Every Tuesday, GOAL picks out the stand out performances from and news surrounding the top teenage talents on the planet
The new season is finally upon us, and that means new heroes are about to reveal themselves to the world over the next 10 months. There is nothing more exciting in sport than a teenager who is able to immediately show that they can mix it among seasoned professionals, and plenty of young footballers will be keen to mark themselves out as ones to watch over the course of the campaign.
Here at GOAL, we're experts when it comes to unearthing teenage talents. Over the past 10 years, we have collated the annual NXGN lists, which lay out the top 50 men's and top 25 women's wonderkids you to know about. The likes of Jude Bellingham, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Lena Oberdorf and Linda Caicedo have gone on to become the very best players in the game having previously topped those NXGN lists, while Erling Haaland, Ousmane Dembele, Lauren James and Alyssa Thompson all appeared long before they became household names around the world.
We're always on the lookout for the next prodigies, too, and our weekly profile series takes an in-depth look into what the future might hold for the stars of tomorrow. In 2025-26, however, we're going to be furthering our commitment to covering the best teenage footballers on the planet with our new NXGN Weekly column. Every Tuesday, we will breakdown the biggest stories involving teenage footballers from around the world, keeping you up to date with the players who are going to define the game over the coming decade or two.
So, without further ado, here's the NXGN stories you to know about this week:
Getty ImagesYamal is inevitable
There is a chance that this column becomes a weekly check-in on the progress of the greatest teenage footballer the world has ever seen, but right now it's impossible to ignore Lamine Yamal whenever he steps foot onto the pitch. Having already proven himself an otherworldly talent with his performances in 2024 for Barcelona and Spain, the 18-year-old has taken his game to another level again since the turn of the year, so much so that there's an argument to suggest that Yamal is the outright best player in the world right now.
He certainly backed that up with his performance in Barcelona's 3-0 win over Mallorca in their opening La Liga match of the season on Saturday. Yamal was the outstanding performer in Palma, as he first set up Raphinha to open the scoring inside the opening 10 minutes before rounding out the scoring himself in second-half stoppage-time with what has already become his trademark goal, cutting in from the right before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the top corner with his remarkable left foot.
Saturday marked the first time in competitive action that Yamal wore the No.10 shirt for Barca, meaning comparisons to Lionel Messi are only going to become more prevalent whenever he produces something magical. However, it's getting more and more difficult to argue that he doesn't deserve to be spoken about in the same breath as the greatest there's ever been, and it's always worth reiterating that Messi was only just breaking into the Barca line up at the age Yamal – who has 107 first-team appearances to his name – is now.
Sticking with Barca, given the rate at which La Masia churns out talent, it's always good to keep abreast of the other teenage talents making their mark on the Blaugrana first team. Pau Cubarsi, of course, has been established as the team's first-choice centre-back for 18 months now and continues to play with a maturity that belies a player who won't turn 19 until January, while Hansi Flick handed a debut to 18-year-old left-back Jofre Torrents on Saturday after he caught the eye in pre-season. Four further teenagers were unused substitutes, too.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMexico's new prince
While Spain know they can rely on Yamal being their torchbearer for at least the next 10 years, other countries around the world are less positive when it comes finding the leader of their next generation. That was certainly the case for Mexico this time 12 months ago as an ageing El Tri struggled for form just two years out from co-hosting the World Cup.
All that has changed, however, thanks in no small part to the emergence of Gilberto Mora. Since making his debut as a 15-year-old for Tijjuana in August 2024, Mora has continued to develop at a rapid rate, and ended up holding down a starting role for Mexico as triumphed at the Gold Cup in July, meaning he broke Yamal's record from Euro 2024 as the youngest player to ever win a major international trophy.
Mora has since returned to club action and shown exactly why Mexican fans believe they have one of the next generation's very best talents on their hands. Having scored twice against LA Galaxy in the Leagues Cup at the start of August, Mora made it three goals in five appearances this month as he opened the scoring with a close-range header in Saturday's win over Pachuca.
Though far from the most spectacular goal Mora has scored since breaking into the first team, the winger is maintaining some positive momentum while some of the world's biggest clubs continue monitoring his progress. Barcelona and Manchester City are among those to have been mentioned as potential suitors, though it's worth pointing out that Mora would not be able to move to Europe until he turns 18, which won't be until October 2026!…
Monga makes his mark
Given how easy Jude Bellingham made playing in the Championship as a 16-year-old look during his breakout years at Birmingham City, anyone breaking one of his many records needs to be given attention to, and that is certainly justified when it comes to Jeremy Monga. The Leicester City winger became the second-youngest player to appear in the Premier League last term, and is now setting about making his mark on England's second tier following the Foxes' relegation.
It was touch-and-go whether Leicester would keep hold of England youth star Monga as Manchester City were reported as potential suitors before he agreed to sign a scholarship contract the King Power Stadium in June. The 16-year-old has subsequently appeared in each of the club's opening three games of the season, and on Saturday netted his first senior goal against Preston North End as he showed superb poise to cut inside from the left, leave a defender for dead and fire into the bottom corner at Deepdale.
Monga's strike couldn't stop Marti Cifuentes' side from dropping to a 2-1 defeat, but at 16 years and 37 days he did become the youngest goal-scorer in Championship history, breaking Bellingham's record that he set in 2019 by 26 days, as well as the youngest player to find the net in Leicester history, just days after breaking Peter Shilton's record for the club's youngest starter.
And so while Monga matching the achievements of Bellingham or even Shilton, England's record appearance-maker, might seem fanciful to some, there is no doubt that he possesses the talent to go on and become a star at the very highest level in the not-too-distant future. Saturday's goal is likely the first of many spectacular strikes in what promises to be a thrilling career.
Getty ImagesLong-standing Eredivisie record tumbles
Monga wasn't the only schoolboy making history around Europe over the weekend. Over in the Netherlands, PEC Zwolle midfielder Jadiel Pereira da Gama's appearance as an 88th-minute substitute against Telstar on Friday saw him become the youngest player to ever appear in the Eredivisie, breaking a record that had stood for 59 years and was held by FC Volendam's Wim Kras.
The 15-year-old is a regular in Dutch age-group sides at international level, and he certainly has lofty ambitions if his first interview as a senior footballer is anything to go by.
"I want to play in the Champions League. I'd love to be playing there when I'm 16, just like Lamine Yamal," Pereira da Gama told , before joking that he could perhaps do so with Zwolle next season after their perfect start to the new campaign through two rounds of matches.
The ease in which Pereira da Gama went through his media responsibilities, which also included him cheekily suggesting that he will have caught the eye of Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman, who was in attendance to watch his son, Ronald Jr., play in goal for Telstar, suggested that this is a young man who is very comfortable in what would be a daunting environment for most 15-year-olds. Hopefully this is the first of many opportunities Pereira da Gama is able to earn over the course of the campaign.
