Heading into the final match of the group stage, there are arguably none under more pressure to perform than these four players.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Like a vintage music collector, the Portuguese star seems to find records whenever he straps on a football boot. What he hasn’t been able to do yet is find goals and his expectant nation needs him now more than ever. With 20 shots in Portugal’s two matches – more attempts than nine other whole teams - Ronaldo cannot be accused of not trying, it’s just that a combination of excellent goal-keeping, bad positioning and this:

...have kept him from making an impact where it counts the most for a go-to goal-scorer: on the scoreboard. For their part, the rest of the Portugal players are creating chances, but they really need Ronaldo to start finishing them. It might help if he’s deployed in a wider position on the left.

Paul Pogba

There’s a warm glow illuminating Dimitri Payet and Paul Pogba could well be the man holding the soft lamp behind his team-mate. If it wasn’t for Payet’s masterful displays in both of France’s late, late wins, it would be a much harsher light bearing down on the Juventus man. Before UEFA EURO 2016, Pogba claimed he wanted to be remembered as a legend in 30 years' time – up there with Maradona and Pele – but I’m struggling to remember anything he’s done on the pitch this tournament.

In fact Didier Deschamps’s decision to bench him for the start of the Albania match was the most pronounced statement of all. Pogba’s performances haven’t been bad, just largely ineffectual. The man will probably seal a move away from Juventus to one of the other glamour clubs during the summer, but a statement performance in the match against Switzerland would certainly help his cause. If not, Payet might be the one they all start clamouring for.

David Alaba

At what point do we decide the central midfield experiment hasn’t worked for the Austria star? For me it took about 10 minutes of the Portugal game. Alaba was harried, hurried, bustled off the ball and eventually subbed. This is the same Alaba who earned the moniker ‘God’ from a pretty decent judge of talent: Pep Guardiola. Deployed in an advanced play-making position, the left-sided defender has looked anything but divine against Portugal.

What he can do is play in his normal position and off his team a creative attacking outlet on the left flank – something sorely lacking against Portugal, or in a deeper-laying midfield role, where he can launch attacks with his accurate passing, and break them up with the defensive qualities he’s paid the Bayern bucks for. With Austria needing to beat the resilient Iceland to have a hope of getting out of the group, it may be the best way for Alaba, and his manager, to save face.

Zlatan Ibrahomivic

Note to potential Ibra suitors, this is what you get when the service is lacking. It’s worth a look at Alvaro Morata at this point. The Spaniard produced a very ‘Ibra-esque’ performance against Turkey: he was difficult to get the ball off, kept a high attacking line, and scored two goals: one a header and the other a tap-in to finish off one of the best team goals of the tournament. The key difference between both players was the support cast. Morata was Spain's focal point up the pitch, but was also a beneficiary of a constant stream of good delivery.

Ibra, on the other hand, has been forced to retreat to find the ball, dragging his team out of shape as a consequence of insufficient delivery from the midfield.

All four of these players were involved in UEFA Champions League campaigns that went deep into that competition, and whether you’re an advocate of the ‘fatigue’ argument, there is no doubting each of them has struggled to live up to the lofty hype bestowed on them before the tournament began.

For three of them, 90 minutes is all that may separate them from another inglorious exit. For Pogba, he’ll be desperate to wrest a portion of the responsibility back from Payet and begin earning that legendary reputation he craves.