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The allure of burgeoning football talent has drawn Premier League scouts to Qatar this month as they evaluate some of the brightest young prospects at the Under-17 World Cup.
England’s aspirations were dashed in a striking 4-0 defeat to Austria on Tuesday, marking a sobering exit. Meanwhile, Burkina Faso has captured attention with their unexpected advance to the quarter-finals, emerging as the tournament’s dark horse.
The quarter-final matchups—Austria versus Japan, Italy against Burkina Faso, Portugal facing Switzerland, and Morocco taking on Brazil—are slated for Friday in Al Rayyan. The tournament will culminate with the final at Khalifa International Stadium, a venue where England’s senior squad triumphed over Iran 6-2 during the 2022 World Cup, scheduled for next Thursday.
Burkina Faso have been the surprise package in Qatar, knocking out Germany in the last 32 and now facing Italy for a place in the semi-finals
England’s run came to a crushing end on Tuesday when they were thrashed 4-0 by Austria in the last 16
Seydou Dembele
Country: Mali Age: 17 Position: Attacking midfielder Club: JMG Academy
Let’s start at the top, with the midfielder that has been the talk of scouts out in Qatar.
While his nation did fall short against Morocco in the last 16, Dembele has been one of the brightest prospects of any team in the competition.
Chelsea have been keen on 5ft 5in Dembele for months, while scouts for Manchester United kept a very close eye at this World Cup.
The left-footed attacking midfielder, who also likes to operate wide on the right, is a really strong chance creator, finishing his World Cup with four assists and two goals.
Dembele, who copied Lamine Yamal’s ‘304’ celebration after knocking out Zambia, has brilliant stamina levels and evades markers easily with his low centre of gravity. And while he remains a raw talent, this tournament should ensure a top European side goes all-in to sign him.
He comes from good stock at the JMG Academy, too, with the same group helping produce Yves Bissouma (Tottenham Hotspur), Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund) and Cheick Doucoure (Crystal Palace).
The bidding war for Dembele is imminent…
Seydou Dembele has been one of the brightest prospects of any team in the competition, and the Mali attacking midfielder is attracting interest from Chelsea
Anisio Cabral
Country: Portugal Age: 17 Position: Striker Club: Benfica
The tournament’s leading goalscorer. Anisio Cabral, who has six goals and counting, is dominating at this level and it is easy to see why the Benfica goal machine has already turned out for his club’s Under 23s.
Cabral, who signed a pro deal at Benfica last year at 16, is more than a flat-track bully given his size. His hold-up play has impressed onlookers, while he is proactive in running the channels – all traits that will serve him well in trying to catch the eye of Jose Mourinho and the Benfica first team.
Cabral has only been shut out by one side – Japan – in the entire tournament and it’s easy to see why he is in contention to be the player of the tournament.
At club level he is among the finest strikers in Europe for his age. Last season he scored 26 goals in 33 games for Benfica’s Under 17s. No wonder Mourinho is receiving regular reports on his progress.
Barcelona and Real Madrid are keeping tabs.
Barcelona and Real Madrid are keeping tabs on Portugal and Benfica wonderkid Anisio Cabral
His hold-up play has impressed onlookers, while he is proactive in running the channels – traits that will serve him well in trying to catch the eye of Jose Mourinho and the Benfica first team
Reigan Heskey
Country: England Age: 17 Position: Winger Club: Manchester City
England’s best player of the tournament by far. The son of former Liverpool striker Emile, Reigan departed Qatar with four goals and three assists through five matches.
He has previously trained with the Manchester City first team and while it is seen as slightly too soon to send him out on loan – City don’t want a player of his level to go below the Championship – there is great expectation on the levels he can eventually get to.
Heskey has a really high football IQ and his positional awareness starting on the left wing really stood out to talent evaluators and agents out in Qatar.
Year on year he continues to improve, building on a 2024-25 season where he scored 18 goals in 19 games for City’s Under 18s, and he has drawn comparisons to Marcus Rashford in some quarters.
The youngest of Emile Heskey’s sons, Reigan departed Qatar with four goals and three assists through five matches
Year on year he continues to improve, building on a 2024-25 season where he scored 18 goals in 19 games for City’s Under 18s
Taiga Seguchi
Country: Japan Age: 17 Position: Left wing-back Club: Vissel KobeÂ
Premier League and EFL clubs have had great success signing Japanese players in recent years. Kaoru Mitoma is a hit at Brighton, Daichi Kamada has impressed at Crystal Palace, while Birmingham City have reaped the rewards of expanding their scouting network for Japanese players.
That is why top clubs should be gathering as much information as they can on Vissel Kobe’s Seguchi, one of the most intriguing prospects at the World Cup.
Playing wide left in a 3-4-3 system, Seguchi’s technique is to be marvelled at, perhaps best underlined by the assist he produced in the last-16 tie versus North Korea.
