Thread by @ZachLowy

With the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup set to kick off next week, it’s time to look back at the best players who have used the tournament as a launching pad to stardom and success.

I present: the best XIs from the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 U-17 World Cups.

Note: Certain players have been played out of position to accommodate other players and allow the highest quality possible.

2011 🇲🇽:

GK: Jordan Pickford 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Having worked his way up Sunderland’s academy, Pickford started in goal for England before getting his first senior opportunity for Darlington, who were relegated to the English 6th tier.

Expect him to remain as Southgate’s #1 for next summer’s Euros.

RB: Emerson 🇧🇷. The Santos academy product played in defense for a Selecão side that finished 4th, before switching allegiances to the Azzurri.

After a breakout 2016/17 season under Luciano Spalletti at Roma, he’s now a reliable 1st-choice left back for Frank Lampard’s Chelsea.

CB: Marquinhos 🇧🇷. A year after starting for Brazil in the U-17 World Cup, he signed for Roma for €3m, and a year later, joined PSG for €31m.

A starter for club and country, Marquinhos has been a rock at the back, expertly covering at RB or defensive midfield when needed.

CB: Aymeric Laporte 🇫🇷. Whilst failing to beat out Kurt Zouma or Raphaël Calvet for a starting spot, Laporte has gone on to have a better career than both so far.

The 5th-most expensive CB ever, Laporte is irreplaceable for Man City and they’re certainly feeling his absence now.

LB: Benjamin Mendy 🇫🇷. After rising up Le Havre’s academy, Mendy became a starter for the club before developing under Marcelo Bielsa at Marseille and winning Ligue 1 at Monaco.

He hasn’t had any luck with injuries, but if he can stay fit, City will have a new weapon in defense.

DM: Tiémoué Bakayoko 🇫🇷. He failed to start over Nice’s Adrien Tameze or free agent Karl Madianga, but Bakayoko has had a successful career ever since.

He won the Ligue 1 title with Mendy, rebounded from a disappointing 2017/18 at Gattuso’s Milan, and is now de retour at Monaco.

CM: Emre Can 🇩🇪. Can led Germany to the semis, only for them to blow a 2-1 lead to Mexico and lose after he got injured.

He won the treble with Bayern, started for Liverpool, racked up 24 appearances for Germany’s senior team, and is now is a reserve for Maurizio Sarri’s Juve.

RW: Raheem Sterling 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Sterling started for John Peacock’s U-17s in Mexico, scoring against Argentina in the Round of 16.

Since then, he’s started in 3 international tournaments for England’s senior team, whilst playing a pivotal role in 2 record-setting PL titles for Man City.

LW: Memphis Depay 🇳🇱. Despite playing many future internationals, Albert Stuivenberg’s Holland finished dead last in Group A, behind Mexico, Congo & North Korea.

Memphis, however, has gone on to be one of the deadliest forwards in international football for Ronald Koeman’s side.

CF: Sébastien Haller 🇫🇷. From competing with Gaëtan Laborde for a starting spot in Mexico, the Auxerre product went on to lead Eintracht to the Europa League semis last season, forming a dynamic duo with Luka Jović.

£45m is currently looking like money well spent for West Ham.

CF: Yussuf Poulsen 🇩🇰. Denmark finished last in their only U-17 World Cup, with Danny Amankwaa starting over Poulsen.

Since then, Poulsen has left Lyngby for Leipzig, becoming an undroppable target man for club and country, and starting in the World Cup and the Champions League.

Honorable mentions: Takumi Minamino🇯🇵, Nathan Aké 🇳🇱, Soualiho Meïté🇫🇷, Paul Arriola🇺🇸, Nathan Redmond🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 , John Lundstram🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, Terrence Kongolo🇳🇱, Shoya Nakajima🇯🇵, Tonny Vilhena🇳🇱, Lucas Ocampos🇦🇷, Mitchell Weiser🇩🇪, Nathaniel Chalobah🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg 🇩🇰, Ondřej Kolář 🇨🇿.

