2018 World Cup: 12 players aged 23 and under awaiting their big break
Every World Cup provides a stage on which a previously unheralded young footballer proves themselves to have the potential to be a world beater.
Here, Sportsmail has gathered together 12 players aged 23 and under who are set to use Russia 2018 as a springboard to stardom.
We've excluded the likes of Dele Alli, Leroy Sane and Kylian Mbappe, who are already superstars, and have instead focused on the players just shy of the peak of fame...
Jose Gimenez (Uruguay)
Club: Atletico Madrid
Potential: World-class, hard-as-nails defender
Comparison: His Wanda Metropolitano and international partner, Diego Godin
Transfer value: £35million
The trademark defender of both Atletico Madrid and Uruguay is the no-nonsense centre half happy to take man and ball if necessary. Gimenez fits both moulds perfectly. While Godin has long carried the responsibility, this 23-year-old is on the verge of stardom after a superb season for his club, topped off by winning the Champions League. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Russia may not hold much hope of success against such an uncompromising and talented pair.
Jose Gimenez is made in the uncompromising mold of defender Uruguay have trademarked
Andre Silva (Portugal)
Club: AC Milan
Potential: Champions League goalscorer
Comparison: The roughness of Diego Costa with a cooler temperament
Transfer value: £40m
Silva has struggled to truly spark into life after his big move to the San Siro last summer, but for Portugal he is a different beast, with 11 goals in 20 senior international appearances so far. He seems to enjoy the pressure of cup football - with six goals in the Europa League last campaign compared to two in Serie A. His powerful, aggressive style of play will catch the eye of the neutral this summer.
Andre Silva proved his scoring ability in crunch games with six goals in the Europa League
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
Club: Real Madrid
Potential: Top-flight regular
Comparison: A right-footed Marcelo with extra defensive awareness
Transfer value: £10m
Just starting to emerge through the fringes of the Real first team, Achraf may have to leave the Bernabeu to initially realise his potential - and what better shop window than the World Cup, where Morocco have the potential to surprise either Spain or Portugal in Group B. His charge forward to score from Karim Benzema's pass against Celta Vigo in a 6-0 triumph late in the La Liga season shows how he likes to play.
Achraf Hakimi could help Morocco spring a surprise with his fearless attacking from full back
Goncalo Guedes (Portugal)
Club: Valencia
Potential: Cristiano Ronaldo's successor
Comparison: If Xavi was a winger, he would play like Guedes
Transfer value: £50m
Beautifully skillful with the ball at his feet, incisive in the pass and capable of beating a full back with ease, Guedes looks to have it all by the age of 21. He helped Valencia back into the Champions League this season, but the World Cup could catapult him to proper stardom, especially if Portugal can repeat their Euro 2016 exploits. He scored five goals in La Liga last season and set up nine more.
Beautifully skillful with the ball at his feet, Goncalo Guedes looks to have it all by the age of 21
Presnel Kimpembe (France)
Club: PSG
Potential: World-class centre-back
Comparison: Vincent Kompany - cool-headed assurance
Transfer value: £30m
Called 'the future of French football' by William Gallas earlier in 2018, the stage is set for Kimpembe to prove why. He looks to be easing the aging Thiago Silva out of the picture at PSG and could start alongside either Raphael Varane or Samuel Umtiti in Russia. Kimpembe mixes silk and steel at the back - he is happy with the ball at his feet, but possesses physical strength and will use it with relish.
Presnel Kimpembe has been called 'the future of French football' by William Gallas
Corentin Tolisso (France)
Club: Bayern Munich
Potential: Twenty-goal-a-season midfielder
Comparison: Paul Pogba with added consistency
Transfer value: £35m
Calling Tolisso an unknown talent may be stretching it somewhat, given how he was central to Bayern Munich's Champions League exploits last season, but ask any fan to name France's leading midfielder and they will probably say Pogba. Tolisso however is a complete package both attacking and defending from midfield. A £35m signing from Lyon last summer, the giants of La Liga are already rumoured to be circling - and a good World Cup could seal it.
Corentin Tolisso is a major cog in France's midfield engine, both defensively and attacking
Giovani Lo Celso (Argentina)
Club: PSG
Potential: Midfield general for any Champions League contender
Comparison: A less-polished Andres Iniesta
Transfer value: £35m
Amid the glitz and drama of PSG this season, Lo Celso has begun to assert himself as a playmaker of genuine repute and a strong World Cup will cement his standing. He's tough in the tackle and is a committed scrapper, keen to win the ball back if it goes loose. Any PSG move from front to back tends to go through Lo Celso, and he could prove just as important for Argentina this summer.
Amid the drama of PSG this season, Giovani Lo Celso has become a playmaker of repute
Julian Brandt (Germany)
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Potential: The next European wing star
Comparison: More than a hint of Franck Ribery
Transfer value: £45m
Fans in Germany will snort at the suggestion of Brandt being a rising star - the Bayer Leverkusen winger has been one of the Bundesliga's most impressive performers for the last two seasons. However, a good tournament in Russia and the biggest teams on the continent will surely come calling - Liverpool are especially heavily linked. He scored 12 goals in 39 games last season and assisted another seven as Leverkusen narrowly missed out on the Champions League.
Bayer Leverkusen winger Julian Brandt (left) is already a star winger in the Bundesliga
Hirving Lozano (Mexico)
Club: PSV
Potential: Could be a world-best winger
Comparison: Plays like Philippe Coutinho
Transfer value: £25m
In his first season in European football, Lozano settled immediately and helped PSV to the Eredivisie title. He plays on the left wing but is right footed, cutting inside to look for shooting opportunities or the killer pass. He is not yet the finished article - and signings from Holland can be hit and miss - but there is a huge amount of potential in the young Mexican, so expect someone to take a punt on the 22-year-old.
Hirving Lozano is right footed but plays on the left, cutting inside for shooting opportunities
Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)
Club: Liverpool
Potential: England defender for the next 15 years
Comparison: As reliable as Gary Neville
Transfer value: £30m
From the moment he curled an inch-perfect free kick home for Liverpool against Hoffenheim in a Champions League qualifier last August, Alexander-Arnold has looked at home at the top of the world game. He has only improved as the season went on, to the extent that when the uncapped 19-year-old was named in the England squad, it was met with nods of approval rather than raised eyebrows. He's also capable of playing in central midfield.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has looked at home at the top of the world game for Liverpool
Yerry Mina (Colombia)
Club: Barcelona
Potential: La Liga stalwart (given time)
Comparison: Will learn from Gerard Pique
Transfer value: £10m
The giant centre back has had a rough start to life in Barcelona after moving from Palmeiras in January, largely because of the fanfare he received on his arrival. Extremely strong but with composure on the ball, the 23-year-old is a centre back of tremendous potential. He will have his hands full with Robert Lewandowski and Sadio Mane in the group stages, but if he proves he can handle them, he can maybe handle the pressure at Barca.
Yerry Mina has the winning combination of physical strength and composure on the ball
Keita Balde (Senegal)
Club: Monaco
Potential: The next Mbappe
Comparison: Pace, poise and an eye for goal... again, the next Mbappe
Transfer value: £40m
After losing Mbappe to rivals PSG last summer, Monaco needed a talented, creative forward player to step up - enter Keita Balde, with eight goals and 11 assists from 33 games following a £27m move from Lazio last summer. With Sadio Mane on the right wing and Balde causing havoc on the left, there is good reason for Senegal being viewed as the African side with the most potential this summer.