The World Cup 2022 in Qatar has served as a coming-out party for several of the top young players in world football.
Everyone already knew about the brilliant Bundesliga duo of Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala, as well as Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, and all three did not disappoint with their excellent performances.
However, a couple of Benfica youngsters have also emerged as stars in the tournament and may have earned themselves big-money moves in the near future.
Read on below as SBOTOP ranks the top five candidates for the World Cup 2022 Young Player Award, which is given to a player 21 years old or younger (born January 2001 or later).
5. Goncalo Ramos, Portugal
As of this writing, there is only one player to score a hat-trick in World Cup 2022, and that is Goncalo Ramos.
The 21-year-old Benfica striker surprisingly started ahead of the great Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal’s round of 16 tie against Switzerland. And he made the absolute most out of his first career World Cup start as he fired in a hat-trick in a 6-1 win for the Selecao.
Unfortunately for Ramos and Portugal, their World Cup journey ended at the hands of Cinderella team Morocco. Ramos couldn’t quite recreate his goalscoring magic as he finished with just one shot.
Still, with that one match against the Swiss, Ramos more than made his mark as one of the top youngsters in the tournament.
4. Enzo Fernandez, Argentina
Ramos’ Benfica teammate, Enzo Fernandez, is the only player on this list who is still alive in the tournament.
After starting the first couple of games on the bench, the 21-year-old midfielder is now an integral starter in an Argentina side whose World Cup 2022 odds of winning it all are looking quite promising.
Fernandez scored a wonderful goal to seal Argentina’s 2-0 win over Mexico, and he supplied the assist for the team’s second goal in their 2-0 win over Poland.
Fernandez’s performances have tapered off since his hot start – although he did hit the post in their quarter-final win over the Netherlands – but if he can be a crucial part of an Argentina championship, he could very well end up being the top contender for the Young Player Award.
3. Jamal Musiała, Germany
Germany had another disastrous World Cup campaign as they crashed out of the group stage for the second time in a row. But amid all the disappointment, one bright spot for the Germans was the emergence of Jamal Musiala.
The 19-year-old showed the fantastic form that he had displayed with Bayern Munich earlier in the season.
And while he did not score a single goal, he still created plenty of World Cup 2022 highlights. He finished with 12 shots (tied for the team lead) for 1.9 expected goals and an impressive 22 shot-creating actions – fourth in the tournament behind Kylian Mbappe, Leo Messi, and Antoine Griezmann, who have all played a couple of games more than the teenager.
So while the Germans get to work on returning to past greatness, they can take heart in the fact that they have a bonafide superstar-in-the-making in Musiala to build their next great team around.
2. Bukayo Saka, England
After missing the penalty that ultimately saw England lose the Euro 2020 final, Bukayo Saka bounced back in a big way in Qatar.
The Arsenal man was the Three Lions’ standout forward throughout the tournament. He had three goals, which was tied with Marcus Rashford for the team lead.
And he was arguably England’s top player in their 2-1 quarter-final defeat to France. He won the penalty for England’s equaliser, one of many fouls he suffered in that game.
It’s incredible to think that Saka isn’t even the best youngster on his own team, but in a different year, Saka’s performances would likely be enough to make him the top contender for the Young Player Award.
1. Jude Bellingham, England
With all due respect to Saka and Musiala, Jude Bellingham has been hands down the best 21-or-younger player in World Cup 2022. The Borussia Dortmund star was absolutely sensational for England, much more than his goal and assist in five games bear out.
Bellingham bossed the midfield in nearly every game England played in Qatar. Not only did he have six goal-creating actions – tied for the tournament lead with Kylian Mbappe – but he also had 15 tackles won, which showed just what an impact he made on both ends of the pitch. And he also displayed his impressive versatility by playing as either one half of a double pivot or as a No 10.
At just 19 years of age, the best is still to come for Bellingham, who is more than deserving of the Young Player Award for World Cup 2022. And maybe in four years’ time in North America, he might be contending for a much bigger award: the Golden Ball. Such is this brilliant youngster’s potential.
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