Providing the platform for the world’s youngest stars to shine, the FIFA U20 Men’s World Cup is an exciting spectacle for all lovers of ‘The Beautiful Game’. The upcoming 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup will be the 23rd edition of the tournament and will be as absorbing and riveting as ever. Between the 20th of May and the 11th of June, football’s best up-and-comers will compete in Argentina for the U20 throne.
The FIFA U-20 World Cup typically takes place biennially and has 24 nations compete in the tournament. Unlike The FIFA World Cup, this competition has a larger pool of winners with there being 11 past champions compared to the World Cup’s 8. The past 11 nations to lift the U20 World Cup trophy are Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Serbia, Ghana, Spain, Russia, Germany, England, France, and Ukraine.
With the inaugural U-20 World Cup being played in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship, every 2 years the tournament has been completed aside from 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FIFA was compelled to cancel the 2021 tournament and move it to 2023.
With the biggest youth tournament on the horizon, let’s take a look at the biggest stars coming into the FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup!
Alejandro Garnacho (Argentina, Manchester United)
First on this list, we’ve gone for Manchester United academy graduate Alejandro Garnacho. The 18-year-old winger is estimated to have a market value of 25 million euros according to Transfermarkt. The 2004-born Argentinian caught the media’s attention in Manchester United’s academy, where he scored 16 goals and provided 8 assists in 31 games. This included a glorious 2021/22 FA Youth Cup where Garnacho finished the tournament as the top goal scorer and helped United win the cup.
Garnacho’s consistent elite performances in the academy saw him receive a first-team call-up. At the age of 17 years, 9 months and 28 days, Garnacho debuted for The Red Devils in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea. Since the 28th of April of last year, Garnacho has scored 4 goals and provided 5 assists for Manchester United’s first team.
Along with his prolific goal scoring, Garnacho’s exposure to football’s greatest players has elevated his potential and understanding of ‘The Beautiful Game’. I mean, the guy has already played with Cristiano Ronaldo, perhaps the most clinical goal-scorer in football history. Garnacho has also gained experience in high-pressure situations at United, having already won an EFL Cup with The Red Devils this season.
Inevitably though, consistent game time was always going to be tough for Garnnacho at Manchester United at such a young age. Despite this, his per 90 stats are elite and comparable to Martinelli and Rodrygo. In comparison to other wingers and attacking midfielders, Garnacho’s per 90 stats put him in the 94th percentile for progressive carries, 98th percentile for touches in attacking penalty, and 96th percentile for progressive passes received.
For Argentina’s U-20 national side, Garnacho has scored 4 goals in 4 games. In the 2022 edition of the Toulon Tournament, Garnacho scored 4 goals as Argentina finished 5th in the tournament.
However, Garnacho’s chances of featuring at the U-20 World Cup are dwindling day by day. Although the young Argentinian made a personal request to be sent to the tournament in his home country, the request has been turned down by Erik Ten Hag and United management. Despite returning from injury Garnacho would miss the FA Cup final against Manchester City, hence why Ten Hag decided to keep him in England.
If Garnacho were to compete at the U-20 World Cup, he would undoubtedly be the player to watch. His presence will be seriously missed by Argentina, who are striving to win the tournament for a record 7th time.
Whilst this star will be disappointed to not compete in the upcoming youth tournament, here are 5 players to watch at the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup!
5. Claudio Echeverri (Argentina, River Plate)
Argentina will never stop producing an elite talents. Claudio echeverri is another one. He will conquer the European football in few years. Just sit back and remember the name.🇦🇷🙅 pic.twitter.com/TEkV9lVsRs
— Spina kicks 🇦🇷 (@Spinaaaaa17) April 30, 2023
With the absence of Alejandro Garnacho, Mascherano and the U-20 Argentina squad may look to rejig their offensive options. In comes Claudio Echverri. Born on January the 2nd 2006, performing at the U-20 World Cup could be a big step up for the attacking midfielder. However, his recent performances for Albicelestes’ U-17 squad would indicate that he is ready for a step up.
The 17-year-old has scored 7 goals and provided 4 assists in 14 games for Argentina’s U-17 side. The majority of those goal contributions came in the U-17 South American Championship where Echeverri truly shined. In 8 games the attacking midfielder scored 5 goals and provided 3 assists and finished the tournament as joint top scorer. The most notable performance came in Argentina’s opener against Venezuela. In the 4-2 win, Echeverri was involved in every goal as he scored once and assisted 3 times.
Along with the proven end product, Echeverri’s leadership is astounding. Captaining the U-17 side in 6 of their 8 games in the South American Championship, Echeverri’s composure, confidence and maturity could propel his case for the U-20 World Cup.
Essentially, whilst it may be a step up for the young Argentinian his pure quality and intrinsic leadership will convince Mascherano to trust Echeverri who will dominate in the upcoming U-20 World Cup.
