Every World Cup sees a young player elevated to stardom. There is always one – and Joshua takes a look at 10 of the likeliest to go on and become stars in the future.
The passion that culminates when playing for your nation is unrivalled, the emotion when putting that shirt on for the first time is unique, and the sentiment of embracing the shirt for the last time is unparalleled. The team glory is without question the ultimate prize, and the individual awards are secondary but still eagerly chased. There are numerous individual awards up for grabs like the Golden Ball (Player of the Tournament), Golden Boot (Top Goalscorer) and much more, but the most exciting is seeing who will likely go on to become a star in the future.
The FIFA Young Player Award was awarded for the first time at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and given to Germany’s Lukas Podolski. The award is given to the best player in the tournament who is at most 21 years old or under at the start of the calendar year. For the 2022 World Cup, this means that the player had to have been born on or after 1 January 2001. An election took place on FIFA’s official World Cup website with the help of the FIFA Technical Study Group to backdate players prior to the 2006 World Cup and name former winners of this award.
Former Winners:
1958 Sweden – Pele (Brazil) Age 17
1962 Chile – Florian Albert (Hungary) Age 20
1966 England – Franz Beckenbauer (Germany) Age 20
1970 Mexico – Teofilo Cubillas (Peru) Age 21
1974 West Germany – Wladyslaw Zmuda (Poland) Age 20
1978 Argentina – Antonio Cabrini (Italy) Age 20
1982 Spain – Manuel Amoros (France) Age 21
1986 Mexico – Enzo Scifo (Belgium) Age 20
1990 Italy – Robert Prosinecki (Yugoslavia) Age 21
1994 United States – Marc Overmars (Netherlands) Age 20
1998 France – Michael Owen (England) Age 18
2002 Korea/Japan – Landon Donovan (USA) Age 20
2006 Germany – Lukas Podolski (Germany) Age 21
2010 South Africa – Thomas Muller (Germany) Age 20
2014 Brazil – Paul Pogba (France) Age 21
2018 Russia – Kylian Mbappe (France) Age 19
Here are 10 top contenders for this year’s award in no particular order:
1. William Saliba
Born: 24 March 2001 (age 21 years)
Country: France
Club: Arsenal
Position: Defender
International stats: 17 caps, 3 goals, 1 assist
Club stats this season: 15 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist, 8 clean sheets
The 2021/22 Ligue 1 Young Player of the Season has finally made his presence felt at his boyhood club Arsenal, starting every Premier League fixture for the Gunners to date. On the national front, Saliba has made a fair few appearances and has been involved in a number of goals for Les Blues. His massive presence and extremely noticeable composure in high-pressure moments could see him start under Didier Deschamps, giving him ample opportunity to throw his name in the hat for an individual award.
Patience Paid Off. pic.twitter.com/NTSyQdwcJs
— . (@Saliba_SZN) November 11, 2022
2. Eric Garcia
Born: 9 January 2001 (age 21 years)
Country: Spain
Club: Barcelona
Position: Defender
International stats: 18 caps, 7 clean sheets
Club stats this season: 13 appearances, 1 goal, 1 assist, 8 clean sheets
Eric Garcia has already proved himself in major competition for Spain. Serving up quality defensive displays in the 2020 European Championship. The technique and ability at moving the ball to the right spaces under the pressure of inviting the press at such an age puts him well beyond his years. His consistent starting XI appearances under Xavi at Barcelona make him a prime candidate for minutes under Luis Enrique.
📊| Eric Garcia vs Australia
— IG : barcastuff__id (@barcastuff_idn) July 25, 2021
• 90 Minutes Played
• 116 Touches
• 101 Accurate passes (93%)
• 1 Key passe
• 5 Accurate Long balls
• 2 Ground Duels won
• 1/1 Aerial Duels won
• 3 Interceptions
• 2 Tackles
• 1 Clearance
• 8 Recoveries
[@Barca_Stats_] pic.twitter.com/8TSR0rwcjB
3. Eduardo Camavinga
Born: 10 November 2002 (age 19 years)
Country: France
Club: Real Madrid
Position: Midfielder
International stats: 4 caps, 1 goal
Club stats this season: 19 appearances
A Champions League winner at the age of 19, Eduardo Camavinga is a future Ballon D’or winner in my opinion. At Real Madrid, he combines with Aurelien Tchouameni, and the pair are set to combine under World Cup winning manager Didier Deschamps. With the regular duo of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante out due to injury, the young maestro should find himself integral to the French’s title defence.
•Supercopa Champion 🏆
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) November 9, 2022
•La Liga Champion 🏆
•UEFA Champions League Champion 🏆
•UEFA Super Cup Champion 🏆
•World Cup Call-Up 🇫🇷
What a way to celebrate your 20th birthday 🥳🤴 @Camavinga pic.twitter.com/oypkdbIP1w
4. Pedri
Born: 25 November 2002 (age 19 years)
Country: Spain
Club: Barcelona
Position: Midfielder
International stats: 14 caps, 1 assist
Club stats this season: 14 appearances, 3 goals
In my humble opinion, there are three young central midfielders that are going to capture the world of football in the coming years, and Spanish sensation Pedri is amongst the trio. He played every minute of the Spanish campaign and 1,188 minutes of international football last year. The experience he holds at the tender age of 19 is more than most rack up in a footballing career. His consistent starts at one of the biggest football institutions in the world, Barca, are telling of the brilliance he holds. He’s guaranteed a starting presence in Qatar.
