Football: Endrick, Yamal, Mainoo, the teenage stars, future greats of tomorrow

They are the rookies of the rookies, the teenagers who want to grow up too quickly, the new kids in the class. Endrick 17 years old, Lamine Yamal 16 years old, Kobbie Mainoo 18 years old. The three were selected in the A teams of their respective national teams, during the last break before the Euro in Germany and the Copa America in the United States. And the prodigies made a strong impression. As a certain Mbappé would say - when he was as young as them - you shouldn't talk to them about age. Wembley, Santiago Bernabeu… They need more to impress them. And these performances have not gone unnoticed by the keenest observers.

He is the headliner of this international week. Endrick Felipe Moreira de Sousa, his full name, blew up social networks for his first two matches in Europe. Hunted since his announcement of transfer to Real Madrid next summer, the Palmeiras player had never set foot on a green rectangle on the old continent. Before coming of age and joining the Merengues, the 17-year-old phenomenon gave a taste of his talent to football fans, who are impatiently awaiting his arrival.

1.73m, precocious, small build but athletic profile, jersey in the shorts, the resemblance to Pelé is striking. In the space of four days, he got a little closer to the Brazilian legend. The native of Taguatinga scored his first goal for Brazil in the temple of football that is Wembley on Saturday evening. The nugget became the youngest scorer in the history of the Seleçao since Ronaldo Nazario in 1994, and ranked just behind R9, Edu and King Pelé. An achievement which caused a lot of noise in the country, which has not had much to sink its teeth into since 2019, the year of their last victory in the Copa America.

The feat is already immense, but Endrick did not stop there. Tuesday against Spain at the Santiago Bernabeu of Real Madrid, he dazzled the Madrid public won over to his cause, and has already made his new home his own. Coming on before the hour mark, he struck just four minutes after coming on. From a corner, the prodigy scored with a left-footed volley full of spontaneity. The story is worthy of a fairy tale. To follow his next adventures, head to Real Madrid next season, alongside Vinicius, Bellingham, Rodrygo and why not a certain Mbappé. We're salivating in advance.

What's better than scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu before heading to the White House? Getting a standing ovation as a Barcelonan in the grounds of your great rival. Ronaldinho, Messi, Totti, only the greatest have received the applause of this legendary stadium. Tuesday evening, Lamine Yamal joined this (very) closed club. Of the three cities, he is surely the one who no longer needs to be presented as he impresses with Barca. Yet he is the youngest. 15 years old, an age where we are still in middle school. He played with Lewandowski, Gundogan and company.

Against Brazil, the Spanish winger had the right to full regulation time to fully express himself, after having inherited a measly 19 minutes against Colombia. For his first match at the Bernabeu, Yamal dazzled the side with his talent with his already devastating dribbling and acceleration. He was involved in two of La Roja's three goals. First he scratched a penalty converted by Rodri, then he was a passer on Dani Olmo's gem.

Despite his 16 years, Lamine Yamal is the headliner of the 2023/2024 class of the Barcelona training center. He opened the door to the generation of Pau Cubarsi, Marc Guiu, Fermin Lopez, of whom he is the standard bearer. Pedri (21 years old) and Gavi (19 years old) look like old men next to him. With more than forty first team matches this season, the kid from La Masia continues to progress. A real “Crack” as we like to call them in Spain.

Gareth Southgate knows this and highlighted it: “That’s an incredible number of players unavailable, but it means there are opportunities for other players.” The misfortune of one person makes the happiness of others. The massacre suffered by the English selection allowed new players to shine, and Mainoo is one of them. Called up for the very first time with the A's, the 18-year-old hopeful made the splash in a friendly against Belgium.

16 short minutes against Brazil to honor his first in the white jersey, then on Tuesday, he had his chance and was established in midfield alongside Declan Rice, captain for one evening. Even though they had a good game, the Red Devils had to deal with a Red Devil on legs. With 89% successful passes, but above all a very mature game, he looked like an executive from the English national team. A great performance which earned him the man of the match title, not bad for a start.

In the early morning, the British dailies had only his name on their lips, the Mancunian received praise from the newspapers, from his teammates, from his coach, from former players, in short he has the United Kingdom at his feet . At 18, he established himself as a potential starter at Man U, and has not left the starting lineup (except once in the FA Cup) since December and a match against Liverpool. Undoubtedly the most discreet of the trio, but not the least promising.