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This year promises to be a journey of discovery, introducing you to players you might not have known existed, but who are set to make a significant impact on the global stage.
The 2026 World Cup, with its expansive new format featuring 48 teams and a host of fresh participants, is poised to turn emerging talents into familiar names. Fortunately, we’ve got the scoop on the standout stars and those climbing the ranks to greatness.
Our seasoned reporter, TOM COLLOMOSSE, has been on an international quest to identify the most promising young players who are on the verge of breaking through. Here are the 12 players to watch in 2026.
Age: 19 Club: Hoffenheim Country: Ivory Coast Position: Winger
Toure honed his skills at the renowned ASEC Mimosas in Ivory Coast, a club famed for nurturing top African talent like Kolo and Yaya Toure as well as Salomon Kalou.
After transferring from Swedish side Hammarby to Hoffenheim last year, he has made an impressive impact with eight assists and a couple of goals across 27 league appearances.
He should get the chance to take on some of his Bundesliga colleagues this summer, as Ivory Coast will face Germany in Group E on June 20 in Toronto. Toure made his senior debut for Ivory Coast in October, playing 89 minutes of a 7-0 win in the Seychelles in qualifying.
Toure is described as a happy-go-lucky character and given his potential, it is no wonder. Like other players in this list, Toure is already attached to a prominent agency and has admirers across Europe. Another season or two with Hoffenheim should reveal the next steps.
Bazoumana Toure (right) is a product of the hugely successful ASEC Mimosas club in Ivory Coast
2. Christos Mouzakitis
Age: 19 Club: Olympiacos Country: Greece Position: Midfield
The Olympiacos prodigy bears a passing resemblance to Marco Verratti and when he takes the ball, the similarities with the former Italy playmaker are even stronger.
Mouzakitis is a class operator. Few players of his age – he turned 19 on Christmas Day – can dictate the pace of a game but this comes naturally to ‘Mouza’, who has already won seven Greece senior caps. For neutrals, it is a great shame that this generation of Greek players fell short in World Cup qualifying, but there should be many happier times ahead.
Mouzakitis has already seen his fellow Olympiacos youth product, forward Charalampos Kostoulas, move to the Premier League with Brighton, who have also snapped up 19-year-old Stefanos Tzimas from Nurnberg.
Evangelos Marinakis would not let Mouzakitis leave without a fight but one day, he will undoubtedly be playing in a top-five European league.
Christos Mouzakitis is a class operator. Few players of his age – he turned 19 on Christmas Day – can dictate the pace of a game but this comes naturally to ‘Mouza’
3. Francesco Pio Esposito
Age: 20 Club: Inter Milan Country: Italy Position: Centre forward
Top young talents have been thin on the ground in Italy for too long. While everyone in Italian football has an opinion about this, nobody appears to have the will to do anything about it.
Esposito’s emergence should give them a little breathing space. The younger brother of Sebastiano, who plays for Cagliari, Esposito has passed every test he has been set so far.
His goal against River Plate in last summer’s Club World Cup was the work of an expert No 9, and he has already struck three times in five games for Italy. In style and stature, he resembles 2006 World Cup winner Luca Toni.
If Italy can squeeze through the play-offs and qualify for the 2026 tournament, Esposito will almost certainly be on the plane.
Francesco Pio Esposito has passed every test he has been set so far, including scoring three times in his first five Italy caps
4. Jeremy Jacquet
Age: 20 Club: Rennes Country: France Position: Centre back
The omens are pretty handy. He shares a name with Aime Jacquet, who coached France to their first World Cup, on home soil in 1998. Then there are his roots. Jacquet was born in Bondy, a suburb of Paris – just like Kylian Mbappe and William Saliba.
It’s the latter that he may end up emulating most closely – Jacquet is far more likely to be trying to stop Mbappe in a high-level Champions League game than trying to emulate him.
At 6ft 2in, Jacquet has all the raw materials to become an outstanding central defender: pace, athleticism, timing, power and composure.
Crystal Palace checked on the France Under 21s international last summer and they are not the only ones, with both Arsenal and Chelsea keeping a close eye. Watch out for him this summer.
Jeremy Jacquet (right) is already one of the best young talents in France
5. Kees Smit
Age: 19 Club: AZ Alkmaar Country: Netherlands Position: Midfielder
Smit was already big business before he shone at last summer’s Under 19s Euros and his reputation has grown dramatically since.
Alkmaar know they will sell their young gem next summer and clubs across Europe are already jockeying for position. Smit’s family have spoken to a handful of Premier League clubs including Newcastle United and if anyone in England tries to sign him, they are likely to face competition from Real Madrid.
He has the majority of AZ’s matches this season, and has performed effectively in a variety of midfield roles.
Scouts and coaches love his mentality and leadership qualities, too. Expect to see them on a grander stage soon.
Dutch star Kees Smith has interest from Real Madrid and a host of Premier League clubs
6. Love Arrhov
Age: 17 Club: Eintracht Frankfurt Country: Sweden Position: Attacking midfielder
If the Ballon d’Or judges considered first names as well as football ability when making their selections, then Arrhov would probably have won the award already. One day, he may do so simply because of his ability.
He is joining Eintracht Frankfurt this month having made only 21 senior appearances for Swedish club IF Brommapojkarna.
