Forget Lionel Messi. Ignore Kylian Mbappe. Never mind Jude Bellingham or Erling Haaland.
Gianni Infantino and FIFA’s marketing bods have promoted the Club World Cup as the ultimate duel between football’s greatest – but that will happen in a year’s time, at the real World Cup.
Instead of watching exhausted players go through the motions, this tournament will be the platform for youngsters to take a decisive step in their careers.
The football community will still tune in. And that is where players like Obed Vargas, Petar Sucic and Siyabonga Mabena come in.
Here Mail Sport looks at some of the most talented youngsters preparing for this competition. You may not have heard of them now but if they perform as they can, you will certainly know them by the start of next season.
Argentine great Lionel Messi will be playing for Inter Miami at the Club World Cup
Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland will also be in action, but who are the next wonderkids?
Federico Redondo
Age: 22 Club: Inter Miami Country: Argentina Position: Defensive midfielder
Watch out for the Argentine at Inter Miami. No, not that one, though the surname is nearly as famous as Lionel Messi’s.
Redondo’s father Fernando was one of the best midfielders of modern times and was the fulcrum of the Real Madrid side who won the Champions League in 2000. While Federico has yet to emulate his father – and let’s be frank, he may never do so – there is plenty of interest in him nonetheless.
Like his dad, Federico is happiest setting the tempo in the middle, in what is known as the ‘No 5 role’ in Argentina. At 6ft 3in he is a commanding presence in the centre of the pitch, able to dominate that area with his physicality.
He is also an example of modern MLS thinking: buy top talents from South America in the hope of selling them to Europe for a sizeable profit.
Injury has hindered Redondo’s progress in recent times but if he has inherited his father’s love of the biggest stages, this might just be the tournament for him.
Like his dad, Federico Redondo is happiest setting the tempo in the middle, in what is known as the ‘No 5 role’ in Argentina
He has been capped at Under 23 level by Argentina and is not far away from the senior squad
Tom Bischof
Age: 19 Club: Bayern Munich Country: Germany Position: Central midfielder
Sink or swim. When top German talents join Bayern Munich, titles are virtually guaranteed. How long they hang around is quite another matter.
There is a world of difference between Bayern and virtually every other German club – no more than Hoffenheim, who have sold Bischof to Bayern for just £250,000.
As well as trying to earn his spot in the team, the midfielder must try to find his niche in a squad full of superstars with egos to match.
That is why this tournament could work in Bischof’s favour. Whereas Bayern’s established stars will be tired from a long 2024-25 campaign, Bischof has a golden chance to lay down his credentials for next season.
The left-footer should be at home in Vincent Kompany’s flexible tactical style and it will be fascinating to see how he performs.
Tom Bischof won his first Germany cap last week in the Nations League third-place play-off against France
The 19-year-old impressed with Hoffenheim this season and was snapped up by Bayern Munich
Estevao
Age: 18 Club: Palmeiras (joining Chelsea) Country: Brazil Position: Winger
The Chelsea-bound teenager may be the breakout star of the Premier League next season but before he moves to London, Estevao will try to leave Palmeiras on the highest note possible.
Global competitions have historically been far more significant to South American clubs than European ones and Palmeiras will be desperate to make an impression in the United States. With Estevao on top form, they have every chance.
It is impossible to say how Estevao, who will move to Stamford Bridge for £29million, will adapt to life in England but his talent is beyond question. The winger, who can also play as an attacking midfielder, already has five senior caps for Brazil and will have an eye on next summer’s World Cup, too.
First, there is a Club World Cup to win. And after that, maybe a Premier League title.
Estevao, a winger who can also play as an attacking midfielder, already has five senior caps for Brazil and will have an eye on next summer’s World Cup
The Chelsea-bound teenager may be the breakout star of the Premier League next season
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 last September, he became the second-youngest player to appear for the storied club in European competition.
Now the bad news: the youngest is Fabio Silva, who is probably the biggest transfer flop in Wolves’ history and is now trying to get his career going at Spanish club Las Palmas – with some success, it has to be said.
He is proof, however, that teenage success does not always lead to an elite career. With Mora, though, it surely will.
