Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Phil Foden, the key players as we look at the under 25 pre-tournament combined best players 11 for FIFA World Cup 2022.
Less than 3 weeks to go for one of the biggest sporting carnivals of the world ‘The Football World Cup 2022’. Almost every world cup has seen some new stars emerging and grabbing the headlines. Their performance leaves a long-lasting mark in the field that is remembered for years.
A true football fan must have heard folklore about 17-year-old Pele’s heroics in the 1958 world cup final against host Sweden where he scored twice for Brazil. Similarly, you must have seen a 19-year-old Mbappe score against the experienced Croatian side to seal the second World Cup title for France in 2018.
This World Cup will be no different. Some of the great young talents of world football will be on national duty to show their talent on the biggest stage. This includes the likes of Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao, Alphonso Davies, Bukayo Saka, and many more. On that note, let’s look at the pre-tournament under 25 years of age best 11 for FIFA World Cup 2022.
Pre-Tournament Under-25 Best Players 11 for FIFA World Cup 2022:
Goalkeeper:
Robert Sánchez: Spain (24 years old)
Sánchez is at top of his game in the current season playing for Brighton in EPL. In 12 Premier League outings, he has kept 4 clean sheets with an average of 2.5 saves per match. Though Spain team coach Luis Enrique has shown faith in Unai Simón Mendibil in front of the post, it will be hard to overlook Sanchez’s form and contribution to his club this season.
Defenders:
Alphonso Davies: Canada (22 years old)
This 22-year-old, Alphonso Davies is currently a hot property in the world of football. Back in 2017, he became the youngest player to play for Canada. In fact, he is the first player born in the 2000s to score at the top level in an international tournament.
He has 89% pass accuracy, 70% overall Tackles won and 52% duels won this season. Though Canada is in a tough group with Belgium and Croatia, Davies would still be looking to make the coming World Cup memorable for his nation.
Éder Militão: Brazil (24 years old)
Militao has won some of the biggest trophies of world football in form of UCL with Real Madrid and Copa América in 2019 with Brazil. He will be eying to win the football world cup for a record 6th time with Brazil. He has a Tackle% of 90% against dribblers along with 88% pass accuracy this season.
Matthijs de Ligt: Netherlands (23 years old)
The Netherlands will be having arguably the best pair of central defenders this world cup in form of Virgil van Dijk and Mathijs de Ligt. Ligt has a Tackle% of 80% against dribblers along with 92% pass accuracy, 63% overall tackles won and 58% Aerials dual won this season. Being playing consistently for Bayern Munich, he will be pivotal for Netherland’s defense.
Diogo Dalot: Portugal (23 years old)
Dalot is one of the most improved players under the new Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag. He has incredible stats of 83% Tackles won, 57% Duels won, 69% Aerial Duals won, and 26 clearances in EPL this season. Certainly, he is one of the key players in the current Manchester United setup.
Meanwhile, Portugal is placed in a tricky group along with Ghana, Uruguay, and South Korea. So, Dalot along with his country and club teammates, Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo have to bring their A-game to outplay their group opponents.
Midfielders:
Phil Foden: England (22 years old)
Foden is already an established name in world football having won the Premier League Young Player of the Season and the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2021. He has scored 6 goals and provided 3 assists in the star-studded Manchester City side with 88.2 minutes/Goal or assist in EPL this season. He will certainly play a crucial role in Southgate’s endeavor to bring back World Cup glory to England.
Pedri: Spain (20 years old)
One of the most versatile young central midfielders in the world at present. Pedri has staggering 92% Pass accuracy for Barcelona in La Liga. While he doesn’t score much, he is excellent at recovering the ball in the midfield and distributing it to the team.
His defensive skills can be seen by the stats of 57% Tackles won, 53% Duels won, 8 interceptions and 5 clearances in 12 La Liga matches this season. He will certainly be in the plans of Luis Enrique to repeat the World Cup glory of 2010 for Spain.
Jude Bellingham: England (19 years old)
Jude Bellingham has truly announced himself in senior football this season. With 3 goals & 1 assist in Bundesliga and 4 goals & 1 assist in the Champions League. His heroics in UCL so far are one of the main reasons that his club Borussia Dortmund outplayed Sevilla and reached the round of 16.
His 84% pass accuracy, 68% Aerials Dual won and 29 successful dribbles in Bundesliga this season are just a few numbers that are justifying his talent. He will definitely play an important role at some stage in this World Cup campaign for England.
Forwards:
Vinicius Junior: Brazil (22 years old)
Vincius Jr is considered one of the best young players in the world. He is best known for his dribbling skills, high pace, and shooting. This Brazilian football star is in the news for the right reasons in the last 6 months or so. He scored the sole goal of the UCL final against Liverpool and helped his team Real Madrid win La Liga in 2021-22.
He has already scored 6 goals in La Liga and 4 goals in the Champions League this season. Apart from that, he has also provided a total of 4 assists in these two tournaments. Surely, he is one of the main players to watch out for this World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe: France (23 years old)
Mbappe’s story is no less than a fairy tale! He won the World Cup with France in 2018 as a 19-year-old. He will be one more time France’s main man to score goals this year. Mbappe is currently on a goal-scoring spree with some astonishing numbers.
He scored 5 times in 6 games during the Qualifiers for France. Apart from that, he also has 11 Ligue1 goals and 7 Champions League goals so far this season for PSG. Undoubtedly, he is in red-hot form for France going into this World Cup.
Jamal Musiala: Germany (19 years old)
This 19-year-old is a well-known name in German football. Musiala came out of the ranks this season to score 7 goals and provided 4 assists for Bundesliga table toppers Bayern Munich. He has scored or assisted a goal every 69 minutes in Bundesliga this season. German manager Hansi Flick will certainly look to use his speed and dribbling skills to surprise his opponents.
FIFA World Cup 2022 – Under 25 Best Players 11 of the Tournament:
Robert Sanchez, Alphonso Davies, Eder Militao, Matthijs de Ligt, Diogo Dalot, Phil Foden, Pedri, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe & Jamal Musiala
Thanks for reading! What’s your under 25 best players 11 for the FIFA World Cup 2022? Please email your thoughts to footbalyticsofficial@gmail.com
ALSO READ: Exclusive: Pre-Tournament Best Players 11 for FIFA World Cup 2022
Akshay is an author at Footbalytics. His love for football started way back in 1998 when Ronaldo (Not Cristiano) was his first football hero, and the list keeps getting longer ever since.
Though Akshay is a Teacher by profession, he firmly believes that there is no better classroom than the Sports field and no better Teacher than Sports.
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