SPORTING MEN FROM THE BOYS

SPORTING LISBON are the kings of the 2018 World Cup when it comes to developing talent for the global stage.

No fewer than 12 players reared by the Portuguese giants are in Russia – including Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo (above), Southampton’s Cedric Soares, West Ham’s Jose Fonte, Adrien Silva of Leicester, and Tottenham’s midfielder Eric Dier.

No other club in the world can match that number – with Manchester United confirmed as England’s top talent factory with six Old Trafford graduates at the tournament.

Costa Rica’s Deportivo Saprissa are second in the talent table, producing 11 players who will appear in the tournament. Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb are next with nine, and Barcelona have an eight-strong contingent that includes Argentina ace Lionel Messi.

Data analysts at Betvictor examined the history of every player at the World Cup to determine the most productive talent factories.

United are top of the league in England. Paul Pogba’s first professional start was at Old Trafford, while England trio Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Danny Welbeck were all United lads. Spain’s Gerard Pique and Adnan Januzaj of Belgium also came though the Red ranks. But Liverpool have just two – Trent Alexander-Arnold and Raheem Sterling.

To view the full set of data, visit https://blog. betvictor.com/campaigns/road-to-russia/