Lionel Messi, Javier Saviola, Seydou Keita, Sergio Agüero, Paul Pogba: what do these players have in common? They all have won the “Golden Ball”-award during the U20 FIFA World Cup tournament. Besides these Golden Ball-winners, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Dani Alves both won the “Bronze ball” in respectively the 2015 and 2003 editions. Moreover, the U20 World Cup could be identified as a breeding ground for upcoming football talent.
First screening of talents: Data-driven scouting during the FIFA World Cup U20
In this case, SciSports has highlighted the ‘Players to Watch’ based on the SciSkill Index. On the basis of the SciSkill Index, which evaluates the quality and potential of all players in over 200 leagues, SciSports has analysed four different SciSkill-categories.
Besides the well-known players like Mexican-winger Diego Lainez (who is currently playing for Real Betis), the Norwegian-attacker Erling Braut Haland (who joined Red Bull Salzburg in January 2019) and Dortmund-defender Dan-Axel Zagadou (France U20) the tournament also includes some new ‘young boomers’. Amongst others, 18-year old Panama midfielder Ángel Orelien (who will move to the Cruz Azul U20), 19-year old Uruguayian player Sebastián Cáceres (Liverpool FC Montevideo, became a regular starter and also played during the South-American Championship U20) and Japan’s Mitsuki Saito (who has already played more than 80 matches for Shonan Bellmare in the J1-League) could be identified as players who have made an impressive development over the previous years.
As a scout you need to know the facts about the age-structure of selections. For instance, where most of the teams selected players who were born in 1999 or 00’s, Mali’s team consists of players who are mainly born in the 00’s or in 2001. These aspects could affect both the strength and competition during (especially youth football) tournament matches.
Download the FIFA World Cup top 3 report
Interested in a quick overview of the top 3 players in four different SciSkill-categories? Find out which players are ranked on top in the Player Selection Report.
FIFA World Cup U20 team-by-team guide
Working in professional football and interested in a full team-by-team guide for the U20 World Cup tournament? Get in touch via the form below.
