Sakho riding high in World Cup ranking
Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho has been ranked in the top 10 players at the World Cup by a statistical index after the group stage fixtures in Brazil.
The 24-year-old centre-back started each of France's three Group E matches as Didier Deschamps' charges sealed top spot with two victories and a draw.
Next up for Sakho and Les Bleus, who last won the tournament on home soil in 1998, is a last-16 encounter against Nigeria, to be played in Brasilia on Monday evening.
Ahead of that match, the Reds' No.17 was positioned 10th of all the players at the tournament by a dedicated analysis system in use by FIFA at the competition.
The index measures the positive or negative impact of every pass, tackle and move during a game to produce an overall score for each individual out of 10.
Sakho's result after three run-outs to date is an impressive 9.47, the fourth-highest of any defender competing in South America, and immediately above one Lionel Messi.