Vitinha was threatening the top 10 during the last set of B/R Ballon d'Or rankings, but the Portuguese has fully joined the conversation after the Club World Cup. To get an idea of the 25-year-old's influence on the French champions, consider the 771 passes he made during the tournament with an accuracy of 94 percent, per FIFA.

The tournament delivered spectacle and a clear warning: hosting the world's biggest sporting event next summer will take more than world-class stadiums.