Top 5 young players who can make a mark at World Cup 2014

The World Cup is the biggest stage and a great burden of most national sides will be borne by their star experienced players: Lionel Messi for Argentina, Xavi and Iniesta for Spain, Ronaldo for Portugal etc. However, previous World Cups have been testament to the fact that young blood can be that extra spark of brilliance that can propel a team to glory. We saw some youngsters come of age in the 2010 World Cup; the likes of Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira were critical to Germany’s successful campaign that saw them finish third in the competition. The likes of Michael Owen and Lukas Podolski impressed the world through their vibrant performances in previous editions of the World Cup. This year will be no different as a number of key players will be under the spotlight as they try to establish themselves on the scene.

The English team will be banking upon a lot of young blood as they continue to pursue their World Cup dreams. Brazil, hosts at World Cup 2014, are shaping up without the likes of Ronaldinho and Kaka as Neymar and Oscar look set to become the new faces of the football-crazy nation. Germany and Spain continue to produce the most exciting young talent. The fact that stakes at the club-level are so high now and a lot of investment is made to scout new talent means that some of these players already have big contracts with clubs. They will be under the spotlight as they attempt to come to terms with the immense nature of the occasion.

1. Neymar – Brazil

The Brazilian prodigy, who has grabbed all the eyeballs for his much-awaited and much talked about transfer to the Catalan giants Barcelona from Santos, is a part of Felipe Scolari’s squad. He has been vocal about his desire to achieve for his country as they go into a historic World Cup to be played on their home soil. Scolari’s tactical arrangement might suit the youngster as he tries to maximize his speed and willingness to take on defenders. It will be critical to see how he develops over the next year that he spends at Nou Camp. Such an experience might just quicken his pace of growth and exposure to more competitive football can’t do him any bad.