After 64 matches in just over 30 days, the 2018 FIFA World Cup has come to an end. Today we are going to look at some of the players that made headlines at this tournament. Some of these are big names that could be attending their last World Cup because of their age, while on the other side, young stars are rising and finding the spotlight. Let's take a look at the already established names.

Andres Iniesta, the former Barcelona player and Spain's renowned midfielder who led them to victory in 2010, aided the team in their undefeated run through in the group stage.

The 34 year-old came off the bench in the 67th minute in their last match against hosts Russia in the round of 16, which the Spaniards lost in a penalty shoot-out. After that, Iniesta announced his retirement from the national team. He will continue his football career playing for the Japanese club Vissel Kobe.

Iniesta's former teammate at Barcelona is Lionel Messi, the man that salvaged the Argentina team in the qualifying stage, and again saved the Albiceleste in their deciding final group match against Nigeria, by scoring the opening goal in an eventual 2–1 victory that saw them progress to the next round.

The 31-year-old became only the third Argentine after Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta to score in three World Cups. In the round of 16, the Barcelona forward's two assists set up Gabriel Mercado's and Sergio Agüero's goals in a 4–3 defeat to France. The 2014 runner up again failed to fulfill his World Cup dream.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the oldest player ever to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match by helping Portugal secure a 3–3 draw against Spain in their group stage opener. The 33-year-old then scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory against Morocco in the Selecao's second game.

In the final group match against Iran, the former Real Madrid forward missed a penalty in an eventual 1–1 draw which saw Portugal progress to the second round as group runners-up behind Spain. But his team were eliminated following a 2–1 defeat to Uruguay in the last 16. After that, Ronaldo signed a four-year, €100 million transfer contract with Italian club Juventus - the highest ever for a player over 30 years old.

Luka Modric, considered the best player in the tournament by FIFA themselves, helped Croatia advance to the final of the World Cup for the first time by winning three crucial games in extra time. He was named Man of the Match three times, the first included scoring against Nigeria as part of a 2-0 win, and for the second and second consecutive time, he scored with a long-range shot in their 3-0 win against Argentina. His third MOTM came  in the quarter-final win over hosts Russia, the 32-year-old provided an assist and scored in the penalty shoot-out that came after the regulation time and extra time ended 2-2.

It was reported before the final match that Modric ran the most miles out of any player. Although Croatia was beaten 4–2 by France in the final, Modric was awarded the Golden Ball.

Now let's turn to the shining young stars that took center stage at this World Cup. At 19-years-old, Kylian Mbappe was one of the youngest players in Russia, but this World Cup debutante has was crucial in helping his team win their second title.

He scored his first goal in France's 1–0 win over Peru, which made him the youngest French goalscorer in World Cup history at age 19. But he can do so much more than that, as he was named Man of the Match in the 4–3 win over Argentina, scoring twice and suffering a foul in the box which resulted in Antoine Griezmann opening the score from a penalty kick. And he did not stop there, in the World Cup final against Croatia, the young star scored with a 25 yard strike, France's final goal of the tournament. He won the Best Young Player Award.

In comparison, his compatriot at Paris Saint-Germain, the world's most expensive player Neymar had a rather controversial World Cup. Despite helping Brazil progress into the quarter-finals with one goal and one assist in a 2–0 win over Mexico in the last 16, the 26 year-old has received criticism for his style of play.

His journey ended with a 2–1 defeat against Belgium in the quarter-finals, in which he was denied an injury time equalizer by a finger-tip save from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Finally a player from the host country: Aleksandr Golovin. The 22-year-old helped Russia progress into the quarterfinals for the first time. The CSKA Moscow midfielder played a crucial role in Russia's 5–0 victory over Saudi Arabia, making two assists and scoring the final goal in the opening match of the tournament.

As his current contract runs to the end of the 2020-21 season, Golovin has already received offers from Monaco, Juventus and has also reportedly been targeted by Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri.