World Cup 2014: 10 Teenage Starlets on Course to Star at the Tournament

The 2014 World Cup will kick off 794 days from now in South America’s largest city, Sao Paulo. The Arena do Sao Paulo, one of the seven brand-new stadiums currently under construction, will be the center of attention for a captive global audience in the billions on the 12th of June, 2014.

Amongst the many intrigues of the global game’s most popular event will be which young player emerges in a major way for their country. Landon Donovan, Lukas Podolski and Thomas Müller have all won FIFA’s best young player award in the three most recent World Cups. Donovan led the U.S. to that surprising quarterfinal run in 2002.

The Germans have finished in third place in the last two editions of the World Cup on the strength of their young, rising stars. Pelé in 1958 and Michael Owen in 1998 rose to prominence due to strong performances in the World Cup as teenagers.

Where opportunity meets talent and timing coincides with form, which young player is destined to shine in blissful ignorance of the pressure-packed moments at the World Cup? Only time will tell, but there’s a current crop of teenagers who show the promise necessary to shine on the world stage at Brazil 2014.

Honorable Mentions

No doubt these players have the potential to make an impact for club and country. In 2014 and beyond, look for these names to populate score sheets, articles and the consciousness of their football-mad homelands:

Stephan El Shaarawy (Age 19): Italy and AC Milan

Luc Castaignos (Age 19): Netherlands and Inter Milan

Ross Barkley (Age 18): England and Everton

Kristian Álvarez (Age 19): Mexico and Chivas de Guadalajara

Son Heung-Min (Age 19): South Korea and Hamburger SV

Emmanuel Mbola (Age 18): Zambia and TP Mazembe (on loan at FC Porto) 

Stefanos Kapinos

National Team: Greece

Club Team: Panathinaikos

The 18-year-old netminder for Athens side Panathinaikos was the youngest ever to play for Greece’s U-17 (at 15) and senior (at 17) squads, debuting for the senior side in a November 2011 friendly against Romania. At 6'5", Kapinos has the size to be a dominant keeper. Adding into the mix Kapinos's athleticism and range, and you've got a world-class caliber goalie on the verge of breaking out.

In his first real season in the Panathinaikos mix, he started 10 out of the 11 super league games he appeared in and came away with two clean sheets.

He should certainly make the squad traveling to Poland and the Ukraine for this summer's European championship. He may even anchor the Greeks who will look to make another European run, having been drawn into the wide open Group A with co-hosts Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic

Ahmed Musa

National Team: Nigeria

Club Team: CSKA Moscow

Many thought the Nigerian Super Eagles of the mid-1990's were the African team destined to win the World Cup. They beat Brazil then Argentina to win the 1996 Gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics, climbing as high as fifth in the FIFA world rankings in the process. Only the intervention of a "divine ponytail" in the second round of the '94 World Cup prevented Nigeria from defeating perennial power Italy.

And then they crashed out, 4-1, in the second round of the 1998 World Cup to Denmark. The generation of Kanu, Taribo West, Jay Jay Okocha and company never realized their African dreams.

Who now can revitalize Africa's sleeping giant? Perhaps 19-year-old striker Ahmed Musa, the brief owner of the record for most goals scored in a Nigerian premier league season. Musa, at the time with the Kano Pillars, set the mark in 2009-10 scoring 18 goals. Transfer to the Europe and VV-Venlo in the Dutch Eredivisie quickly followed, where he refined his technique while scoring eight times in 37 appearances for the club over two seasons.  

Intense interest came from Spurs, Ajax and an undisclosed Bundesliga team which reportedly offered 10 million Euros before CSKA Moscow swooped in during the January transfer window to acquire Musa. 

African sides face a heavy load of international fixtures in 2012 and 2013, so Musa should add to his 13 international caps and lone goal tally with Nigeria during the 2013 Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifying campaigns. The Super Eagles will be hoping he builds upon his U-20 2011 World Cup experience, where he was shortlisted for golden ball after three goals in five games.

Julian Draxler

National Team: Germany

Club Team: Schalke 04

In the last 10 years alone, Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski, Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil have emerged in World Cups for the mighty Germans. No team in world football reloads like the Germans. They must produce young talent along the same assembly lines as their famous automobiles. 

