Is Jesse Lingard England's unsung hero? With staggering running stats combined with 93% pass accuracy, he has been a World Cup revelation

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While Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford and England's magnificent set-pieces have been grabbing headlines, Jesse Lingard's brilliant World Cup campaign has passed slightly under the radar.

The Manchester United midfielder been a revelation in Russia and the performance against Sweden typified his campaign so far.

In addition to providing Dele Alli with an assist, he completed twice as many dribbles as any other player and retained possession exceptionally, completing 93.5 per cent of his passes. 

Jesse Lingard has been one of England's standout players so far at the World Cup 

England's link-man also brings a tireless work-rate to the side, leaving his team-mates in the dust when it comes to distance covered. 

In the quarter-final triumph over Colombia, Lingard ran a staggering 15.4 kilometres, more than one kilometre more than anyone on the pitch. 

He also topped the running stats against Sweden and Tunisia and personifies the athleticism Gareth Southgate has built this team around.

But the perpetual motion is combined with extreme efficiency on the ball and Lingard is second in passing accuracy among midfielders who have made at least three starts at the World Cup. 

The Manchester United midfielder topped the running charts again against Sweden

Though he's only scored one goal at the tournament so far, it was an absolute belter against Panama that probably remains England's finest effort in their run to the semi-finals.  

Clever movement has also been a key part of Lingard's game and he's repeatedly given defenders a headache with a willingness to pick up the ball from deep and vacate space for team-mates to fill. 

He has always been a player for the big occasion, as United fans well know, but this World Cup feels like a coming of age and significant step to becoming an elite level player.

The England midfielder has made the link-man role his own and personifies the team's energy

The Warrington native was never tipped for greatness as a United academy graduate. He was regarded as undersized but continued to defy doubters with ferocious work rate and has long been on Southgate's radar.

The 25-year-old was given his first England cap in October 2016 by the manager before falling out of favour for the seven qualifiers to follow. 

Fortunately for Lingard, Southgate's change of formation created the perfect slot for him to bed in and he's now become almost impossible to drop for the semi-final showdown with Croatia.

Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic will no doubt provide a stern technical examination but Lingard passed each test so far with flying colours, has emerged as a linchpin of this side and the stats back it up.

John Stones and Lingard celebrate victory over Sweden in Samara following the 2-0 win