Player of the tournament at last year’s Under 17s European Championship, Mora has been so good for Porto this season (10 goals, four assists) that he made the full Portugal squad for their triumphant Nations League campaign. As long as he stays healthy, Mora will join an elite club in a year.
Rodrigo Mora is the second-youngest player to appear for Porto in European competition
Mora has been so good for Porto this season (10 goals, four assists) that he made the full Portugal squad for their triumphant Nations League campaign
Obed Vargas
Age: 19 Club: Seattle Sounders Country: Mexico Position: Central midfielder
Like Estevao, Vargas may start the summer with one Club World Cup team and end it with another. Atletico Madrid are strongly interested in the Mexican and this tournament may prove his farewell to Major League Soccer. Either way, Diego Simeone is not his only admirer.
‘For anyone who’s got analytics, he’s triggered the red alarms,’ said Sounders general manager Craig Waibel. ‘Every club in the world is probably aware of him.’
Vargas has an unusual back story. He was born in Anchorage, Alaska, but has chosen to play for Mexico, where his father was born.
He is hugely effective moving forward from deep midfield, but does not shirk his defensive responsibilities.
With only six months left on his contract and one of the world’s most powerful agencies in his corner, Vargas is surely destined for Europe and could be in a top five league by August.
Obed Vargas (left) was born in Anchorage, Alaska, but has chosen to play for Mexico
Julien Duranville
Age: 19 Club: Borussia Dortmund Country: Belgium Position: Winger
Despite qualifying for the Champions League once more, Dortmund have lost their way a little in recent times. Thankfully, their ability to spot and attract the best young talents in the game has not suffered.
Duranville has not yet broken into the Dortmund starting lineup but if Englishman Jamie Gittens leaves this summer, the Belgian will have more opportunities. He made 22 appearances last term, including nine in Dortmund’s run to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Though the stars of the global game have been used to market this competition, it is not really about them. It is a chance for players with potential to show exactly that they can do, with the eyes of the world on them.
A winger who can play on either flank, Duranville falls into this category perfectly and a good year could take him all the way into Belgium’s World Cup squad.
Julien Duranville made 22 appearances last term, including nine in Borussia Dortmund’s run to the Champions League quarter-finals
The Belgian could force his way into Belgium’s World Cup squad with a strong campaign
Siyabonga Mabena
Age: 18 Club: Mamelodi Sundowns Country: South Africa Position: Forward
The brightest talent to emerge in South Africa for many years is so confident in his ability that he has taken basketball great Steph Curry’s celebration as his own. Mabena performs the ‘go to sleep’ gesture after scoring and aims to showcase it in Curry’s homeland in the coming weeks.
‘If I’ve done my job right, the opposition’s got nothing left to say,’ Mabena has said.
It would be unrealistic to think Sundowns can make serious progress in this competition but it is the biggest stage for South African football since they hosted the 2010 World Cup. If players like Mabena perform well, it will generate wider interest.
‘I dream of going overseas,’ he admits. ‘Spain, England, France — those are the leagues I think I could grow in. But first, I’ve got work to do here.’
Aged just 18, Siyabonga Mabena is already regarded as one of the best talents to come out of South Africa in years
Petar Sucic
Age: 21 Club: Inter Milan Country: Croatia Position: Central miidfielder
It will take some time for Inter’s wounds to heal after they were thrashed 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, but signings like this should start the process.
Inter are incredibly excited about Sucic, bought for £12m from Dinamo Zagreb. In the blue half of Milan, they have fond memories of Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic and they are quietly confident Sucic can follow in their footsteps.
Like Kovacic and Brozovic, Sucic is equally adept as a No 6 or No 8. And with Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan both in the autumn of their careers, Sucic is exactly the sort of player and age profile that Inter are looking for under new boss Cristian Chivu, who was hired after Simone Inzaghi departed for Al Hilal.
The next few weeks could set the pattern for Sucic’s Inter career and there is every chance he will step up to the mark. As a side note, keep an eye out for 19-year-old forward Francesco Pio Esposito.
