born in Jeddah, Al Dawsari developed through Al Hilal’s academy, long before the club were acquired by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, and has played for the club for almost the entirety of his career — save for a short loan spell at Villarreal in 2018, during which he made one appearance. At international level, he had already secured hero status before his Qatar moment after scoring the winning goal in Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win over Egypt in 2018, their first victory at a World Cup.