The Players' Tribune: Dreams – A World Cup Companion

Julian Draxler tells the story of his journey from the factory towns of western Germany to stardom in the Bundesliga — and the joy he felt after winning the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite having been born in Sydney, Tomi Juric, whose family hails from Croatia, always felt like an outsider. He is nevertheless proud to be playing for Australia at this year's World Cup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Xherdan Shaqiri's life story is one of survival and courage. He grew up in Switzerland, where his family struggled to make ends meet after immigrating from Kosovo. His love of football is surpassed only by his fierce determination to succeed — by any means necessary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ivan Rakitić has endured a lot on his journey to becoming a Croatian superstar, including fleeing from the Balkan War with his family as a child in the 1990s. Rakitić grew up in Switzerland, but — at the urging of a football legend — decided to play as an international for the team from his family's homeland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At 6 years old, Romelu Lukaku watched as his mother watered down the milk before serving it to him. His family was officially broke. Over the next 10 years he would share shoes with his dad and shower with warm water poured from a cup. All the while he never forgot about the milk. For Romelu Lukaku, that experience signaled the moment he met his destiny. This is the story of how a poor kid became the leading goal scorer in Belgium National Team history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five thousand to one. Those were the odds that Las Vegas put on Leicester City winning Barclays Premier League in 2016. No phones, no tv, no internet - total blackout was Kasper Schmeichel's plan on the last day of the season when Leicester City defied all the odds and won the title. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Bernardo Silva was coming up in the Benfica youth system, he was small, underweight and not as fast as some of his teammates. But he was really gifted technical player with an undying love for football; traits that in most cases don't prove to be enough to propel a player to the world stage. Bernardo's story starts with the most amazing birthday gift and ends with Pep Guardiola. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does a country of only 350,000 make it not only to the Euro tournament, but to the World Cup? Aron Gunnarson shares his role in one of the most unlikely stories of the World Cup -- Iceland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you go from delivering mail in a very small town in Belgium to becoming a star right back and winger for the Belgian national team in 3 years? This is the story of Thomas Meunier. We all know about the superstars of the World Cup but some of the players participating in the 2018 tournament truly come from nowhere. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emil Forsberg shares his personal journey to the world cup. Please note that this interview is conducted in Swedish. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victor Lindelof shares his personal journey to the World Cup. Please note: This interview is conducted in Swedish. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paulinho discusses his journey to the World Cup. Please note that this interview is conducted in Portuguese. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brazil goalie Allison Becker shares his journey to the world cup. Please note that this interview is conducted in Portuguese Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.