Looking to improve on their back-to-back third place finishes in 2006 and 2010, the 2014 squad already has the potential for another World Cup run.

The first of two young Germans on this list, 18-year-old Julian Draxler, was the fourth-youngest player in Bundesliga history when he debuted for Schalke 04 in January of 2011. In 15 appearances last year, the skillful midfielder notched three goals. In a more regular role this year, Draxler has contributed with four goals in all competitions as Schalke looks likely to lock up a Champions League berth, finishing third in the Bundesliga.

While the teenager is yet to play with the senior German side, he scored in his debut with U-21's in a 4-1 win over Cyprus in qualifying for 2013 UEFA U-21 championships. Germany has never shied away from bringing young players along for the biggest tournaments, so provided Draxler continues to flourish in Gelsenkirchen, look for him in Brazil come the summer of 2014. 

Romelu Lukaku

National Team: Belgium

Club Team: Chelsea

The son of Roger Lukaku, a former professional and capped player for Zaire, the 18-year-old striker has already been labeled as the next Drogba by Blues supporters at Stamford Bridge. Lukaku and Drogba indeed share an African heritage, the nose for goal, physical strength and powerful shots.  

The comparisons between the two were floating about even before Lukaku arrived in England having been the top scorer in the Belgian League in 2009-10 season. All told, he notched 33 goals in a little over two seasons with Anderlecht before the 13 million pound transfer to the Premier League in summer of 2011.

For his native Belgium—Romelu was born in Antwerp—he's already been capped 15 times, his two goals coming in a friendly against Russia back in November of 2010. Alongside the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Marouane Fellaini, Vincent Kompany and Steven Defour, Belgium's golden generation looks to return to the World Cup in Brazil with high expectations after a 12-year absence. 

Raphaël Varane

National Team: France

Club Team: Real Madrid

When Real Madrid pay 10 million euros and sign a player to a six year deal, it serves as notice to the rest of world football of a world-class talent. That is what the madrileños are reported to have paid for 18-year-old French center back Raphaël Varane in the summer of 2011.

Hailing from a hotbed of talent in northeastern France and developed with RC Lens, Varane is a technically-gifted defender who displayed the ability to neutralize all kinds of attacking threats in his 23 appearances with Lens in 2010-11 season.   

With Madrid, Varane is continuing to hone his craft, but also finding plenty of playing time with the first team, appearing in 14 games in all competitions. Showing his versatility, the Frenchman has played at center back, left back and as a holding midfielder for Jose Mourinho. He also uses his size effectively, an added weapon on set pieces and corner kicks, scoring deftly with a side heel from a corner against Rayo Vallecano earlier this year.

Should Les Blues return to the top of world football again in 2014 or beyond, they'll likely do it with Varane partnering fellow breakout star Mamadou Sahko in the center of their defense.

Phillippe Coutinho

National Team: Brazil

Club Team: Inter Milan (on loan at Espanyol)

If anything, Brazil's schedule of friendly matches over the next two years will allow Mano Menezes to weed out only the best from the considerable assets at his disposal. The pressure for Brazil to perform well on home soil in 2014 will be unlike anything the team, its players and a whole generation of Brazilians have experienced before.  

Phillippe Coutinho, the 19-year old midfielder currently on loan at Spanish side Espanyol, may be a man to consider come 2014. When he was only 16 years old, Inter Milan bought his rights from his original club side, Vasco da Gama. 

Coutinho has shown the typical Brazilian flair and brilliant individual ability to create scoring opportunities. He's also an intuitive player who reads the game well, able to craft passes and find space in build up play. Inter's chairman, Massimo Moratti, has gone as far as to say that "Coutinho is the future of Inter."

Since joining Espanyol on loan in January, Coutinho has taken on more of a scoring role, finding the net four times in his 10 appearances. He should and will get a look for the final 23 that will proudly wear the yellow shirts in Sao Paulo on opening day of the 2014 World Cup.   

