The kids are absolutely alright, and frankly, they're making the rest of us look bad. The World Cup's Round of 16 served up another helping of teenage audacity and twenty-something brilliance, as the tournament's brightest young stars continued to treat football's biggest stage like their own personal playground. The race for the FIFA Young Player Award, presented by Aramco, is heating up faster than a sidewalk in July, and the contenders are making it nearly impossible for the voters.
Let's start with Ayyoub Bouaddi, Morocco's midfield metronome who plays like he's got a PhD in football and the physique of a seasoned enforcer. This is a teenager who won a public-speaking competition at fifteen, finished his baccalaureate at sixteen, and is now studying mathematics at university, which either means he's an alien or the most annoyingly talented person on the planet. On the pitch, he orchestrates Morocco's engine room with a calm authority that makes you forget he's barely old enough to rent a car. Canada found out the hard way in the Round of 16 that Bouaddi isn't just brains; there's a physical edge to his game that makes him a nightmare to play against.
Then there's Desire Doue, the Paris Saint-Germain forward who's been quietly stealing the spotlight from Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise, which is basically the football equivalent of upstaging the main act at a concert. Doue already got one over on Bouaddi this year by claiming his second straight Ligue 1 Young Player of the Season award, and he's brought that silky form straight to the World Cup. Three starts in five games, one goal, and the penalty that Mbappe converted to knock out Paraguay. The kid just knows how to make things happen when it matters.
Nico O'Reilly has been Thomas Tuchel's not-so-secret weapon at left-back for England, starting four of their five matches and every single victory. The only game England didn't win was the one where O'Reilly started on the bench, which is probably not a coincidence. Among England's regulars, the Manchester City man ranks top three for pass completion and second for tackles won, which is a ridiculous stat line for a 21-year-old at his first World Cup. He came agonizingly close to a goal against Mexico in the Round of 16, striking the post in that white-knuckle 3-2 win. If England go all the way, O'Reilly's fingerprints will be all over it.
And finally, Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona wunderkind who's been on minutes management duty since a hamstring niggle sidelined him for the opener. Since then, he's started every game, opened his World Cup account against Austria, and completed his first full ninety minutes against Portugal with flashes of the kind of genius that makes defenders question their career choices. The scary part? He hasn't even hit top gear yet. Once this generational talent finds his fifth gear, there might not be a defender in the tournament who can slow him down. Belgium are next in the quarter-finals, and they've been warned.
