Rising stars to watch
The World Cup can be the stage where a young prospect turns into a global star. Look at the 17-year-old Pele in 1958. Or the 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe in 2018. Who will be the youngster everyone’s talking about at the end of the World Cup in Qatar? Here a
Youssoufa Moukoko, Germany
At age 12, he was scoring goals for Borussia Dortmund’s under-17 team. At 14, he was signing a multimillion-dollar contract with Nike. Last week, at 17, he was receiving a first call-up by Germany’s senior team for the World Cup. Moukoko was born in Cameroon and grew up with his grandparents before moving in 2014 to Germany, where his father, Joseph, was living. He has been with Dortmund since the age of 13 and has always played in teams well above his age group. Unsurprisingly, he was youngest player to appear in Germany’s top league, the youngest player to reach 10 career Bundesliga goals and has already played for Germany at under-16, under-20 and under-21 level. Now, with Timo Werner out of the World Cup because of injury, Germany’s attacking resources are light so Moukoko will get a chance at the highest stage of all, most likely off the bench.
Bukayo Saka, England
Utterly disconsolate, Saka trudged off the field at Wembley Stadium last year having just had the decisive penalty kick saved in a shootout loss to Italy in the European Championship final. In the hours that followed, he would receive a torrent of racial abuse on social media along with England’s other Black players who didn’t convert their penalties. It hasn’t scarred Saka. Indeed, it might be the making of him. The 21-year-old Arsenal winger heads into the World Cup as one of his club’s stars — the current leader of the Premier League, no less — and possibly a starter in England’s forward line in Qatar. Heck, he was even on the cover of Time magazine last month, hailed as a “next generation leader.” Just imagine if he scores the winning goal in the World Cup final to end England’s 56-year wait for a major trophy.
Aurelien Tchouameni, France
France will defend its World Cup title without the two central midfielders -- N’golo Kante and Paul Pogba — who played a key role in the team’s success in 2018. Who will fill the gap in such a crucial part of the team? Step forward Tchouameni, the Real Madrid player who already looks wise beyond his years at age 22. Since joining Madrid during the offseason, he has slotted in seamlessly as the replacement for the departed Casemiro and shown why the European champions paid around $100 million for a player who only had a handful of France appearances at that stage. France will have its most inexperienced midfield at a major tournament for some time, so much rests on the broad shoulders of Tchouameni.
Gavi, Spain
When a top European team places a buyout clause of $1 billion on a teenage player, it’s clear he is on the road to becoming a superstar. That’s what Barcelona did with Gavi and it isn’t hard to see why. The 18-year-old midfielder has barely been playing in Barca’s senior team for a year and already he is regular for his club — the Spanish league leader — and the Spain’s national team. He fits the bill for a classic graduate from Barcelona’s La Masia aca-d emy: technically brilliant, hard-working and a great soccer brain. Pablo Paez Gavira — to give him his full name — is likely to start for Spain alongside another Barcelona teenager, Pedri, in central midfield in front of club colleague and anchorman Sergio Busquets, who, at 34, is almost their combined age. Pedri was the best young talent at the European Championship last year and the World Cup might be the tournament Gavi springs to global attention.
Darwin Núñez, Uruguay
Heard the one about the explosive, temperamental Uruguay international who loves scoring goals? No, we’re not talking about Luis Suarez this time. Darwin Núñez is the kind of player you just can’t take your eyes off because, like Suarez, just about anything can happen when he’s around. A brilliant goal, a wild miss or -- like in one of his first games for Liverpool at the start of this season — a headbutt on an opponent to get a red card. At 23, Núñez is still grappling with the pressure of being a marquee $75 million signing at one of the world’s top clubs. Tall, fast and capable of scoring goals from close or far, he has a wide skillset but he can also be wasteful in front of goal and selfish on the ball. Núñez is learning off the very best, with Suarez and Edinson Cavani alongside him for the national team and Mohamed Salah at Liverpool. He’ll be a fun watch in Qatar, good or bad.