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

National Team: England

Club Team: Arsenal

The “Ox” is one of the most talked about players from the current Premier League season. The 18-year-old winger, a Southampton product now a member of Arsenal's first team, inspired in equal measure both praise and debate in 2012.  

Whatever level of expectation that came with the 12 million pound transfer to Arsenal and the pedigree of being a son to a former England winger was surpassed when Chamberlain came off the bench for Arsene Wenger in his first full season with the north Londoners. He's netted four goals for the Gunners, including one in his Champion's League debut against Olympiacos, which made him the youngest Englishman to score in the continental competition.

Alex's speed, skill and poise have everyone around the Emirates, as well as in the social media sphere, clamouring for more time at Arsenal and a crack in England's senior squad. He may make the leap sooner than expected at this summer's European championships, seeing as how the Ox has a habit for defying the normal order of things. Either way, this exciting player will definitely star for the Three Lions in Brazil in 2014.

Lucas Rodrigues Moura Da Silva

National Team: Brazil

Club Team: Sao Paulo

Before Brazil became a global economic and political power, before it was a leading oil exporter, the nation was and remains the original exporter of football talent. Though the balance of economic power remains in Europe, at least as far as football is concerned, some Brazilian clubs are now financially healthy enough to afford to keep their best and develop players from a talent reservoir that is far from tapped.

Lucas Moura, the 19-year-old for Sao Paulo along with Neymar (at Santos) are two prominent examples of this stay-at-home trend. That's not to say that European suitors from Milan, Manchester, London and Madrid haven't lined up with their checkbooks for a possible summer transfer. With good reason, in just over three seasons with Sao Paulo, Lucas has scored 22 and assisted on 16 goals in 84 total appearances.  

Lucas Moura, while already featuring in 11 games for the national team, promises to factor in 2014 and beyond with his brilliant ball skills, speed and vision from the midfield and from the right.   

Mario Götze

National Team: Germany

Club Team: Borussia Dortmund

Germany expects to win every international tournament it competes in because their approach based on work ethic, fitness, team unity and organization has been proven so successful. Although the senior men's side has endured a significant drought since their last major trophy, the 1996 European championships, it hasn't affected the hopes their young and dynamic players.

If Mario Götze has fully recovered from a spate of injuries that have interrupted his third season in Germany's top flight, he could be a vital player in the Euro 2012 squad that's one of the favorites to win the title. Before an initial hamstring injury in December, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder had scored five times for Dortmund in 14 games. In the 2010-11 Bundesliga season, which Dortmund won, Götze starred with six goals and 15 assists.

Having progressed from the U-15's to the U-21's to the German national team in short order, Götze has garnered lofty praise and earned honors on every level, including being named as Europe’s best under-21 player in 2011. It won't be long before he showcases for Germany in the World Cup, hoping to rekindle the glories of the country's illustrious footballing history.

Iker Muniain

National Team: Spain

Club Team: Athletic Bilbao

Before he ran roughshod over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the UEFA Europa League round of 16, before the press dubbed him "the Spanish Messi," Iker Muniain was already a considerably good football player.

Muniain was the youngest ever to play, to feature in a Liga game and to score in Bilbao’s long history. He was only 16 years, seven months, 18 days old when he scored in his second game ever, the second leg of Europa league qualifying tie versus BSC Young Boys of Switzerland. Only a few months later, in October of 2009, he became the youngest player to score for any team in a first division match in Spain against Real Valladolid.

And while the 5'7", 19-year-old winger has been a regular starter for Athletic since the 2010 season, his performance this season has really captured the attention. In fact, watching his play at Old Trafford, the comparisons to Messi seem justified. Not only that, this year, in 51 total appearances for the Basque outfit, he's scored nine goals, five of them in Europe, leading Bilbao's exciting brand of attacking football into the semifinals of the Europa League.

The only obstacle that remains is how can Muniain break into a Spanish senior 11 following World Cup and European triumphs? He was only just called up for the first time in February, replacing Cesc Fabregas in the 74th minute of Spain's 5-0 friendly over Venezuela.

Should Spain want to repeat their 2010 success and maintain their place atop international football, they'd be wise to bring Iker Muniain into the fold.