The FIFA U-20 World Cup, which starts later this week, is always a showcase of tomorrow’s stars.
Here are nine young talents to keep an eye on through the tournament.
Angel Correa, Argentina. A former San Lorenzo teammate of Montreal Impact star Ignacio Piatti, the exciting forward joined Atletico Madrid in 2014. However, a heart tumor discovered last summer kept him out of action. After surgery and a six-month layoff, he has returned and already has four goals in eight matches with Argentina’s U-20 side.
Godfred Donsah,
Ghana. A powerful and quick dribbler, the 18-year-old became a regular for Cagliari this season, contributing two goals and
one funky celebration
.
Bradford Jamieson IV, USA. The LA Galaxy teenager (pictured right) with the silky skills and the bleached hair opened his MLS account in his second career start (after prepping for the first team by scoring goals in USL with Los Dos) and will be expected to do similar things for Tab Ramos’ team.
Marcos Lopes, Portugal. Potentially the next big thing for Manchester City, he holds the club record for youngest goalscorer when he scored in an FA Cup game in 2014 at the age of 17 years, 9 days. He spent this season on loan with French club Lille, where he scored three goals in 18 appearances.
Hirving Lozano, Mexico. Joint leading scorer at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in January, “el Chucky” is an established starter for Pachuca and had eight goals in 34 appearances in the 2014-15 Liga MX season. Dutch giants PSV reportedly recently offered $7m for him.
Hany Mukhtar, Germany. A flashy and relentless attacker, the 20-year-old is the only player on the German squad not playing in the Bundesliga, after transferring to Portuguese club Benfica from his hometown Hertha Berlin this past winter.
Andreas Pereira
, Brazil. Born in Belgium to Brazilian parents, the 19-year-old No. 10 (
pictured right
) was recruited from PSV’s academy by Alex Ferguson personally to join Manchester United in 2011. This season he was
voted Man United U-21 Player of the Year
and made his EPL debut in March.
Diego Poyet, Uruguay. The son of former Chelsea player and manager Gus Poyet, the West Ham 20-year-old represented England at the U-16 and U-17 levels before joining Uruguay’s U-20 set up in March. He is expected to shine in the midfield.
Isaac Success, Nigeria. On the books with Udinese but on loan with Granada, the 19-year-old forward remains the youngest player ever to appear for the Spanish club. He scored twice, including a goal-of-the-tournament nominee, to help Nigeria win the 2013 U-17 World Cup.
