After Manchester United’s loss to Aston Villa on the opening day of the 1995-96 season, football pundit Alex Hansen made an observation that sealed his fate. “You can’t win anything with kids,” he said of Alex Ferguson’s team, after the manager fielded a fairly young side. United went on to win the league that season with “kids” like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, all of them 21 or younger. This Class of ‘92—they made their breakthrough at the 1992 FA Youth Cup—inspired a generation.
The faith put in youth hit a peak this summer, when an 18-year-old Kylian Mbappe was bought by Paris St. Germain for £166 million, to become the second most expensive player. It is in the same year that India will write its own football history, playing host to youngsters, who will be keenly observed by talent scouts.
After months, nay, years of preparation, the FIFA Under-17 World Cup is finally here.
One can be forgiven for not knowing these players, who are in their mid-teens. Brazil’s Vinicius Jr. is one recognisable budding star who dropped out as his club did not permit him to play in the event. He will join Real Madrid next year on a £40 million deal. Jadon Sancho, an up-and-coming English midfielder, joined Borussia Dortmund this summer, but will feature only in the group stage before returning to the club.
Granted, you may not spot the next Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo (Argentina and Portugal are the two big absentees this time), but keep your eyes peeled for these “kids”:
JOSHUA SARGENT (USA)
It is not very often an American ‘soccer’ player grabs attention like Josh Sargent does. He has already represented his country at the U-20 World Cup held in South Korea this year, finishing the senior tournament with four goals—the second highest tally. Before that, he was top scorer at the North American U-17 Championship, with five goals to his name. The forward can find the goal from nearly any angle in the box, and could prove to be a nightmare for India, which is in the same group. Bundesliga club Werder Bremen were quick to snap him up and will see him move to Germany next year, when he turns 18 | AFP
YOUSSOUF KOITA (MALI)
Mali has a wall stronger than Donald Trump could ever dream of—goalkeeper Youssouf Koita. The African U-17 champion side has been drawn in a relatively tame group (with Paraguay, Turkey and New Zealand), and will rely on its custodian to shut out opposition attacks. Koita kept three clean sheets during the African tournament, which included a penalty shootout in the semifinal in which he saved all four spot kicks he faced. As African teams usually do well at U-17 World Cups, this shot-stopper, along with clinical striker Hajdi Drame, might help Mali cause some high-profile upsets, if they progress.
ABEL RUIZ (SPAIN)
In the times we live in, a list of upcoming stars would be incomplete without a Spanish genius. Out of the Barcelona’s famed La Masia stables comes this electrifying attacker who captained Spain to victory in the U-17 Euros. Threading his way around defenders, he scored four goals and assisted three. He excited his club’s coaching staff and has featured for the Barcelona B team as the team’s youngest player. With 19 goals in 23 games, Ruiz is Spain’s all-time U-17 top scorer | Getty Images
LINCOLN (BRAZIL)
The absence of Brazilian wonder kid Vinicius Jr raises the team’s dependence on Lincoln Correa dos Santos. The lanky number 9 usually operates as a playmaker, linking play beautifully with his one-touch passes and his ability to find players with incisive through balls. His dribbling abilities and his eye for goal will be put to the test, now that he assumes a greater responsibility of spearheading the Brazilian attack. At the South American U-17 championship, earlier this year, he notched up five goals as the competition’s second highest scorer, behind Vinicius. Lincoln currently plies his trade for Brazilian team Flamengo | Getty Images
MOHAMMED DAWOOD (IRAQ)
At the U-16 Asian championship held in Goa in 2016, a high-flying Japanese side was brought to a grinding halt by an Iraqi striker. Mohammed Dawood scored a hattrick that night to help his team come from behind. He finished as the competition’s top scorer and best player as Iraq went on to stun Asian giant Iran in the final. Drawn with Mexico, England and Chile, Iraq will look to Dawood’s predatory skills to give them any hope of progressing. The Cristiano Ronaldo fan told FIFA, “For us Iraqi people, football is like the air which we must breathe. We want to play good football and we want to make our people proud.”
JANN-FIETE ARP (GERMANY)
Here is a 17-year-old who has already made his senior debut for Bundesliga side Hamburg. With 13 goals in his 14 matches for the German U-17 team, Jann-Fiete Arp is the only player to have scored two hattricks in one U-17 Euro tournament. Arp is a strapping, multi-faceted forward, who is good in the air, a hardworker on the pitch and the team’s captain. Germany U-17 coach Christian Wück spoke of Arp to a magazine saying, “In terms of his intellect and his character, he is very far ahead in comparison to others of the same age. He stands out in that way.” | Getty Images