4. Mathys Tel (France, Bayern Munich)
Born on the 27th of April 2005, young French striker Mathys Tel has already entered the main stage of European football. Despite being only 18 years of age, Tel has already scored 5 goals in 25 games for Bayern Munich. Overall, he has scored 14 goals in 44 career games.
Impressing major European giants with stellar performances for Rennes, Tel made the move away from his home country to the biggest club in Germany. The 20 million euro move saw him become Rennes’ 7th most expensive departure. With his contract at Bayern expiring on the 30th of June 2025 and Bayern’s current strikers (Muller, Mane and Choupo-Moting) nearing the end of their careers, regular first team football is on the horizon for Mathys Tel.
Despite his minimal game time, Tel has managed to be effective. According to Fbref, Tel’s per 90 stats are comparable to those of Gabriel Jesus, Lautaro Martinez and Alexander Isak. Not a bad company to be a part of.
On international duty, Tel has lit up the stage for France’s youth teams. With 5 goals for the U17, U18 and U19 sides each, Tel has scored a total of 15 goals in 21 games for France’s young national teams. Despite not featuring for France’s U-21 side yet, it is undoubtedly that he will make the jump considering his recent performances. In France’s last 5 Euro U-19 qualifier games, Tel has scored 5 goals and provided 3 assists. The most impressive performance came in a 7-0 win against Kazakhstan, where Tel scored a hattrick and provided 2 assists.
With France looking to win the U-20 World Cup for just the 2nd time, they could look to Mathys Tel who will show football aficionados worldwide why he is a member of the Bayern Munich first team.
3. Alvaro Rodriguez (Uruguay, Real Madrid)
At 18 years old, the Real Madrid Castilla striker is the youngest player on this list. The 2004-born Uruguayan has provided 7 goal contributions in 20 games this season. In his short career so far, Rodriguez has 17 goal contributions in 46 games.
Alvaro burst onto the scene on the 25th of February when he scored an equalizing goal in the Madrid derby. From a Luka Modric corner, the 18-year-old found himself wide open and leapt for a brilliantly cushioned header which went past Oblak into the bottom corner. The 85th-minute equalizer made Alvaro Real Madrid’s 4th youngest goal scorer in La Liga history. Along with this incredible stat, the Spanish-born striker became the youngest goal scorer in El Derbi Madrileno this century aged 18 years and 226 days. With a goal and an assist in 4 La Liga appearances this season, Rodriguez will be hoping to become a more consistent first-team player for Los Blancos next season.
Despite being born in Spain, Rodriguez chose to represent Uruguay at youth international level. In 8 games for the U-20 Uruguayan side, Rodriguez has scored 5 goals. All of them came in the 2023 U-20 South American Championship, where Uruguay finished runners-up in the tournament. With a heap of talent on their side, Uruguay will be one of the favourites coming into the upcoming World Cup and Rodriguez will be a lock to start every game up front.
2. Fabricio Diaz (Uruguay, Liverpool FC Montevideo)
Another Uruguayan makes the list and this time, it is the U-20 side’s captain. The 2003-born defensive midfielder has scored 8 goals in 19 games on youth international duty. The 20-year-old currently plays for Liverpool FC Montevideo and is estimated to have a market value of 5 million euros per Transfermarkt.
Despite only being 20 years old, Diaz’s experience and leadership is one of his remarkable qualities having already played 116 games at club level. Having already won the Supercopa Uruguayan Trophy with Liverpool in 2019/20, the Uruguayan already has a taste for winning.
Along with his seemingly innate veteran leadership, Diaz’s ability to contribute to goals is also fascinating. Despite being a midfield anchor, Diaz scored 5 goals in the 2023 U-20 South American Championship and was Uruguay’s tied top goal-scorer in the tournament. With creativity, defensive discipline, and veteran leadership under his belt, Marcelo Broli and the Uruguayan U-20 side will look to their captain to set the pace in the upcoming World Cup.
1. Andrey Santos (Brazil, Chelsea / Vasco da Gama)
The 18-year-old Brazilian central midfielder has made a name for himself in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A for Vasco da Gama. With 12 goals in 50 career games, the 2004-born player was scouted by the biggest clubs in Europe earlier in 2023. After several impressive performances, Santos earned himself a 12.5 million euros move to Chelsea. After his historic move, Santos returned to his boyhood club for the remainder of the 2022/23 season.
Already the captain of the U-20 Brazilian national side, Santos has scored 6 goals in 11 appearances for the Selecao Sub-20. All of his goals came in the 2023 U-20 South American Championship. Along with leading his side to their 12th South American Championship, Santos finished the tournament as its top goal-scorer. From central midfield!
Santos also received the honour of debuting for the Selecao on the 25th of March. In Brazil’s first game since the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Santos started and played 65 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Morocco. Despite the loss, it would have been a night to remember for the 18-year-old. After all, who better to learn from in midfield than all-time great Casemiro?