One of Seguchi’s best attributes is his touch and finesse in tight spaces. A strong and confident dribbler as well as a genuine goal threat, as he showed in the upset win over tournament favourites Portugal, Seguchi could be the steal of the tournament for teams looking to unearth a genuine diamond in the rough.
Could Taiga Seguchi (left) be the next Japanese import to star in England?
Michael Noonan
Country: Republic of Ireland Age: 16 Position: Striker Club: Shamrock Rovers
A name that is gaining more and more traction with every passing week.
Noonan is a player Manchester United are keeping a close eye on, so too are Celtic.
In truth, around a dozen Premier League sides are keen on Noonan, who is one of the most talented Irish players in a generation.
The Shamrock Rovers striker – already in the record books as the youngest goalscorer in Conference League history at 16 years and 197 days old – can do a lot with very little and showed expertly how to use his tall frame throughout the tournament before going out against Switzerland.
Mason Melia, another Irish talent who plays for the Under 21s, has been snapped up by Tottenham Hotspur in a League of Ireland record sale.
Many in the game believe that will soon be shattered by whoever can win the race for Noonan. He looks destined for a Premier League move next summer, if not in January.
Republic of Ireland striker Michael Noonan is a player Manchester United are keeping a close eye on, so too are Celtic
The Shamrock Rovers prospect, who is in the record books as the youngest goalscorer in Conference League history at 16 years and 197 days old, can do a lot with very little
Mohamed ZongoÂ
Country: Burkina Faso Age: 15 Position: Central midfielder Club: Sporting Football des Cascades
This 15-year-old has turned heads in every World Cup game he’s played out in Qatar.
His pair of assists to defeat Uganda in the last 16 capped off a man-of-the-match display that just about summed up his tournament to this point.
Zongo is an extremely gifted box-to-box midfielder who is mature beyond his years in dictating matches.
Mohamed Zongo, at just 15, has turned heads in every World Cup game he’s played out in Qatar
Zongo is an extremely gifted box-to-box midfielder who is mature beyond his years in dictating matches
Burkina Faso’s No 8 has burst onto the scene after not featuring at the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations. Scouts and talent evaluators all know him now.
Zongo has been a tournament lead in ‘key passes’ and is also underrated when it comes to his defensive contribution. If he can maximise his potential, think of a next-gen Yaya Toure.
Johannes Moser
Country: Austria Age: 17 Position: Attacking midfielder Club: Red Bull Salzburg
A player who’s oozing with confidence right now, underlined by the Panenka penalty he scored against Tunisia at 0-0 in the last 32 and his double to knock out England on Tuesday.
Moser’s versatility has made him one of the standouts across the entire tournament given he can play wide on either wing, as an attacking midfielder or slightly deeper in central midfield.
Currently part of the Red Bull Salzburg pathway – a route that has helped develop the likes of Sadio Mane and Erling Haaland – Moser can be the next superstar off the conveyor belt.
Johannes Moser’s versatility has made him one of the standouts across the entire tournament given he can play wide on either wing, as an attacking midfielder or deeper in central midfield
As part of the Red Bull Salzburg pathway – which developed the likes of Sadio Mane and Erling Haaland – he can be the next superstar off the conveyor belt
His representatives have been in demand after matches in Qatar given his brilliant displays, which have seen him score five times and add an assist.
‘Johannes is simply an incredibly intelligent young man,’ Sebastian Prodl, head of Austria’s youth teams, told Austrian media after the England rout.
‘He’s even skipped an age group and you can see that on the pitch.
‘The way he moves and reads the game is unique. He always has an eye for his team-mates and plays very much for the team.’
Moser, who has shown a brilliant ability to break lines either through his passing or his running, is fearless and one of the players already proving that he can perform when the pressure’s on.
Antonio Arena
Country: Italy Age: 16 Position: Striker Club: Roma
As far as high praise goes, it doesn’t get much better than being likened to one of the greatest players ever.
In the past week, Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport compared Roma youngster Arena to Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of his movement on the shoulder of the last defender.
In the past week Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport compared Roma youngster Antonio Arena to Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of his movement on the shoulder of the last defender
Arena, who grew up in Sydney, Australia, showed in Qatar while those behind the scenes at Roma are getting increasingly giddy about this kid’s potential
Arena, who studied tape of Brazilian Ronaldo as a youngster growing up in Sydney, Australia, showed in Qatar while those behind the scenes at Roma are getting increasingly giddy about his potential.
He joined Roma for around £1million plus a 20 per cent sell-on fee to Pescara and he has already made the first-team bench at 16.
‘You’ll hear about him, he’ll go far,’ Silvio Baldini, manager of Italy’s Under 21s, said back in March of Arena, who has scored twice out in Qatar having dipped in and out of the line-up.
The youngster started out playing Aussie Rules when he was very young, playing for the Bankstown Bullsharks, but now looks to have found his future as a striker in the Italian system. Juventus, Inter Milan and Fiorentina are all targeting him.
