Best Youngsters at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

It’s nearly time to get comfortable, don your football kits, and watch the World Cup. In this article, we carefully selected the best youngsters who’ll be making their first appearance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. These players are destined, or at least highly expected, to dominate football for the decade.

The young talent will be on full display at the World Cup. In this article, we’ll only list U23 players but those aged 23 can cut it as well. Furthermore, for consistency reasons, only the two best youngsters can make it onto this list from a country.

We’re also only including youngsters making their first World Cup appearance so for example, Kylian Mbappé is excluded from this list. Our rankings are based solely on recent data, taking into account the player’s performance this season at both club and international levels.

England are Bringing Plenty of Talented Youngsters to the World Cup

The English national football team has a lot of talent, both old and new. Their best youngsters at the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be none other than Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden. We’ll explain our reasoning for these selections as well. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka is an extremely close honorary mention. We’ve no doubt the youngster will shine at the World Cup but at the moment, Bellingham and Foden are better.

Jude Bellingham is Already One of the Best and He’s not Even 20 Years of Age

Bellingham, aged just 19, is the best player under the age of 20 at the moment. As of 10 November, he has 14 league appearances, 3 goals, and one assist. He made the starting eleven every time and played 100% of Dortmund’s matches.

Bellingham is leading England’s youngsters in minutes, already has four man-of-the-match trophies, and has the highest rating average among the English U23 players.

In the Champions League, he has 4 goals and one assist in only 5 appearances. He also played a huge part in Dortmund making the Round of 16 this year. Bellingham’s mature style both on and off the pitch is constantly praised by fans and media. You can follow the 19-year-old, England, or even Dortmund on online sportsbook sites in the UK.

Phil Foden’s Career is Climbing to Massive Heights

City’s Foden has been in the spotlight for a couple of seasons now. The 22-year-old is currently the most valuable English player on the planet and the fourth most valuable overall. Foden has 13 total league appearances for City this season, three of which was as a substitute. The versatile midfielder has 6 goals and 3 assists. Foden also has a league passing average of 86.4%, which is higher than his youngster teammates on this list.

Phil Foden hasn’t had a big impact on his team’s UCL campaign so far but he’ll get around eventually. With his recent contract extension, he’s expected to be Man City’s and England’s future as well. Take a look at our World Cup betting guide to see all the information you need, including England’s and Foden’s odds at the tournament.

The Generational Talent of Brazil

Brazil enters each World Cup with extremely impressive squads. They have one of the best rosters in the world, and no one is better when it comes to producing world-class forwards. The four candidates for our selections are Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli, Man United’s Antony, and Real Madrid’s Vinny Jr. and Rodrygo. We decided to go with the two Madrid players in the end.

Big Things are Expected of Vinicius Junior 

Last season propelled Vinny into international stardom. The 22-year-old is the 3rd most valuable player on the planet at the moment. Out of the above-mentioned youngsters, he has played the most minutes this season and has the highest average match rating. In 13 league appearances for Real, Vinny Jr. scored 6 goals and assisted 3. When his Ballon d’Or winning teammate, Benzema, isn’t available much of the offensive weight is put on Vinicius Jr.

The young Brazilian forward has been active in the UCL as well. He has 4 goals and one assist in 6 appearances. We’re expecting to see Vinny in Brazil’s starting eleven in Qatar. He’s no doubt one of the best youngsters at the 2022 FIFA World Cup this year. Sites like 888sport cover all the available betting markets related to Brazil’s matches.

Rodrygo – Let Your Work Do the Talk

Real Madrid are building a dynasty that could dominate the Champions League for another 10 years. The 21-year-old Rodrygo is one of the centrepieces in Florentino Perez’s machine. The right-winger played significantly fewer minutes than Martinelli and Vinny Jr. but managed to produce 4 goals and 4 assists in 11 appearances. He came off the bench in two of those games. With a passing rating of 88.4%, there’s no one better to be on Brazil’s right wing.

Regarding Real’s UCL campaign, Rodrygo has 3 goals and one assist in 6 appearances. On most online sportsbook sites in the UK, Brazil are the favourites to win the World Cup. They have enough stars for at least three teams and are performing amazingly internationally. Keep an eye on Rodrygo in the coming weeks as he’s one of the best youngsters to participate in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

France and Spain – Best Youngsters at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Four of the most talented French and Spanish youngsters all play in LaLiga. You probably already know who we are talking about as they received plenty of spotlight at Barcelona and Real Madrid. These four are Gavi and Pedri for Spain and Camavinga and Tchouaméni for France.

We decided to go with Pedri and Tchouméni as they have been playing better this season than their respective teammates. However, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be excited to see Gavi and Camavinga at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Pedri is Barcelona’s and Spain’s Crown Jewel

Barcelona’s 19-year-old midfielder is expected to be this decade’s Iniesta to Gavi’s Xavi. He played in 14 league matches as of 11 November and put up over 1.000 minutes of game time already. Pedri also has 3 goals so far and a passing rating of 91.1%.

He also has the highest average match rating out of the previously listed four youngsters. While we don’t expect him to fully take over at Qatar, he’ll no doubt have his moments.

Aurelian Tchouaméni’s Experience and Work Rate Make Him One of the Best Youngsters in the World

Tchouaméni was Real’s most expensive signing last season and he’s also more experienced than his teammate Camavinga. This was also the reason for his selection, along with his stats. The 22-year-old started in 11 league matches out of Madrid’s 12 and certainly impressed a lot of people.

With 2 assists and a passing rating of 93.2%, Tchouaméni is ahead of the other youngsters in this subsection. He has the chance to become a true midfielder and be a pillar stone for France and Real Madrid. We’d recommend following him on 888sport for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

They Don’t Make Them as Good as Bayern

Bayern Munich are famous for having one of the best football academies in the world. They’re also known to acquire youngsters and shape them into future superstars. Because of their different nationalities, we selected Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala for this subsection.

These two are Canada’s and Germany’s best youngsters at the moment and both will be representing their countries at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Alphonso Davies – Best Youngster out of North America at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

At the age of 22, Davies is already widely considered the best left-back in the world. His energy, pace, and passing accuracy are immaculate. He already recorded over 1.000 minutes for Bayern in just 12 league matches. Davies is an obvious selection for both Bayern and Canada.

He’s also the highest-rated player coming from North America, plus he can play on the wings as well. As one of the best youngsters at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, there is a lot of pressure on Davies’ shoulders.

Jamal Musiala Might be Germany’s Best Player at the Moment

Musiala’s Kopa Trophy snub earlier this year shocked a lot of people. Bayern Munich and Germany struck gold with this youngster. In 13 appearances for the club, Musiala already has 9 goals and 4 assists. He also has an extremely high average match rating.

The 19-year-old is a versatile attacking midfielder who’s comfortable anywhere around the middle. Online sportsbooks in the UK will surely be all over Musiala in the coming weeks.

Best Youngsters at the 2022 FIFA World Cup – Honourable Mentions

There will be a lot of further young talent to watch out for at the 2022 FIFA World Cup but we cannot list all of the players. However, it would be a crime not to mention at least some of them. So here are a few honourable mentions along with some impressive stats.

Rafael Leão (23, Portugal): 19 appearances for AC Milan, 6 goals, 9 assists

Dusan Vlahovic (22, Serbia): 15 appearances for Juventus, 8 goals, 1 assist

Antony (22, Brazil): 14 appearances for Ajax and Man United, 5 goals, 2 assists

Matthijs de Ligt (23, Netherlands): 17 appearances for Bayern, 8 clean sheets

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