The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has shone a light on some of the planet’s greatest footballers.
Among its established names, from Neymar Jr to Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and now Kylian Mbappe, emerge a fresh crop of stars who are rapidly rising to prominence on the global stage.
But which blossoming talents look likely to take that crucial next step, evolving from promising prodigies into bonafide icons of the game that football’s history books will remember for years to come?
Below Are 7 Of The Best Future Stars In World Football 2022
Jude Bellingham
Eduardo Camavinga
Cody Gakpo
Gavi
Rafael Leao
Jamal Musiala
Dusan Vlahovic
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham’s stock began to rise the moment he left English Championship side Birmingham City and joined Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2020. A significant £25 million price tag instantly made him the most expensive 17-year-old in the sport’s history.
But it wasn’t until the 2020/21 season that Europe’s elite truly took notice of the English teenager, and during the campaign, he scored six goals whilst providing an impressive twelve assists. That November he also made his International debut against the Republic Of Ireland.
Bellingham is a tall, powerful, and athletic box-to-box midfielder. In many ways, he represents a throwback to past eras; strong in the tackle, able to travel confidently with the ball and drift unnoticed to arrive in the opposition’s penalty area with perfect timing.
The Englishman is only improving throughout the course of 2022, having already recorded his best goal return in a single season to date and even scored his first England goal against Iran in the World Cup. There seems very little holding Bellingham back from becoming one of the game's most sought-after midfielders.
Eduardo Camavinga
When Real Madrid paid Ligue 1 side Rennes a hefty £35 million for then 19-year-old Eduardo Camavinga, it was apparent ‘Los Blancos’ were investing in long-term future talent.
Across four seasons at Rennes, the French teenager became a regular for Rennes and had made 88 appearances. After his switch to the Spanish Capital and grandeur of the Bernabeu, facing tough competition from an array of World class midfielders already in Real Madrid’s squad, Camavinga has appeared consistently over the last two seasons.
He is a technically gifted central midfielder. With silky control and composure beyond his years, Camavinga has evolved into one of the most highly regarded teenagers in European football. His eagerness and urgency to move the ball forward is outstanding with an exceptional defensive work rate to boot.
“His future is in his hands,” says French World Cup winner Paul Pogba. “He has confidence
in his qualities.”
Now that Toni Kross and Luka Modric are entering their twilight years along with the French national side's aging midfield, Camavinga is very likely to establish himself for both club and country in 2022. He is set to become an internationally renowned powerhouse over the next decade.
Cody Gakpo
Raised within PSV's academy graduate system, playing for the club's B team PSV Jong, Cody Gakpo is currently one of the Netherlands' most promising offensive hopes.
He made his senior debut aged 17 and has already spent six seasons playing at the top level of Dutch football. Yet it's within the last two seasons that Gakpo has begun to turn heads by scoring a goal every two games on average. His sparkling form also led to his inclusion in the Netherlands squad for Euro 2020.
Initially deployed on the left wing during his formative years, as he matured Gakpo has been utilised in central attacking roles too. The Dutchman often cuts inside at speed and mazey dribbles. For his national side, Gakpo has been transformed into a reliable centre-forward and has responded with four goals in seven outings to date.
This season Gakpo hit new heights and is on fire for both club and country. He's found the net during the World Cup, showing confidence and assuredness that will make him a force and perhaps secure a high-profile move to an elite European team.
Gavi
Pablo Martin Paez Gavira or ‘Gavi’ is a product of ‘La Masia,’ Barcelona’s legendary academy system, responsible for nurturing the core of Pep Guardiola's European Conquerors. At age eleven he signed for the Catalan giants and then penned his first professional contract in 2016.
Over the next five years Gavi rose through the under 16’s, and under 19’s to eventually feature for Barcelona-B. At the start of the 2021/22 campaign, he finally broke into the first team and made 44 appearances.
Gavi is a technically gifted playmaker. He falls into that typical ‘Tiki-taka’ profile first seen
through the Spanish nation game of the early 2000s. He is able to thread the ball through the lines and create chances with intricate ball progression. During his debut season, he clocked up five assists, a consistent return for a player so inexperienced.
The Spaniard became the youngest player to score at a World Cup finals since Pele in 1958 when finding the net against Costa Rica. With a market value of nearly £80 million and having already established himself as a regular for Barcelona, the future looks incredibly bright for Gavi.
Rafael Leao
Rafael Leao's development from a raw talent into a potential World star has been somewhat of a ‘slow burner.' After spending two seasons in Portugal's Primeira Liga with Sporting Lisbon-B, then gaining promotion to their senior team, the winger eventually moved to Lille.
During his single season in France, he performed well and was rewarded with a transfer to AC Milan. The Portuguese livewire was a constant at the San Siro, scoring goals and providing assists with an array of eye-catching displays. Yet it wasn’t until the 2021/22 season that he made a lasting impression on the European stage, netting 14 times and recording nine assists in all competitions. By October he''d make his senior debut for Portugal.
Leao has evolved into a skillful wide player, able to travel with the ball at pace and fluidly
dribble past opponents. His shooting ability is noteworthy too, the Portugal international is
capable of hitting the back of the net from wide positions or cutting inside too.
With rumours of a sensational move to Real Madrid throughout the summer of 2022, for a
fee upward of £100 million, Leao looks set to shine on the World stage and wow European
football fans for the foreseeable future.
Jamal Musiala
Despite recently finding success in Germany's Bundesliga, Musiala’s footballing story began in England, when he moved from Stuttgart to Chelsea’s youth academy at an early age.
But in the summer of 2019, he returned to Germany, signing for Bayern Munich, and then made his senior debut towards the end of that season. Musiala became the youngest player ever to feature for the club aged just 17 years and 115 days. He briefly represented England at the Under-21 level towards the end of 2020 but would ultimately announce his decision to play for Germany (his birth nation) in February of the following year.
Musiala has been widely labelled ‘the new Thomas Muller’ since establishing himself as a regular for both club and country. He is incredibly versatile, able to excel across the width of the pitch and cause a nuisance in the box.
“He has a great eye and feeling for choosing the right spaces,” explains former Bayern
manager Hansi Flick. “He is very confident on the ball and can play through the lines.”
The future is undoubtedly bright for Musiala. So far in the 2022/23 season, he has already
reached double figures in terms of goals for the first time in his career. Valued at over £100 million, Musiala is likely to become a mainstay in Bayern's starting eleven and continue his rise to become one of Germany’s next wonderkids.
Dusan Vlahovic
Following spells at Red Star Belgrade and then their local rivals Partizan, Dusan Vlahovic swapped Serbia for Serie A, arriving at Fiorentina in 2017. He officially signed for the Italian club in January 2018 on the day of his eighteenth birthday.
However, it wasn’t until his 2020/21 breakthrough season that Vlahovic showcased his true talents. He scored twenty goals plus in each of the next two campaigns and was eventually named Serie A player of the year.
Vlahovic became a constant for Serbia’s national side before eventually securing a move to Italian giants Juventus in January 2022 for a fee of around £60 million.
Vlahovic is the ultimate striker, incredibly physical, and an instinctive finisher. He is clinical and decisive in front of goal. The Serbian’s strength allows him to hold up the ball, and link play, whilst also being able to turn and drive at defenders.
The forward is on an upward trajectory, admired across Europe, and ready to show his pure class to a global audience. As Vlahovic enters his prime, he has the world at his feet, and as
this decade unfolds, is odds on to become one of the hottest attacking prospects on the
planet.
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