Femi Solaja with agency report
Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen, and 15 other football stars were selected by world football governing body, FIFA, from the list of graduates of its Under-17 World Cup tournaments in the last two decades in a special publication on its website yesterday.
Osimhen (2015) was joined by the likes of Gianluigi Buffon (1991), Ronaldinho (1997), Cesc Fabregas (2003), Neymar (2009), Mario Gotze (2009), Casemiro (2009), Toni Kronos (2007), Heung-min Son (2009), Alisson Becker (2009), Marc-Andre ter Stegen(2009) Marquinhos (2011), Trent Alexander-Arnold (2015), Phil Foden (2017), Aurelian Tchouameni (2017) and Pedri (2019) in this special cadet stars hall of fame.
Interestingly, the bulk of the stars with fairytale career runs were those who participated in the 2009 edition hosted by Nigeria but Golden Eaglets failed to win it as host, beaten 1-0 by Switzerland in the final in Abuja.
The U-17 global finals served as platforms for these former starlets enroute to enjoying storied careers at the very top of the game.
In its selection, FIFA takes a look at a selection of current superstars who took their first steps on the world stage at the prestigious tournament.
In the case of Nigeria forward, FIFA recalled that Osimhen notched a record-setting 10 goals in 2015 as Nigeria romped to an unmatched fifth crown in Chile. He would enjoyed stints with Wolfsburg, Charleroi and Lille, before helping Napoli to a historic league title as the division’s top scorer in 2023.
Aside that FIFA also noted that in 2022/23, Osimhen’s 26 goals cast into achieve Samuel Eto’o’s record of goals by an African player in a single Serie A season. The Nigerian also surpassed George Weah’s feat as the highest-scoring African to play in the division.
Brazil’s forward, Neymar Jnr, who hit his mark at the the 2009 edition hosted in Nigeria, netted the first of his A Seleção goals during the competition. He couldn’t prevent a first U-17 group-stage exit in more than 20 years for Brazil. He has since gone on to play for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, while winning an Olympic gold medal.
A petition to get Neymar in Brazil’s squad for the 2010 World Cup received some 14,000 signatures, but coach Dunga decided against picking the teenage sensation.
Elsewhere at the 2009 edition, Mario Gotze netted three times, but was unable to prevent a last-16 exit for Germany to eventual champions Switzerland. He would make his Bundesliga debut shortly after returning from the tournament and the rest, as they say, is history.
Gotze would go on to score the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final as a substitute – the first player to ever do so – while becoming the youngest showpiece scorer since Wolfgang Weber in 1966.
Completing a trio of A Seleção stars from the 2009 tournament is midfield enforcer, Casemiro, who featured in two of Brazil’s three group-stage games. He went on to enjoy a legendary spell with Real Madrid, winning five UEFA Champions League and three FIFA Club World Cups in the process, before moving to Manchester United.
Two years on from the disappointment of the U-17 finals, Casemiro was a part of the squad which lifted the FIFA U-20 World Cup™ in Colombia.
Real Madrid midfielder, Toni Kroos, was described as a beacon of consistency throughout a career of many highs and few lows, Kroos rose to prominence when he scooped the adidas Golden Ball from the 2007 tournament, helping Germany to the bronze medal in the process. He went on to win trophies aplenty for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
And due to his exceptional passing ability, Kroos was nicknamed Garçom or ‘the waiter’ during the 2014 World Cup.
Heungmin Son of Korea and Tottenham Hotspur striker was also part of three-goal club of ’09. His trio of strikes helped Korea Republic to a joint-best quarter-final finish in Nigeria. The forward would enjoy spells with Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen in Germany prior to a hugely-successful move to Spurs.
With 111 goals [as of 5/11/23], he is the highest-scoring AFC player in Premier League history.
Brazilian goalkeeper, Alisson Becker also played in all of Brazil’s games at the tournament, though the shot-stopper supreme failed to keep a clean sheet at the tournament. He more than 10 years with boyhood club Internacional, before moves to Roma and Liverpool established him as one of the world’s top goalkeepers.
In May 2021, he became the first goalkeeper ever to score for Liverpool – as well as the first to net a winning goal in a Premier League game – when he scored against West Brom with a dramatic late header.
Barcelona legend Ter Stegen kept goal behind Gotze and Co during that disappointing 2009 tournament. He went on to play more than 100 games for boyhood club Borussia Monchengladbach, ahead of a 2014 move to Barcelona.
During the 2022/23 season, Ter Stegen set a new record of 26 La Liga clean sheets.
Brazillian defender, Marquinhos enjoyed a better campaign in 2011 as they reached the semi-final stage, with Marquinhos at the heart of their backline. He joined Roma the following year before moving to Paris Saint-Germain just 12 months later, where he has remained ever since.
When Marquinhos joined PSG for a reported £27m in 2013, he was the fifth-most expensive defender in football history. Only Rio Ferdinand, Thiago Silva, Lilian Thuram and Dani Alves cost more at the time.
Liverpool icon Alexander-Arnold featured just once during those 2015 finals as England fell to a first-ever group-stage exit. He has enjoyed more success since then, however, lifting a number of trophies with the Reds and winning more than 20 caps for England.
Away from the pitch, Alexander-Arnold is a keen chess player and has faced world champion Magnus Carlsen in the past.
Phil Foden’s brilliance helped inspire England to title glory at India 2017. The Manchester City prodigy netted a brace in the 5-2 final win over Spain and was named as the tournament’s best player. Plenty more goals and trophies have followed in the time since with his boyhood club.
Foden wears the now-famous No47 on his back to pay homage to his late grandad, who passed away at the same age.
France’s Tchouameni Tchouameni also travelled to the 2017 edition and helped his country to a perfect group stage, only for a 2-1 last-16 defeat to Spain to end their trophy hopes. Moves to Monaco and Real Madrid followed as well as senior international recognition. He starred at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, helping France to the final, though he would miss his spot-kick in their shootout defeat against Argentina.
While now a towering midfield presence for both club and country, Tchouameni started his career as a striker.
Barcelona’s young midfielder, Pedri, among Spain’s new generation of midfield dynamos is Barcelona wonderkid Pedri. A technically gifted and well-rounded midfielder, he burst on to the scene during Spain’s run to the quarter-finals of the 2019 tournament.
Pedri left secondary school with top grades across the board, and was offered a scholarship to study medicine at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