2013 🇦🇪:

GK: Emil Audero 🇮🇹. Despite being 2nd-choice to Simone Scuffet, Audero has had a better start to his career so far.

Whilst the Udinese product has bounced from loan to loan, Audero worked his way up Juve’s academy before joining Sampdoria for €20 million in the summer of 2018.

RB: Valentino Lazaro 🇦🇹. Then at Salzburg’s feeder side, Lazaro started in attack for an Austria team that finished 3rd in their group.

He’s currently a starter for Franco Foda’s senior team and sooner or later, he’ll beat out Antonio Candreva for the starting RWB spot at Inter.

CB: Denis Vavro 🇸🇰. At 23, he’s already starting for Slovakia alongside another Serie A CB in Milan Škriniar.

While he’s only started in the Europa League thus far, he has what it takes to eventually send the 32-year-old Ștefan Radu to the bench and become a starter for Lazio.

CB: Duje Ćaleta-Car 🇭🇷. Since finishing behind Morocco and Uzbekistan, Ćaleta-Car has done quite well for himself.

He shepherded Red Bull Salzburg’s defense to the 2017/18 Europa League semifinals, played in the 2018 World Cup, and earned a €19 million transfer to Marseille.

LB: Davide Calabria 🇮🇹. Since starting for Italy in 2013, he’s taken advantage of Andrea Conti’s ACL injury to become Milan’s starting RB, with the Primavera product emerging under Gattuso.

He needs to turn around his current form if Milan are to get this season back on track.

CM: Franck Kessié 🇨🇮. Following his impressive performances for an Ivory Coast side that got to the quarters, Kessié joined Atalanta, before leaving for Milan for €28m.

This past summer, Kessié finished as the joint-top assist provider alongside club teammate Ismaël Bennacer.

DM: Sofyan Amrabat 🇲🇦. Like Hakim Ziyech before him, Sofyan chose to represent Morocco instead of Holland, and it’s paid off.

He played in the 2018 World Cup, and since leaving Club Brugge on loan, he’s been an essential cog in Ivan Jurić’s 3-4-2-1 at 10th-placed Hellas Verona.

CM: Aleksandr Golovin 🇷🇺. From dazzling in the Europa League for CSKA Moscow to leading the Sbornaya in the World Cup, Golovin has firmly established himself as Russia’s creative playmaker.

Now he needs to work his magic for his club and turn around Monaco’s disastrous season.

RW: Sebastián Driussi 🇦🇷. Driussi started alongside other River youth products like Augusto Batalla and Emmanuel Mammana en route to losing to Mexico in the semifinals.

He’s currently starting in the league & the Champions League for Zenit, but he could be on the move next year.

CF: Gabigol 🇧🇷. A premature move to Inter and an equally unsuccessful loan move to Benfica threatened to mire his potential, but since returning to Brazil, he’s been on fire, with 60 goals across all competitions for Santos and Flamengo over 2 seasons.

Living up to the nickname.

LW: Cristian Pavón 🇦🇷. From playing for the Albiceleste in Russia to joining MLS, perhaps things haven’t yet worked out how Pavón would have hoped.

However, after a tough season at Boca, he’s on the rebound, with 3 goals and 5 assists for LA Galaxy in 11 matches this season.

Honorable mentions: Mathías Suárez🇺🇾, Danilo Barbosa🇧🇷, Érick Aguirre🇲🇽, Federico DiMarco🇮🇹, Yakou Meïté🇨🇮, Francis Uzoho🇳🇬, Emmanuel Mammana🇦🇷, Raúl Gudiño🇲🇽, Kenedy🇧🇷, Kelechi Iheanacho🇳🇬, Gabriel Boschilia🇧🇷, Thiago Maia🇧🇷, Alberto Cerri🇮🇹, Arturo Calabresi🇮🇹, Ivan Šunjić🇭🇷.

