18-year-old Brazilian wunderkind Vinícius Júnior appeared in his second match for Real Madrid Castilla (Real’s reserve team) against Atletico Madrid B today. The Madrid Derby in Segunda División B (Spain’s third division) ended in a 2-2 draw with Vinícius Jr at the center of everything for Real, scoring a brace while also getting his head munched on by Atletico captain Alberto Rodriguez.
How fast is Christian Pulisic? The 19-year-old American is usually deployed on the right flank by club side Borussia Dortmund — although he enjoys a more central role when playing with the USMNT — so he’s certainly no slouch when it comes to pace. However, what makes him such a precocious talent is that he’s no one-trick pony — he doesn’t only rely on his blistering speed to create chances and take defenders on.
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.
Around this time last year, ESPN FC used an unnamed source to confirm that Christian Pulisic would reflect on his year at the end of the year.