Courtesy to Shine: The under-18 gems that are part of world football

Sunday April 7, 2024 is a day that Martin Mundaca will never forget. The Kingdom of Coquimbo striker scored twice for the pirates’ victory over Cobreloa. The Ovallino, category 2007, who is in his fourth year, scored a few goals in his second tenure under the direction of Fernando Díaz, attracting the attention of the college and establishing himself as the youngest footballer to score a double in the First Division (at 17 years and 89 days) since Alexis Sánchez in 2006, for Cobreloa (at 17 years and 82 days).

While, in La Cisterna, Palestino also has his teenage prospect: Ivan Romain (2006 category). 17-year-old central defender, nicknamed Charrúa, He earned a place in the Arab store with the help of Pablo “Vitamina” Sánchez, both locally and in the Copa Libertadores. In fact, he is the youngest Chilean to score in the continental tournament (17 years and 315 days) with the goal he scored against Portuguesa, in phase 2. The defender signed his first professional contract in March 2023, at the age of 16.

Beyond the quota of less than 21 minutes that teams must respect by regulation, Mundaca and Román took advantage of the opportunity to accumulate filming and experience. This pair of national examples allows us to understand a phenomenon established abroad (keeping the proportions): that players under the age of 18 start in their clubs and even in their national teams, challenge any prejudice about one’s age and (perhaps) advance developmental processes in high competition. The precociousness of football.

In Europe’s elite, Barcelona presents two clear cases. One is Lamine Yamal (16) holder for Xavi Hernández. He was born in Spain, to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother, and arrived in La Masía at the age of 7. A left-handed striker with great physical ability, he was a junior international with the Spanish team and in September 2023 he made his debut with the senior Hispanic team against Georgia, scoring a goal. That did it the youngest footballer to play and score for Spain (16 years and 57 days). He is a must for coach Luis De la Fuente in the European Cup.

In the culé defense we find Pau Cubarsí (17 years old), who has gradually won a place in the Barça team, which maintains its reputation as a training club. The season which is ending is the first of his professional career and he is already present in La Liga and the Champions League. Additionally, in March 2024, he was called up by the Spanish adult team for the friendly matches against Colombia and Brazil. He renewed until 2027 with the Catalans.

When it comes to jewelry for teenagers, Endrick (17) automatically appears. The Brazilian striker from Palmeiras is set to be one of the names of the future of football, so much so that he has already been acquired by Real Madrid. Versatile striker with a goal, double Brazilian champion with Verdao in 2022 and 2023, He will join the meringues once he is of age (on July 21 he will be 18), that is to say for the 24-25 campaign.

Madrid paid more than 30 million fixed euros (plus 30 million variable euros) for the letter from the footballer, summoned by Brazil for the Copa América.

Another South American perspective, already a reality, is that of Ecuador. Kendry Paez , who turned 17 on May 4. He is another prodigy from Independiente del Valle’s successful youth team, who broke through to the first team at the age of 15. Selected among the young Sub 17s and Sub 20s, he started at La Tri as an adult. In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, he has five matches and one goal. Just like Endrick, he is already sold in Europe (to Chelsea) and will join him when he comes of age.

In Argentina, the prolific River Plate factory has Franco Mastantuono (16) to your next star. He doesn’t have as much involvement as Claudio ‘Diablito’ Echeverri, but Real Madrid’s radar has already flagged him.