by MaddFM.
The U20 World Cup. While this competition is often overlooked due to the fact that many of the best eligible players who are already established senior internationals are usually left out or not released by their clubs, it remains a hugely anticipated event which showcases some of the best talent international football has to offer, and the aforementioned frequent absence of the best U20 players out there often creates a pathway and an opportunity for lesser known players to show what they can do on a global stage.
Previous Golden Ball winners from this tournament include the likes of Paul Pogba, Lionel Messi, Adriano, Sergio Aguero and Javier Saviola so there is little doubt as to the level, quality and pedigree of footballers in action at U20 level and this year is no different as we see some of the world’s top talents take to the stage for what has been a long-time coming with the previous tournament in 2021 cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
That means that the last time this competition took place was in 2019 when Poland hosted a 24-team tournament wherein we saw the likes of Gianluca Scamacca, Moussa Diaby, Julian Alvarez and Rafael Leao all feature for their home nations. It was Ukraine who ended up lifting the trophy after a 3-1 final victory over South Korea, slightly overshadowed by a young Norwegian striker who scored 9 goals in one game against Honduras to finish as Top Scorer for the tournament, with South Korea’s Lee Kang-In awarded the Golden Ball after a highly impressive tournament from the now Mallorca forward.
This year’s tournament takes place in Argentina after Indonesia were controversially removed as hosts by FIFA, and the likes of England, France, Brazil, Italy and Argentina will all be vying to be crowned champions - with the domestic club football season rapidly approaching an end, we thought it would be a good time to switch our focus to the International scene and look at 5 players from this year’s tournament who are worth watching and most importantly, worth your attention in Football Manager 2023.
1 . Marcos Leonardo (Brazil)
Heavily linked with the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal, West Ham and Roma in recent months - Marcos Leonardo remains a Santos player however it is unlikely this will last for long after he bagged 13 goals and 4 assists in 35 games last season and to date has scored 4 in 8 for the first team. Resembling a more traditional striker profile in terms of his strength, decision making and combined positioning and off-the-ball movement, Leonardo is expected to shine in this year’s tournament which in itself will be an audition for him to convince Europe’s biggest clubs that he is worth their time and investment.
In FM23 Leonardo is a 19-year-old poacher with outstanding forward attributes across the physical, mental and technical focus areas. With 15 Finishing, 15 Composure, 14 Off the Ball and 15 Acceleration he offers an explosive striking option at a relatively low fee, and with him already highly coveted at the start of a new save, I wouldn’t wait around long - in my own save he has been banging for PSV and is one of those players you just know is going to score against you regardless of what you do..don’t let it happen to you 😉.
2. Yaser Asprilla (Colombia)
Already an FM23 favourite and an established first-team player at Watford after featuring 37 times in the Championship this season, Asprilla is widely tipped for a great future and while he would have liked to notch up more goals and assists than the respective 2+1 from this season, it can also be said that Watford’s struggles and chaotic governance have had a part to play and the World Cup will be a great opportunity for Asprilla to showcase what he really can do at this level. Having already played and scored for the Colombia senior team, this is likely to be Asprilla’s last underage tournament and he will definitely be one to keep an eye on if Colombia hope to qualify from their group containing Senegal, Israel and Japan.
In FM23 I would be amazed if you haven’t already crossed paths with Asprilla at some point as he is clearly set up to be a wonderkid in-game; he has very strong all round attributes for an 18-year-old and is highly versatile in terms of how and where to deploy him - definitely worth looking at while he is still at Watford and there is no doubt you could turn him into an elite player with the right training and development plan in place..DO IT.
3. Alan Virginius (France)
Signed by league champions Lille last summer after impressing for Sochauz in Ligue 2, Alan Virginius has had a gradual transition to top tier football and has found most of his opportunities to be from the bench in Northern France this season. That said, he has looked like a livewire in the majority of his cameo appearances, so much so that he has been heavily linked with a move to Newcastle in recent weeks with Eddie Howe thought to be a big admirer of his ability and potential. Rapid quick with excellent dribbling and ball control ability, Virginius offers a powerful and highly creative outlet with high energy and pace that would ignite most team’s on pitch fortunes - as a Newcastle fan looking at the project being built on Tyneside, safe to say I would love it if we were to land the Frenchman who will captain his national side at the U20 World Cup.
In FM23 we can clearly see Virginius’ versatility and speed with pretty good all-round attributes for a 19-year-old - he also offers plenty of retraining options depending on your needs and with a value of €4.6m - €6.8m he is very much attainable once a few in-game months have passed.
4. Valentin Carboni (Argentina)
An 18-year-old striker who is half-Argentinian and half-Italian? Sign me up now. Valentin Carboni is very highly regarded at Inter and it’s no surprise that he has drawn early comparisons with the likes of Paulo Dybala and James Rodriguez. With exceptional technique, ball control, passing and shooting ability Carboni is a defender’s nightmare and we have seen glimpses of this already in Serie A with 5 substitute appearances made as well as seeing him scoring and creating goals at will for club and county at youth level (interestingly he featured for Italy at youth level before switching allegiance to Argentina 👀.
From an FM23 perspective we can clearly see Carboni’s potential already reflected in his attacking and technical attributes particularly his combined Technique, First Touch, Passing, Dribbling, Finishing and Flair which go pretty well with that lovely 18 Determination rating - definitely a wonderkid on our hands who you should be pursuing from day 1 in FM23; either that or just take over Inter, simples.
5. Alex Scott (England)
I know I know - this will be the 3rd or 4th mention of Alex Scott on this website however we simply can’t leave him out. He is arguably one of the best in-game wonderkids in FM23 this year particularly since he received a substantial attributes boost in the recent winter data update, and he is clearly realising his real-life potential having just been named Young Player of the Year in the Championship and earned widespread plaudits for his exceptional ability to read and control games, echoed by Pep Guardiola after his side’s 3-0 cup win over Bristol City earlier in the season. He has since been linked with Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton and if he can maintain his club form to help England progress far in this tournament, it won’t be long before a bid is tabled and accepted for his services.
In FM23 - this is a player who can play in any midfield role and who rapidly develops to be able to play for almost any team. With a contract until 2025 he is very attainable and is a player that one should build a team around if a long-term save is your thing. It’s little wonder that the Football Manager social team recently confirmed him as the most-signed player since the winter update was released; enough said.
There we have it - 5 players who should be watched very closely at this year’s U20 World Cup and whom are very much tipped for bigger things both in real life and in Football Manager 2023. There are a host of others of course with honourable mentions for the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka (Chelsea and England), Maxime Perrone (Man City and Argentina), Andrey Santos (Chelsea and Brazil), Niko Takahashi (Barcelona and Japan), Cesare Casadei (Chelsea and Italy) and of course 16-year-old Ecuadorian Kendry Paez who we can’t even mention as he is not even in Football Manager yet. I think we can say with confidence that this year’s tournament will be a cracking affair and has the potential to influence a number of big clubs’ transfer strategies this summer - we wouldn’t have it any other way 🔥.
Thanks for reading,
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