With the U20 World Cup final in South Korea upon us, we look back at the tournament so far and pick out our top players to look out for moving forward.
England will take on Venezuela in the showpiece finale, and two of Paul Simpson’s men get the nod from us as they have certainly made a great impression.
However, they’ll hope that they can secure one more win on Sunday to end the tournament in perfect fashion, having secured an impressive comeback win over Italy last time out.
Dominic Solanke
The 19-year-old is set to join Liverpool on July 1 after failing to agree on a new contract with Chelsea, and on the evidence of this tournament, Reds fans can be excited about the talent that they’ve snapped up.
He’s bagged four goals so far, including some smart finishes, and this powerful poacher has a bright future ahead of him with Liverpool now set to benefit.
Riccardo Orsolini
The left-footed winger was spotted early by Juventus and so his club future is already secure, but that hasn’t stopped him from putting on a show this summer.
Currently the tournament’s top goalscorer, the 20-year-old has been one of Italy’s top performers, displaying his pace, technical quality and composure to suggest that he will be a top player moving forward.
Yangel Herrera
The 19-year-old Venezuelan has been on loan at New York City from Manchester City this past season, and he’ll look to continue to run the show from the middle of the pitch against England on Sunday.
Naturally, there’s plenty of room for development in his all-round game, but an energetic, tenacious box-to-box midfield ace, he will play a big role in the final as he has all the attributes to be a big player in the years to come.
Ademola Lookman
Along with Solanke, he’s been one of the stand-out players for England. Familiar to many Premier League fans having impressed for Everton since January, he’s been in good form over the past fortnight.
With three goals and one assist, he’s relished the role on the left wing and he’ll hope to play a starring role against Venezuela.
Rodrigo Bentancur
Another promising young player snapped up by Juventus, the Uruguayan midfielder is in the Nemanja Matic mould with his powerful presence yet classy technical skill on the ball.
The 19-year-old will move to Turin in July, and his ability to dictate play and tempo along with his vision and passing ability coupled with a wonderful left foot, he should be a quality addition to the squad.