The UEFA Nations League knockouts are finally here and here are some of the top young players aged 23 or younger to watch this week!
Jadon Sancho (England): Jadon Sancho has established himself as one of the most talented young players in the world this season after becoming a regular starter for Borussia Dortmund and gaining national team call ups already at the age of 19! Sancho is coming off a spectacular season where he made 26 goal contributions (12 Goals 14 Assists) in the Bundesliga nearly helping Dortmund win their first league title in 7 years as they finished just 2 points off the top and also making 4 apps for the National Team including getting his first start in March 2019 and delivering an assist against Czech Republic. Sancho regularly plays on the right wing and is a fantastic playmaker as you can see with his assist total, also he loves getting a goal from time to time. With attackers like Kane, Sterling, Rashford and Alli alongside him in the team we could definitely see Sancho shine in the Nations League this week with either playmaking or benefiting from others and bagging a couple of goals.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (England): It’s safe to say that it’s been quite the season for the young Right Back. Winning the Champions League and being a part of one of the greatest ever Liverpool squads as a regular starter, at the age of 20 Alexander-Arnold has truly established as one of the top right backs in the world already. Alexander-Arnold isn’t only a solid defensive RB, but also is one of the most threatening players in his position when he goes forward on that wing due to his fantastic crossing ability. He broke the Premier League record for a full back in a single season with 12 assists this year. Whether Alexander-Arnold will start is questionable as Kyle Walker is also in the squad, but don’t rule out Gareth Southgate moving Walker to a back 3 and letting Alexander-Arnold play RWB position from which he could be very, very threatening with his crossing ability and constant running up and down the wing. Don’t be surprised if this player bags a couple assists for England this week and overall drops a solid tournament.
Marcus Rashford (England): There is no need for introduction for Marcus Rashford. A regular for Manchester United for a few years now despite only still being 21. Rashford finished the season in disappointing form, but overall has had some good moments this season. Scored double figures in the league for the first time this season finishing with 10 goals, had a very impressive purple patch when Manchester United had their stretch of hot form and was one of the main goal scorers for his club this season alongside being one of their best players. Rashford has had a decent England career up until now, he is their 3rd highest goal scorer (6 Goals) out of all the picked players for this week with only Kane and Sterling scoring more goals for the country and Rashford has been in decent form when it comes to playing for England scoring 3 goals since the World Cup in 3 different games. Whether Rashford will be a regular starter is questionable with Kane back from injury, but considering Harry Kane did not look fully fit in that Champions League Final last week, Rashford could get chances, and could also be a dangerous super sub with his pace against tired legs he could for sure cause opposition teams problems this week.
Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands): At the age of 19, de Ligt is arguably the best young defender in the world and with clubs like Manchester United and Barcelona willing to splash the cash for him you can see why. At the age of 19, de Ligt has captained Ajax to a domestic double in the Netherlands and helped them reach the Champions League Semi Finals this season where they only got knocked out at the last minute. Matthijs will partner up with virgil Van Dijk and that is expected to be a very formidable Centre Back pairing now and for years to come which could potentially be the biggest key for Netherlands entering this competition. Furthermore, de Ligt has had a knack for scoring big goals too getting on the scoresheet against both Juventus and Tottenham in the CL knockouts so he definitely always is going to be a threat from set pieces such as corners and free kicks if the ball is delivered into the box. We could well and truly see why de Ligt is one of the most tracked young players by the top clubs during this competitions when they come up against England and their fantastic attacking players.
Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands): Another young player that had a fantastic season for Ajax helping them achieve the domestic double and a CL Semi Finals. At 22, de Jong has secured a 75 million Euro move to Barcelona where he will play next season and he is one of the top midfielders in the world already. Frenkie isn’t someone that fills up the game with his goals and assists, however he is someone that likes to move the ball around the midfield which was shown in the Champions League when he had a 90% pass completion rate which ended up being one of the best in the competition (4th best). Furthermore, de Jong also had a fantastic dribbling ability and knows how to get away from defenders to open up space for his teams. With his pin point passing ability and being able to get away from the defenders on the ball, de Jong truly can affect a game in multiple ways in midfield without scoring or assisting kind of like a Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta. He’s the type of player who will get the assist for an assist.
Donny van de Beek (Netherlands): Yet another young Dutch talent from Ajax. Just like his counterpart Frenkie de Jong, van de Beek is also a midfielder and will get to pair up with his Ajax teammate for Netherlands. Unlike his counterpart, van de Beek does tend to get in the box more often and does put up solid goal/assist numbers. In total he scored 17 goals this season and bagged over a double digit number of assists for Ajax across all competitions and has delivered some fantastic performance in big games scoring against Spurs and Juventus in the CL knockouts. Donny van de Beek is very good at linking up attacks, has great vision for passing and is very dangerous when he gets in the box as you can tell from the goal stats as he nearly got 20 from midfield this season. He brings an extra goal threat for his team in midfield and at just 22, he truly is a very good midfielder who is capable of affecting the game in many ways.
Joao Felix (Portugal): The 19 year old has established as one of the most targeted young players by the big clubs and rightfully so after a sensational season for Benfica. Felix got promoted from Benfica B to the main squad for the 2018-19 and took his chance immediately. He finished the season with total 20 goals this season, had 15G 7A in the league being a part of one of the highest scoring Portuguese top flight sides ever in Benfica (103 goals) this season and he already has managed a European hattrick when he bagged 3 goals against Frankfurt in the EL Quarter Final. Felix plays as an attacking midfielder, but can also be moved to the wing and even striker if his team needs to as he is a pretty good in front of goal. Now whether he’ll get to be a 1st team regular for Portugal right now is questionable, but definitely expect Felix to get on the field at some point during games. Playing with the likes of B.Silva, Ronaldo, Neves and Guedes he could really learn a lot and impress a lot of people that haven’t seen him play before.
Ruben Neves (Portugal): 22 year old Ruben Neves is coming off another solid season with Wolves playing in the Premier League this season. Neves isn’t someone who fills up the game with numbers like goals and assists, but is a very solid midfielder. Neves is described as more of a defensive midfielder but he does have the ability to go forward with his shooting and passing abilities. Neves is one of the best long shot takers in the world already, his free kicks and long shots in general are extremely dangerous and most of his goals for Wolves in general have come outside the box. Neves isn’t just a long shot taker, he also is a good passer with great vision and is a very mature midfielder who knows when to be in the right place due to his positioning. If given a chance, expect Neves to drop some great performances in the midfield. He is kind of like his teammate Joao Moutinho in terms of style, loves to control the midfield and can pop up with a long range goal from time to time. At 22 he definitely is a player who will be playing for a top club soon.
Diogo Jota (Portugal): Not a name that might blow everyone’s minds, but Diogo Jota is a very talented 22 year old forward that also plays for Wolves like Ruben Neves. 2nd highest scorer for Wolves this season with 10 goals and also delivered a few assists this season being a key player in helping Wolves get a European spot. Playing in the Premier League and doing very well definitely makes Jota potentially be one of Portugal’s brightest young players and someone that could be called upon for years to come. With Portugal not having a certified regular to start up front as Andre Silva isn’t in the team for the tournament, we could be very well seeing Jota get to start in the competition and given the season he just had, don’t be surprised if he delivered some good performances this week for Portugal.
Nations League Dates – Semi Finals (5th and 6th June), 3rd Place and Final (9th June)
With the Nations League and other football summer tournaments coming up in the next few weeks, here’s a guide on how Asian Handicaps work in football.