The Bundesliga club have always had an excellent eye for young talent and given their record of selling players to elite clubs – think Omar Marmoush (£59m to Man City), Randal Kolo Muani (£80m to PSG), Luka Jovic (£55m to Real Madrid), Hugo Ekitike (£79m to Liverpool), William Pacho (£35m to PSG), Sebastien Haller (£45m to West Ham) – Arrhov will be hopeful he can follow suit.
No World Cup for Arrhov this summer, after Sweden’s awful showing in qualifying, but the Champions League awaits him in Germany.
7. Matias Siltanen
Age: 18 Club: Djurgarden Country: Finland Position: Midfielder
Given the success of Nordic clubs in the transfer market, it is easy to fall down a rabbit hole when examining their players and assume every impressive young footballer is a potential Ballon d’Or winner.
Yet Siltanen is interesting. He is not yet 19 but has already played more than 100 senior games. A technically adept midfielder who has been likened to Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall, Siltanen was on the radar of Manchester City, Bournemouth and Juventus but was sensible enough to move to the Swedish top flight instead of taking the jump to mainstream European football too early.
Is this Finnish football’s biggest star since Jari Litmanen? Far too early to say. But let’s see where he is in a year’s time. Fitness permitting, it is unlikely to be at Djurgarden.
8. Mikkel Bro Hansen
Age: 16 Club: Bodo/Glimt Country: Denmark Position: Centre forward
Hansen has still not turned 17 but has already made nine senior appearances, with seven goals and two assists to his name.
While he was at Danish club Aarhus, Hansen had trials with Ajax and Borussia Dortmund, even attending Dortmund’s Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-Germain in December 2023.
Hansen is an imposing, mobile striker with impressive finishing ability. Although a little raw technically, there is nothing wrong with Hansen’s mentality, which is why so many experts in the Nordic countries are so excited.
Mikkel Bro Hansen (left) has had trials with Ajax and Borussia Dortmund
9. Noah Fernandez
Age: 17 Club: PSV Eindhoven Country: Belgium Position: Attacking midfielder
Fernandez has been with PSV since he was six but in his homeland, there are those who compare him to one of the finest attacking talents Belgium has produced – Kevin De Bruyne.
The left-footed playmaker, whose father is Jamaican, is an elegant mover with excellent close control and an eye for a pass. He is among the top youth talents at PSV and made his senior debut earlier this year.
With modern football dominated increasingly by one-on-one duels, perhaps Fernandez needs to improve physically to compete regularly in the senior game. If he does, the sky is the limit.
Noah Fernandez is drawing comparisons with his Belgian compatriot Kevin De Bruyne
10. Noah Nartey
Age: 20 Club: Brondby Country: Denmark/Ghana Position: Attacking midfielder
Always highly regarded, Nartey has gone to another level since Steve Cooper took charge of Brondby in September.
In 12 games with the former Nottingham Forest, Leicester and Swansea boss, Nartey has claimed seven goals and three assists. Prior to that, his tally was 20 goals and 13 assists in 109 appearances.
Brondby would be loath to sell Nartey in January but this is the business model for clubs: identify talent, develop it, and sell at a profit. It is a matter of when, not if, Nartey moves and it would be no surprise if his next destination were the Premier League.
Nartey, whose older brother Nikolas plays for Stuttgart, was born in Denmark but is also eligible to play for Ghana and has been approached by their FA.
11. Rodrigo Mora
Age: 18 Club: Porto Country: Portugal Position: Attacking midfielder
First the good news: When Mora made his first-team debut for Porto in a Europa League tie at Bodo/Glimt in September 2024, he became the second-youngest player to appear for them in European competition.
Now the bad news: the youngest is Fabio Silva who, until last summer’s dreadful recruitment campaign, was probably the biggest transfer flop in Wolves’ history and proof that teenage success does not always lead to an elite career.
After a stellar 2024-25 season, and a first senior Portugal call-up during the Nations League finals in June, Mora has found the going tougher under Porto’s latest coach Francesco Farioli, though he has forced his way back into the starting XI recently.
With such dazzling creative gifts, it is surely only a matter of time before Mora’s star shines again.
Rodrigo Mora (right) has dazzling creative gifts and is a rising star of Portuguese football
12. Yarek Gasiorowski
Age: 20 Club: PSV Eindhoven Country: Spain Position: Centre back
If Yarek – as he was known at Valencia – reaches the top, he owes a little to divine intervention.
When Yarek was just five, the priest in his home town of Polinya del Xuquer spotted him playing in a local game. Don Antonio asked Yarek’s mother, Rosario, her son’s name and alerted a Valencia scout.
With his hairstyle and imposing presence, Yarek was occasionally mistaken for Sergio Ramos as he walked around host city Belfast in his Spain tracksuit during the Under 19 Euros in 2024 – even though there are 19 years between them.
A few wobbles in his first senior campaign for Valencia saw Yarek join PSV last summer. He was part of the side that won 4-1 at Liverpool in the Champions League – valuable experience for one of Spain’s most intriguing prospects.
With his hairstyle and imposing presence, Yarek was occasionally mistaken for Sergio Ramos as he walked around Belfast during the 2024 Under 19 Euros