Inter Milan are incredibly excited about Petar Sucic, bought for £12m from Dinamo Zagreb
Sucic (left) could eventually be legendary midfielder Luka Modric’s successor
Marcos Leonardo
Age: 22 Club: Al Hilal Country: Brazil Position: Forward
With 17 goals in 24 Saudi Pro League matches, those in charge of the competition would like Marcos Leonardo to spend the rest of his career here. Whether Leonardo agrees is another matter.
When he moved from Santos to Benfica in January 2024, Leonardo was regarded as one of the best forwards to leave Brazil in decades. His playing style is similar to that of Radamel Falcao, the Colombian forward who had several fruitful seasons in Europe. Yet less than a year later, Leonardo had headed east.
Leonardo will already be a very wealthy man but is the competition enough for him? Perhaps the Club World Cup will convince Leonardo that to make the most of his potential, he needs to be back in Europe.
Those who have watched Leonardo closely believe he is good enough to lead the attack for Brazil one day. And with a World Cup just a year away, the day might come even sooner than they thought.
Marcos Leonardo fired 15 goals in 13 caps for Brazil’s Under 20s
Just eight months after joining Benfica in January 2024, Leonardo was off to Saudi side Al Hilal
Kenan Yildiz
Age: 20 Club: Juventus Country: Turkey Position: Attacking midfielder/winger
In the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era, Juventus decided to and focus heavily on younger players.
They would try to sign the best talent around, develop those players in their Next Gen squad – which competes in Italy’s third tier – and move the best ones into the first-team group.
The benefit was obvious: by having these players early, Juve could coach them exactly how they wanted.
They won’t get every one right and sold Matias Soule and Dean Huijsen on the cheap, but Yildiz is the poster boy for the new policy.
Though he has flickered rather than shone this season, the talent is undeniable and if Yildiz fulfils it, Juve have a £100m player.
Kenan Yildiz could be a £100million player for Juventus if he fulfils his potential
Yildiz was a key tenet of the NextGen project at Juve and has already won 21 caps for Turkey
Antonio Silva
Age: 21 Club: Benfica Country: Portugal Position: Centre back
Production continues apace at the Portuguese centre back factory.
No sooner had Pepe finally left the stage at the age of 41, than his would-be heirs were jockeying for position.
Pepe was a controversial character but had an outstanding career at club and international level.
Antonio Silva is also a feisty personality and has the credentials to do the same, having already racked up 17 Portugal caps and only just turned 21.
Silva is excellent on the ball and strong in the tackle. Solid enough in the air and impressive in one-on-ones.
A glance at his heatmap over his playing career shows a telling red splodge just inside the opposition half, indicating a defender comfortable playing in a high line – skills he will be keen to display over the next few weeks.
Antonio Silva is one of Europe’s best young centre backs and has 17 Portugal caps
He is known to idolise his compatriots Cristiano Ronaldo and fellow Benfica centre back Luisao
Franco Mastantuono
Age: 17 Club: River Plate (joining Real Madrid) Country: Argentina Position: Midfield
Any player who is the linchpin of their team aged 16 is worth a closer look. When that club is River Plate, where the crowd is one of the most demanding in the world, it really is time to sit up and take notice.
Sure enough, Real Madrid have done exactly that, reaching an agreement in principle with River to sign their jewel.
Franco Mastantuono has been snapped up for £39m by Real Madrid
Mastantuono made his senior Argentina debut last week against Chile in a World Cup qualifier, becoming his country’s youngest ever player at 17 years, 296 days
His rise to fame was capped by a sparkling free-kick to beat fierce rivals Boca Juniors in April
‘I saw Franco for the first time when he was eight or nine, but I couldn’t take him at the time because he was a promising tennis player,’ Daniel Brizuela, River’s former director of recruitment, has said.
‘I saw he had a brilliant mind. He had the ball glued to his foot and was lethal in one-on-one situations.’
The economics of Argentine football mean the best young players do not stick around long and Mastantuono’s release clause of about £39m was no problem for Europe’s wealthiest clubs. He won his first senior cap for Argentina earlier in June.
At 15, Mastantuono described playing at River’s Monumental Stadium as ‘my dream’, and that came true when he curled a majestic free-kick for River in the derby to end all derbies – the Superclasico against Boca Juniors – in April, in the middle of his school exams. European football’s grandest stages are his next destination.