Pedri scored 8 goals for Barcelona in 2022:
— adil (@Barca19stats) November 15, 2022
Equalizer.
Go-ahead goal.
Equalizer.
Go-ahead goal.
Go-ahead goal.
2-0 goal.
Go-ahead goal.
Equalizer. pic.twitter.com/qpo9haar0B
5. Jude Bellingham
Born: 29 June 2003 (age 19 years)
Country: England
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Midfielder
International stats: 17 caps, 1 assist
Club stats this season: 21 appearances, 9 goals, 2 assists
The present and future of England’s engine room, Jude Bellingham is among the trio I rate to be every young footballer’s aspirations in the future. The endurance of a marathon runner, skilful technique of a Brazilian, and tactical awareness of a Spaniard, Bellingham possesses it all. He is the only Englishmen playing for the Three Lions who plies his trade outside of the Premier League.
🔥 “I played against Bellingham when he was at Birmingham & I was at Derby.”
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) November 15, 2022
😳 “He man-marked me and what I really liked about him is every time I passed the ball he’d leave a stud on me!”
Wayne Rooney says Jude Bellingham will be a “huge” player for England 🏴 pic.twitter.com/hAVw0vYx3e
6. Xavi Simons
Born: 21 April 2003 (age 19 years)
Country: Netherlands
Club: PSV Eindhoven
Position: Midfielder
International stats: 0 caps
Club stats this season: 21 appearances, 10 goals, 4 assists
Netherlands coach Louis Van Gaal has selected an uncapped Xavi Simons to feature at the Qatar World Cup, almost reminiscent of uncapped 17-year-old Theo Walcott back in Germany’s 2006 World Cup. Simons is bested only by one other player in terms of club stats for this season, and with that Marouane Fellaini or Marc Cucurella type hairstyle, he will be easy to keep an eye on.
19-year-old Xavi Simons is heading to the World Cup with the Netherlands.
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 11, 2022
He has 10 goals and four assists with PSV this season 🤩 pic.twitter.com/EygFCEX4kl
7. Jamal Musiala
Born: 26 February 2003 (age 19 years)
Country: Germany
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Midfielder
International stats: 17 caps, 1 goal, 2 assists
Club stats this season: 21 appearances, 12 goals, 8 assists
Jamal Musiala went back and forth with allegiances, playing for England U-15, Germany U-16 and back to England up until U-21, before putting a stop to the swaps and settling down with Die Mannschaft. His position in Bayern Munich’s starting line-up has propelled his career immeasurably and the 19-year-old will feature on every big stage at present and in the coming future.
Jamal Musiala is the youngest player ever to make 100 appearances for Bayern Munich ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/QBxO7907Mv
— GOAL (@goal) November 13, 2022
8. Giovanni Reyna
Born: 13 November 2002 (age 19 years)
Country: USA
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Midfielder
International stats: 14 caps, 4 goals, 1 assist
Club stats this season: 15 apps, 2 goals, 2 assists
The United States of America has made great strides in developing young talent. The conveyor belt of American ballers coming primarily out of the German Bundesliga has been exceptional, but now there is one who is tipped to trounce them all. Giovanni Reyna has lit up the eyes and entered the heart of Borussia Dortmund fans, and now on the biggest stage his preparations for the 2026 World Cup on home soil will be complete at Qatar.
We give him the ball and stand back and watch. People often say to me they saw Messi and Cristiano play. In the future, I will be able to say I saw Giovanni Reyna play. pic.twitter.com/xziCW5oRQf
— Borusse09 (@Borusse098) October 20, 2022
9. Rodrygo
Born: 9 January 2001 (age 21 years)
Country: Brazil
Club: Real Madrid
Position: Forward
International stats: 7 caps, 1 goal
Club stats this season: 18 appearances, 7 goals, 5 assists
Arguably the best young player in the Spanish LaLiga, Real Madrid’s Rodrygo has lit up the Santiago Bernabeu. Brazil will forever be the masters of the beautiful game, and the embodiment of it is reiterated by their consistent production of quality youth. Rodrygo will continue to shine this tournament.
🎙️| Rodrygo: “Surprised I’m called up for the WC? If I finally managed to play often for the biggest club there is that is Real Madrid, of course I’ll be able to play for Brazil.” @diarioas pic.twitter.com/rLpPD65Rjp
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) November 15, 2022
10. Bukayo Saka
Born: 5 September 2001 (age 21 years)
Country: England
Club: Arsenal
Position: Midfielder
International stats: 20 caps, 4 goals, 5 assists
Club stats this season: 19 appearances, 5 goals, 6 assists
There is a bit of criteria to consider when looking at the possible Young Player of the Tournament – minutes, form, and the probability of the nation making the latter stages of the competition. Bukayo Saka holds all those in hand, and to be honest, is a major attacking threat for the rather defensive Gareth Southgate side. He will be determined to right his wrongs after failing to convert a penalty which could have seen his nation lift a major trophy, and the contributions for club and country since have been taken up a notch.
Bukayo Saka has assisted 6 goals in the Premier League so far this season. Only Kevin De Bruyne (9) has more.
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 14, 2022
Provider. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/pCxAB6NYye