2015 🇨🇱:

GK: Aleksandr Maksimenko 🇷🇺. He’s started in goal for the Sbornaya across several youth levels (currently with the U21s), but for the senior team, he’ll have to beat out veterans Guilherme and Andrey Lunev and the young Matvei Safonov.

Promising shot-stopper for Spartak Moscow.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Before winning the Champions League and playing in the World Cup, Trent only played one match in the U-17 World Cup as England finished behind South Korea and Brazil and crashed out of the group.

Today, he’s one of the best right backs in Europe.

CB: Dayot Upamecano 🇫🇷. Months after joining Red Bull Salzburg for €2.2 million, Upamecano started alongside Mamadou Doucouré before losing to Costa Rica on pens.

With an €80 million release clause, expect a few teams to compete for the Leipzig man’s services come next summer.

CB: Éder Militão 🇧🇷. Despite losing 3-0 to Nigeria in the quarterfinals, Militão quickly went on to become a regular for São Paulo, before showcasing his skills at Porto.

After earning a big-money move to Real Madrid, he has what it takes to become a starter for Brazil and RM.

LB: Pervis Estupiñán🇪🇨. Following an exciting U-17 World Cup, Watford signed Estupiñán before loaning him out to Granada, Almería, Mallorca and Osasuna. He debuted for Ecuador's senior team this week.

He helped Mallorca secure promotion, and now he's trying to keep Osasuna up.

DM: Dennis Geiger 🇩🇪. Despite having to withdraw from the tournament at the last minute, with BVB’s Patrick Fritsch replacing him, Geiger is the one member of Germany’s squad who looks close to fulfilling his potential.

Expect Hoffenheim to collect a decent fee for him in 2020.

CM: Exequiel Palacios🇦🇷. He was used as a supersub in Chile, but he soon rose up River's academy to play a key role in their Libertadores-winning season and garner the interest of Real Madrid.

A box-to-box phenom, he has the tools to become a pivotal figure for the Albiceleste.

CM: Jeff Reine-Adélaïde🇫🇷. Months after leaving Lens for Arsenal, Reine-Adélaïde started France's first two matches before being benched for the last two.

While he rarely played for Arsenal's senior team, he earned a €27.5m move to Lyon after a breakthrough 2018/19 for Angers.

RW: Samuel Chukwueze 🇳🇬. Two years before joining Villarreal, Chukwueze notched three goals and three assists for a Nigeria team that won their fifth U-17 World Cup ever.

He's since become a starter for the Super Eagles, and he's torn apart some of La Liga's finest fullbacks.

CF: Victor Osimhen 🇳🇬. After scoring 10 goals to win the Golden Boot, Osimhen joined Wolfsburg, but his transfer was mired by injuries, relegation scares and malaria.

He rebounded on loan at Charleroi to become Nigeria’s starting CF, and he currently leads Ligue 1 with 9 goals.

LW: Jonathan Ikoné 🇫🇷. After rising up PSG’s prestigious academy, Ikoné seized his first real senior opportunity at Montpellier, before becoming a key cog in Christophe Galtier’s Lille.

If he keeps it up, don’t be surprised to see him crack Didier Deschamps’ squad for the Euros.

Honorable mentions: Christian Pulisic🇺🇸, Markus Schubert🇩🇪, Tyler Adams🇺🇸, Orel Mangala🇧🇪, Josip Brekalo🇭🇷, Fyodor Chalov🇷🇺, Jay DaSilva🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, Blás Riveros🇵🇾, Borna Sosa🇭🇷, Faitout Maouassa🇫🇷, Amadou Haidara🇲🇱, Mamadou Fofana🇲🇱, Alexis-Claude Maurice🇫🇷, Odsonne Edouard🇫🇷, Rogério🇧🇷.

2017 🇮🇳:

GK: Ilan Meslier 🇫🇷. After riding the bench behind Yahia Fofana in 2017, Meslier became first-choice in goal during Lorient’s ultimately futile promotion chase.

Following Paul Nardi’s arrival, he left for Leeds and could be in for a line of starts if Kiko Casilla gets suspended.

