The FIFA Golden Boy award shortlist was announced and, surprisingly, it foretells of a European continent dominated by England, Belgium and, more traditionally, Spain.
With a whopping five nominations from each of these countries - the award is given to the U-21 player who displays the highest footballing prowess - the tides appear to be turning in Europe.
That's right, the 2020 European Championships will almost certainly see Luke Shaw bombing down the left flank, Adnan Januzaj having lazily neglected to track his runner, before cutting the ball back to the top of the box for a late arriving Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Loftus-Cheek will take a moment to settle himself before blasting a howitzer of a shot over the top of Marouane Fellaini's bald head and beyond the outstretched arms of Thibaut Courtois.
On the sidelines, Gary Neville will be gesticulating with boundless joy while Belgian manager José Mourinho jabs a fingure into Eden Hazard's chest, lamenting, "You've ruined me again."
'Sorry, Wayne, it's now the time of the Ibe.' Photo: @livefootball | Twitter
Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just telling you the facts. These are all, undoubtedly and uncontestedly, facts. Here's a breakdown of the top four countries by FIFA Golden Boy nominations:
*Raheem Sterling, though still under 21-years-old, is not technically nominated this year because of his victory last year. He's already a certified FIFA Golden Boy.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, fans of Portugal better appreciate Cristiano Ronaldo while he lasts, because the future is not looking bright for the Seleção. Unless, that is, Gonzalo Guedes turns into the next Ronaldo himself. Time to hit the weights, young Guedes.
For Italy, they may need to depend on the aging core of Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi well into their 40s. Alessio Romagnoli makes an appearance on the list but he's not English, nor does he play in the Premier League. Accordingly, he's likely crap.
'Like a fine me, this wine gets better with age.' Photo: @matenyi | Twitter
While a more traditional route of foretelling the future success of senior national sides may be youth championships (i.e. the UEFA U-21 Championship or FIFA U-20 World Cup), these tournaments can provide an unfair advantage for youth teams who’ve spent more time, in some cases all of their time, playing together.
Although the same could be said of senior teams such as the 2008-2012 Spanish side, whose squad was made up of players pulled primarily from Barcelona and Real Madrid, this is especially true for youth national teams from smaller nations. Potentially, these players have an opportunity to train together year round.
For example, Serbia were the runners-up of the 2007 UEFA U-21 Championship and Switzerland accomplished that feat in 2011. Neither of these successful youth teams went on to produce much of an impact at the senior level.
Branislav Ivanovic, circa when he wasn't so old. Photo: @nietakdawno | Twitter
The nominations for the FIFA Golden Boy award are typically determined by the amount of success a player has already achieved at the highest level. Accordingly, these players are much more likely, as already having been established, to not fade off into oblivion, never to be heard from again like Fedrico Macheda.
Previous European winners of the award include Rafael van der Vaart, Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fábregas and Mario Gotze.
While a winner like Mario Balotelli may not have gone on to fulfill his entire potential, there’s no denying the fact that he’s made a massive impact (think EURO 2012) for his national team.
In 2010, the shortlist included 5 players from Spain and 4 from Germany. Three of those Germans, Mario Gotze, Toni Kroos and André Schurrle, would go on to play a major part in Germany lifting the 2014 World Cup.
'First and foremost, we would just like to thank our Golden Boy nominations from 2010.' Photo: @haniallulu | Twitter
In 2010, England only received two nominations, Nathan Delfouneso and Jack Wilshere, and went on to provide some of the most turgid football on display at EURO 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Is this all just a giant coincidence? Some random happenstance created by the choas of the cosmos that's entirely unintelligable? Most likely, but I'm not going to let that get in the way of my predictions.
