The Under-20 World Cup begins: who are the numbers to watch in Argentina 2023

After four years, a competition that still arouses interest returns, as young footballers who aspire to be the figures of the future coincide. This Saturday, the Sub 20 World Cup 2023 begins , which was originally scheduled to be held in Indonesia, but FIFA has withdrawn the venue and it will eventually be in Argentina. Thus, the Albiceleste qualified “through the window” for the World Cup, as hosts, because on the ground they had not succeeded in their passage (in South America).

The last edition was in Poland 2019, where Ukraine were drawn, who beat South Korea in the final. Ecuador, which won the South American Championship in Chile, completes the podium. The return of this competition, the version of which in 2021 could not be held due to the pandemic, implies special attention to these footballers who are called upon to stand out, by their background and their reality. In the following note, there are some names that can shine on the Argentinian courts.

Precisely, the trans-Andean team has a series of interesting values. One of them is the steering wheel Maxime Perrone , emerged from the career of Vélez Sarsfield, converted from a hitch to a central midfielder. In January of this year, it was acquired by the Manchester City , new Champions League finalist. Perrone is one of six Europeans who make up Argentina’s payroll, along with matias soul . He is a 2003 category winger who plays for Juventus and is already compared to Ángel Di María. Other “outsiders” also stand out, such as Valentin Carboni from Inter Milan, and luka romero from Lazio.

Mascherano turned to Racing’s Tomás Avilés, who played the South American for the Chilean side. Of course, you won’t be able to count on other values ​​that play outside of Argentina and were not allowed by their clubs. The prime example is Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho. Neither is Facundo Buonanotte, from Brighton.

If there is an inexhaustible talent factory for football, it is Brazil . The big name of Canarinha in the World Cup is Andre Santos . A 19-year-old midfielder, he scored six South American Cup goals in Colombia. Vasco da Gama’s youth team, he played a key role in the campaign that saw the Rio de Janeiro club return to Serie A. His irruption allowed him to sign with Chelsea, who put 12.5 million euros on the table for his letter. He is on loan at Vasco until June, when his loan ends.

One of the youngest in the World Cup is the Ecuadorian Kendry Paez , category 2007 (on May 4, he turned 16). Chile suffered it during the last South American Sub 17, especially during the hexagonal final. He is a talented attacking midfielder, born into the prolific youth ranks of Independiente del Valle. His promising career made Chelsea take notice. The Blues are willing to shell out around $20 million. However, if the operation is successful, he will not be able to join his new club until he turns 18, as stipulated by FIFA regulations.

A curious case is that of Niko Takahashi . He’s a 17-year-old winger who plays for Barcelona’s youth team and has triple nationality. His father is Argentinian (he went to Barcelona when he was 6, during the Videla dictatorship), his mother is Japanese and was born in Spain. He could choose one of the three selected. He will play the World Cup for Japan, who will be Colombia’s rival in Group C.

Four matches will be played this Saturday, corresponding to groups A and B. The day opens with two matches: Guatemala – New Zealand, in Santiago del Estero, and United States – Ecuador, in San Juan (both are at 2 p.m. Chile).

To: Argentina, Uzbekistan, Guatemala and New Zealand

B: United States, Ecuador, Fiji and Slovakia

C: Senegal, Japan, Israel and Colombia

D: Italy, Brazil, Nigeria and Dominican Republic

E: Uruguay, Iraq, England and Tunisia

F: France, South Korea, Gambia and Honduras