At the tender age of 19, any sort of highlight involving Paris Saint-Germain and France forward Kylian Mbappe is technically still from his “youth.” This is especially true since he started playing for Monaco’s senior side at the age of 16 and dominated the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship at the age of 17. Now he’s a World Cup winner at 19.
Remember Martin Ødegaard? We forgive you if you'd forgotten all about the guy. Here’s a quick refresher for you: Ødegaard was the youngest player ever to play in the Norwegian Tippeligaen at the ripe age of 15 years and 118 days. Not only that, but he also was the youngest player ever to play for the Norway national team at the age of 15 years and 253 days.
Just eight days after scoring his first competitive goal for Paris Saint-Germain against Monaco in the Trophée des Champions, 18-year-old American phenom Timothy Weah has scored his first Ligue 1 goal for the club. PSG opened the 2018-19 league season against Caen and goals from Neymar and Adrien Rabiot had the home side cruising at the half.
Mbappé. Pogba. Griezmann. Giroud.
These are just some of the players who starred for France during its most recent World Cup victory, and they are now household names around the globe.
The 2018-19 Premier League season promises to be one for the ages. Liverpool looks set to really give Manchester City a run for its money, while the mid-table battle is going to be too close to call.
For some players, this season is their time to shine. Whether it be composure at the back, working hard in the midfield or plundering in the goals, there are going to be players that take the division by storm. Here are our top five picks for the biggest breakout stars of the 2018-19 Premier League season.
No club divides opinion in Mexico quite like Club America, but yesterday, the entire country had to be excited about the performance of 18-year-old phenom Diego Lainez.
Since making his club debut as a 16-year-old, Lainez has been touted as one of Mexico’s top prospects. However, the native of Villahermosa had yet to make much of an impact in his brief Liga MX career with America manager Miguel Herrera deploying the winger cautiously.
Last September, we showed you a video Callum Hudson-Odoi doing some neat tricks and skills with a ball. Then 16, we said he was primed to be the next Chelsea star.
Now 17, the London native is again showing why he can be the next Chelsea star — only this time it’s not on a rainy practice pitch with no defenders around him, it’s against some of the biggest clubs in the world.
On June 9, the USMNT drew with France 1-1. On June 13, the United States was awarded the 2026 World Cup. On July 30, LA Galaxy phenom and California native Efrain Alvarez admitted that he’d still be open to representing the U.S. over Mexico. Ladies and gentleman, in the aftermath of missing the world’s greatest event because of a defeat to Trinidad & Tobago, I’m not at all opposed to calling this a new golden era in U.S. soccer.
With a squad comprised largely of players that led Portugal to glory at the 2016 European U-17 Championship, Portugal has now ridden what’s quickly becoming a golden generation to more international glory, this time at the 2018 European U-19 Championship in Finland. Portugal defeated Italy 4-3 in a madcap final that saw three goals scored in quick succession during the first period of extra time.
Joao Filipe opened the scoring just before halftime for Portugal. The Benfica youngster fired in a low drive after a brilliant piece of control at the top of the box.
The rumors were confirmed Wednesday that 17-year-old Canadian phenom Alphonso Davies would be joining Bayern Munich come January on a transfer that could rise to as high as $22 million, but for now, the Vancouver Whitecaps winger is free to continue his breakout season in MLS — Saturday night was perhaps his best performance as a professional.