31.   FC Brugge also have a doubt over their midfield player, Gert Verheyen, and will be without the suspended defender, Alex Querter.

32.   In a country that produces talented soccer players with the same regularity as it grows tulips, Davids stands out as an unusually gifted midfield player.

33.   But without Totti as the link between the midfielders and strikers, Italy needs a versatile midfield player who can work in the attack, too.

34.   Germany will be missing its two most creative midfield players.

35.   Laudrup, another creative midfield player, also became a superstar despite coming from a country that rarely hits the international heights.

36.   In Youssuf Al-Thunayan, Khalid Al-Muwalid and Khalid Al Timavi, Vingada has three midfield players who are capable of turning a match.

37.   Desailly said he considers himself a midfield player now but was ready to revert to defence for the good of the country.

38.   With the big name players competing in the British Open this week, this tournament is a golden opportunity for midfield players like Peoples.

39.   Villa have two other midfield players undergoing treatment in Mark Draper, Ian Taylor, while striker Tommy Johnson is also injured.

40.   Midfield players, fulfilling a different role in the team, perform best after four days of abstinence, and defenders and goalkeepers only three days.