Picking a World U-20 XI (and No Englishmen in Starting Lineup)

Qualification tournaments for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey have been coming thick and fast of late.

In early February, Colombia won that scout’s paradise known as the South American Youth Championship in Argentina and the CONCACAF U-20 Championship is taking place in Puebla, Mexico as we speak. Africa’s youth competition will begin on March 16 while both Asia and Europe, who count their U-19 tournaments as the World Cup qualifiers, have already held their events. Oceania’s U-20 Championship will kick off on March 21 in Fiji.

Bleacher Report will have plenty of content previewing the U-20 World Cup over the coming months, but we thought it might be a good idea to get a head start by selecting a squad comprised of players who fit into the competition’s parameters—namely, players born on or after January 1, 1993.

Now, not all of the players revealed in the following slides will be playing in Turkey this summer. Several are already senior internationals and have long since left the underage categories behind.

There is also not a single English player in our starting XI. Make of that what you will. And many of the much-ballyhooed Brazilian and Argentine youngsters saw their stock diminish drastically in January as both sides crashed out of the South American Youth Championship at the first hurdle.

But we are left with a very good squad, and no doubt one that will create some debate. Feel free to comment on the selections in the field below, or even name your own U-20 XI.

The following is Bleacher Report’s U-20 XI, set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, complete with substitutes.

GK: Cristian Bonilla, Colombia

He’ll be 20 years old when the FIFA U-20 World Cup kicks off in Turkey, but given his birth date of January 2, he slips just under the cut-off.

Tall and athletic, he has been a top-flight goalkeeper since the age of 16 and in 2012 won the Colombian league and cup double with Atlético Nacional.

He backstopped the Coffee Growers to the South American Youth Championship title in early February and kept four clean sheets along the way.

RB: Wallace, Brazil

He is one of only two Brazilians in the starting XI.

As an 18-year-old, he was part of the Fluminense side that won the Brazilian title. After the ongoing state championships, he’ll be off to join Chelsea, who secured his services last December.

Like most of his teammates, he had a forgettable South American Youth Championships, but he was also one of the younger players in the team and has considerable upside.

CB: Raphaël Varane, France

At 19 years of age, he is already making a name for himself with Real Madrid.

Varane started both legs of Madrid’s Copa del Rey win over Barcelona in February and played one of the best matches of his career to date in the first match, where he repeatedly stymied the Barcelona attack and popped up with a crucial goal in the 81st minute.

He has already been called into the senior French national side but has yet to make his debut.

CB: Marquinhos, Brazil

He has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise difficult season at AS Roma.

At 18 years old, Marquinhos barely turned out for the senior Corinthians squad before moving to the Italian capital last July. Roma, no doubt, did their homework on him—recognizing a smart, versatile defender and wasting no time in signing him up.

Given his first-team duties for the Giallorossi, he was not included in Brazil’s squad for the South American Youth Championship. But if he continues on the track he is on, he’ll be making his full Brazil debut in no time.

LB: Lucas Digne, France

Rarely does a teenage full-back make such an impact in a top European league.

But at 19 years old, Digne is already well into his second season at Ligue 1 side Lille and in January, extended his contract with the club through 2016—much to the consternation of his many suitors.

Quick and versatile, he has both an eye for a cross and the ability to cut inside and gives manager Rudi Garcia an option at left wing as well.

CM: Paul Pogba, Juventus

The third and final Frenchman in our starting XI is a figure of controversy.

Manchester United fans claim to have no time for him, given his desertion of the club during the summer. But if they’re honest with themselves, they’ll concede they would have preferred to keep him around.

Since joining Juventus, Pogba has made 18 Serie A appearances for the Scudetto holders and a further five in the Champions League.

He has scored five goals so far this season and is manager Antonio Conte’s first choice to play whenever one of Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio (arguably the best midfield trio in club football) needs a rest.

CM: Mateo Kovacic, Croatia

Just 18 years old, Kovacic was presented with the No. 10 shirt immediately after making a €13 million move from Dinamo Zagreb to Inter Milan in January.

He has since started both the Nerazzurri’s Europa League knockout matches and has made a further two appearances in Serie A. Before moving to Italy, he featured in all six of Dinamo’s Champions League group stage games.

A two-time league and cup winner with Dinamo, Kovacic is gifted with both exceptional technical ability and football sense well beyond his years.

AM: Juan Fernando Quintero, Colombia

If you haven’t yet come across this Colombian maestro, you might as well get to know him. You’ll be hearing a lot about him in the years ahead.

Quintero, who plays his club football in Italy with Pescara, was the best player at the South American Youth Championship in Argentina, where the Colombia side he marshaled won their third U-20 title.

In the final round of the tournament, he scored the only goal in Colombia’s important 1-0 win over Peru in Mendoza, and five days later in the final match against Paraguay, he opened the scoring in what proved to be a 2-1 win.

A versatile, technically-gifted playmaker who often seems as though he has eyes in the back of his head, Quintero can play in any attacking midfield position.

AM: Julian Draxler, Germany

The maturation of the imperious Draxler is why Schalke were willing to let Lewis Holtby join Tottenham Hotspur in January.

Tall, confident and with an eye for goal (often of the spectacular variety), the 19-year-old has already been capped three times for Germany and will be the engine room of the national team for years to come.

When he made his debut for Schalke in 2010, he became the second-youngest player to have featured in a Bundesliga match.

AM: Nicolás López, Uruguay

It speaks well of Roma that they have two players in this starting XI.

López, whose six goals topped the South American Youth Championship scoring chart, has been used sparingly by the Serie A side so far this season (not that the managerial uncertainly has helped) and has scored once in three appearances.

He can play both as a centre-forward and on the left side of the attack. His only weakness is his slight frame, although at 19 years old, he still has time to bulk up.

CF: Romelu Lukaku, Belgium

Belgium might well be among the dark-horse favourites at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and Lukaku is a big reason why.

Likened to Didier Drogba during his time at Anderlecht, he was acquired by Chelsea in 2011 but has since spent most of his time on loan to West Bromwich Albion, for whom he has scored 12 Premier League goals so far this season.

At 6'3" and mostly filled out, he already has a man’s body at the age of 19 and is an absolute menace in the goalmouth.

But one of his best characteristics is how much he enjoys his football. The love of the game is visible on his face, and that joy manifests itself in the goals he scores.

Substitutes

GK: Timo Horn, Germany

DF: Valber Huerta, Chile

LB: Jetro Willems, Netherlands

AM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, England

AM: Jesus Manuel Corona, Mexico

FW: M’Baye Niang, France

FW: Pape Moussa Konate, Senegal