RB: Yukinari Sugawara 🇯🇵. While originally a center back, Sugawara was used at right back in the U-20 World Cup and is currently being used there and as an attacking sub for Arne Slot’s AZ.

In his first season in Europe, he’s shown an impressive mix of speed, IQ and versatility.

CB: Ozan Kabak 🇹🇷. Since finishing bottom in Group C, Kabak has become a regular for Galatasaray and Stuttgart before leaving for Schalke, where he has found opportunities scarce.

A goalscoring CB, Kabak could form a promising trio with Merih Demiral & Çağlar Söyüncü for Turkey.

CB: James Sands 🇺🇸. He impressed alongside Chris Durkin in Tab Ramos’s back 4, he’s done well as a #6, and he’s currently excelling as the libero in Domènec Torrent’s table-topping NYCFC.

With good anticipation & a balanced approach to defending, he can start for the USMNT soon.

LB: Sergiño Dest 🇺🇸. If Dest is currently the USMNT’s most desired dual national, it’s thanks in no small part to India ‘17, where he led them to the quarterfinals.

However, after breaking into the Ajax first team, he may be inclined to switch over to the Dutch national team.

DM: Cheick Doucouré 🇲🇱. Another brilliant midfielder from the Real Bamako academy, Doucouré earned a move to Lens despite only starting once in Mali’s run to the semis.

He isn’t the most physical holding midfielder, but he evades pressure well and breaks the lines for fun.

CM: Aurélien Tchouaméni 🇫🇷. While his midfield partners Maxence Caqueret and Claudio Gomes are still playing youth football, Tchouaméni is currently a starter for 4th-placed Bordeaux.

He isn’t the most spectacular on the ball, but he does the dirty work in Paulo Sousa’s 3-4-2-1.

RM: Jadon Sancho 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Sancho provided 5 goals before BVB withdrew him after the group stage, but England had no issue winning the tournament without him.

The hottest teenager on the market, Sancho will be starting for England next summer thanks to his decision to leave England.

CAM: Ferran Torres 🇪🇸. The right winger played a key role in Spain’s run to the Final, before scoring a brace in the 2019 U-19 Euro Final to defeat Portugal.

He’s currently starting for the U-21s, and if he keeps improving at Valencia, he’ll be playing for the senior team soon.

LM: Callum Hudson-Odoi 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. After a prolonged wait under Maurizio Sarri, a transfer tug-of-war with Bayern, and an Achilles injury, Hudson-Odoi is now fit & firing as Frank Lampard’s first-choice winger at Chelsea.

He has the talent to fill the massive void that Eden Hazard left.

CF: Josh Sargent 🇺🇸. He wasn’t the most talented attacker to emerge from 🇮🇳’17, but he has been starting for club & country as of late and for the most part, done well.

The Missouri native’s cunning runs & defensive workrate could make him a long-term option at CF for the USMNT.

Honorable mentions: Phil Foden🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, Ahmed Kutucu🇹🇷, Takefusa Kubo🇯🇵, Josha Vagnoman🇩🇪, Diego Lainez🇲🇽, Amine Gouiri🇫🇷, Paulinho🇧🇷, Yacine Adli🇫🇷, Andy Pelmard🇫🇷, Timothy Weah🇺🇸, Rhian Brewster🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, Jann-Fiete Arp 🇩🇪, Eric García🇪🇸, Juan Miranda🇪🇸, Andrés Balanta🇨🇴, Abel Ruíz🇪🇸.

Bonus: 10 players from 10 countries to keep an eye out for in the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup 🇧🇷:

-Ricardo Pepi 🇺🇸

-Toyama Shoji 🇯🇵

-Talles Magno 🇧🇷

-Pedri 🇪🇸

-Efraín Álvarez 🇲🇽

-Matías Palacios 🇦🇷

-Pape Matar Sarr 🇸🇳

-Naci Ünüvar 🇳🇱

-Steve Mvoué 🇨🇲

-Johan Mina 🇪🇨