With the 2014 Fifa World Cup finals now fast approaching, we take a look at some of the young talent that may be on display in Brazil next summer …
Ross Barkley (England)
The Everton prodigy has already been heavily likened to former Toffees star, and now Manchester United and England hero Wayne Rooney, in the way that the attacking midfield player goes about his business on the field of play.
And now the 19-year-old could very well have a chance of starring at the finals of a major international tournament alongside his one-time team-mate at next year’s World Cup, subject to selection that is by Three Lions head coach Roy Hodgson.
Julian Draxler (Germany)
The young Schalke 04 midfield player already, rather scarily, looks to be the complete package, despite having only been in the Bundesliga outfit’s first team for the past two years, while equally the 20-year-old has been playing international football for his country for just the past 12 months now.
However, that will still not prevent Germany head coach Joachim Low for selecting Draxler in his final 23-man squad for Brazil 2014, with the player even having an outstanding chance of featuring in his country’s first team too come next summer if he carries on with his current rate of progress.
Alen Halilovic (Croatia)
The Dynamo Zagreb wonderkid has been making a lot of headlines of late after a string of eye-catching displays at the heart of the Croatian giants’ midfield, so much so that that the 17-year-old has even now been dubbed ‘the new Luka Modric’ back in his homeland, despite his tender years.
Either way, though, that has still not prevented the attacking midfield player from winning three caps to his name already after making his debut for his country earlier this year.
And now Croatia must go and beat Iceland over two legs in their upcoming World Cup playoff if the public want to get the chance to see the starlet in action in Brazil next year.
Neymar (Brazil)
FC Barcelona’s recent new £50 million signing will be the undoubted star of the 2014 World Cup, which is of course taking place in the 21-year-old’s homeland.
And with Brazil hosting the global show-piece event, that means that the twinkle-toed playmaker will also definitely be on display too, which is a good thing as the Barca superstar is now considered to be one of the three best players currently plying their trade on Planet Football.
Erik Lamela (Argentina)
Another attacker who is also guaranteed safe passage to Rio next summer after his country topped the South American section in qualifying for next year’s tournament in Brazil, although Tottenham Hotspur’s recent new club-record signing will need to start raising his game a bit if he still wishes to be on that plane to Rio.
The 21-year-old only moved to White Hart Lane from AS Roma in August for a transfer fee that could ultimately rise to as much as £30m, and the left-sided attacker will be desperate to show the watching public his true abilities in seven months’ time.
Isco (Spain)
Another youngster who is also struggling at present to hold down a regular starting berth following a much-publicised big-money move last summer, with the Spanish midfield player having moved from Malaga to La Liga giants Real Madrid in June on a five-year deal for a staggering fee of 30m euros.
However, despite the 21-year-old having recently been benched by new Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, there are no doubts whatsoever that Spain manager Vincente del Bosque will still take the goalscoring midfielder with him in his 23-man squad to Brazil next summer.
Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)
The giant and powerful Chelsea front man has a huge future ahead of him in the game, with the 20-year-old having already made quite an impression during his brief period in the Premier League on loan with the likes of West Bromwich Albion and Everton.
Meanwhile, for Marc Wilmots’s national team, the man dubbed the ‘new Didier Drogba’ is already a fixture up front for Belgium, with the front man having managed to find the back of the net on five occasions in his 24 international appearances, and expect more from him in South America next year too.
Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Greece)
Schalke 04’s imposing centre back has been on the sidelines for the past 12 months after suffering a serious knee-ligament injury last year, but the 21-year-old is still expected to have fully recovered in time to take his place at the heart of the Greeks’ back four by the time that the World Cup gets under way next June.
Of course, Greece do still need to make it past Romania in their two-legged play-off tie, however, if they can navigate that obstacle safely, then the watching world will then get a glimpse of one of European football’s most highly rated and sough-after central defenders.
Raphael Varane (France)
Cultured 20-year-old les Bleus central defender who has been shining at the back for Real Madrid ever since moving to the Santiago Bernabeu two years ago on the recommendation of none other than Zinedine Zidane, and now the youngster is already considered by many experts to be one of the most accomplished centre backs in the world.
James Rodriguez (Colombia)
Eye-catching AS Monaco wide man who first came to prominence during his three-year spell at the Dragao, before his 45m euros move to the South of France last summer.
And expect the 22-year-old to be one of the stand-out starlets in Brazil next summer in a Colombia team that is sure to go far in the tournament itself.