Casadei, Marcos Leonardo and 10 standout performers of the U20 World Cup

Neel Shelat

• Updated: 1 Jun 2023 15:39 BST
• 10 min read

The 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup is presently raging in Argentina, with the end of the group stages marking what is roughly the halfway point of the competition.

It has proven an exciting competition, with this tournament offering a platform for young players from all over the world to showcase their talents.

FootballTransfers has picked out 10 standout performers from 10 different countries who have sparkled in the tournament and are worthy of keeping an eye on in the months and years ahead.

Nilson Angulo - Ecuador

Birth Year: 2003

Club: Anderlecht

Position: AM

ETV: €1.9M – €3.1M

All eyes watching Ecuador were on the Chelsea-bound Kendry Paez, but they have some other very talented players too. The standout among them was Nilson Angulo, who operated alongside Paez in attacking midfield.

He shone in all aspects of the game, be it ball control, dribbling and one-on-one skills (which he did not shy away from showing at all), physicality, spatial awareness, off-ball movement or defensive work rate. He capped it all off with a return of three assists, the joint-best in the tournament so far.

Angulo moved to Anderlecht from LDU Quito last summer in a deal €1.9M. He seems to have spent this season settling into new surroundings and playing with the B team, but on this evidence, he is sure to make the step up to the senior squad soon.

Adama Bojang - Gambia

Birth Year: 2004

Club: Steve Biko FC

Position: ST

ETV: N/A

Gambia have had a fantastic group stage, topping Group F with seven points which means they remain unbeaten. A secure defence obviously deserves a lot of credit for that, but their star performer has operated at the other end of the pitch.

There was some hype around Adama Bojang going into the tournament as he was his nation’s top scorer in the U20 AFCON when they reached the final for the first time ever, and he showed the world why he is worth getting excited over in his very first match. Just a couple of minutes in, he scored a stunning goal from outside the box to put his side in front against Honduras, setting the tone for the match and indeed their tournament.

Bojang’s only other goal came late on in that game when he scored a rather scrappy winner, but he has continued to catch the eye since. His standout attribute is his shot-creation ability for himself – he can fashion shooting angles from almost any angle and situation. His height makes him a threat in the air, he can also pose a threat in behind thanks to his speed, and his ball control skills mean he can beat a defender to get a shot away. It should be no surprise, then, that he is the tournament’s top shooter with 18 attempts in three games.

Chelsea were said to be keeping an eye on him on the back of his U20 AFCON performances, but they will surely face competition from elsewhere too now if they wish to sign Bojang.

Cesare Casadei - Italy

Birth Year: 2003

Club: Chelsea

Position: CM

ETV: €4.8M – €8M

Speaking of Chelsea, one of the best players at the tournament so far is contracted to them. Cesare Casadei has been fantastic for an exciting Italy side, but everyone should have expected that.

After joining the Blues last summer, Casadei spent the first half of the season with their youth team before being loaned out to Reading. The fact that he was able to put up such decent-looking numbers for a relegated side should tell you how good he already was.

But, if that was not enough to convince everyone, Casadei will certainly have won some fans after his performances in Argentina. Playing in an advanced role on the left of midfield, the ex-Inter youngster has shown fantastic spatial awareness and close control to consistently receive passes between opposition lines. From there, he has kicked on to get four goals, making him the tournament’s outright top scorer so far, and added an assist for good measure.

A lot of Chelsea’s transfer business in recent windows has been questionable, but they clearly seem to have a gem on their hands in Casadei.

Cade Cowell - USA

Birth Year: 2003

Club: San Jose Earthquakes

Position: LW

ETV: €3.8M – €6.3M

The USA comfortably advanced to the knockouts by winning all of their matches in Group B, but it has not been all smooth sailing for them. A stoppage-time winner helped them beat Ecuador in their tournament opener after a so-so performance, allowing them to rest a few players against Fiji. Their second-string side did not impress at all against the Oceanian nation, but one player stood out.

Cade Cowell did not feature against Ecuador, but made the most of the start he got against Fiji. After looking like the lone attacking threat throughout the first half, he helped his side get the breakthrough in the second by setting up his strike partner Diego Luna, who had been substituted on to support him. Cowell then got a goal for himself, sealing a starting spot in the next game. He impressed against Slovakia too, making good runs in behind to pose real problems to the opposition's defence before scoring the opener.

Cowell has been featuring regularly for the San Jose Earthquakes since he turned 17 and has already been capped at the senior level by the USMNT, so it should be no surprise to learn that major European sides are monitoring him. Juventus and Milan are currently said to be the most interested parties, so he could well end up in Italy this summer.

Pape Demba Diop - Senegal

Birth Year: 2003

Club: Zulte Waregem

Position: CM/AM

ETV: N/A

U20 AFCON champions Senegal will naturally be disappointed to have finished last in their group and crashed out without a win, but their overall performances were decent and a couple of their players really stood out. Their midfield department looked particularly promising, especially Lamine Camara and Pape Demba Diop.

The latter was the golden boot winner in the aforementioned continental tournament as he returned with five goals from six games. He got one of his side’s two in this tournament – a headed equaliser against Israel. He also impressed with his ball carrying and progression after receiving in deeper areas of midfield, where he used his strength to hold off opposition pressers. When his team did not have the ball, Diop showed good intensity and understanding as he led their 4-4-2 block to press.

Diop left Senegal for Belgian Pro League side Zulte Waregem last summer, for whom he has only made one senior appearance so far. They were relegated at the end of the season, though, so he might fancy breaking into the senior squad in the second tier.

Juan Gauto - Argentina

Birth Year: 2004

Club: Huracan

Position: RW

ETV: €1.5M – €2.5M

Argentina’s under-20s have had quite a year so far. After crashing out of the group stage of the most recent Sudamericano sub-20 and therefore missing out on qualifying for the World Cup, their dreams seemed to be in the dust. But then, Indonesia were stripped of hosting rights after controversy surrounding local authorities refusing to host Israel, and Argentina swooped in with a late bid, qualifying by virtue of being the hosts.

Javier Mascherano’s squad was missing a lot of talent based in Europe during the Sudamericano as their clubs refused to release them, but many of them made it to the more prestigious World Cup. Yet their standout performer of the group stage has been a locally based player – Huracan winger Juan Gauto.

The teenager was benched for the opener but grabbed his opportunity with both hands when he was given a start against Guatemala. Operating as a high touchline winger, Gauto’s on-ball qualities stood out as he showed great control and pulled out some skills while dribbling against defenders. At the same time, he did not fall into the trap of hero ball and was willing to release the ball when he was cornered or saw teammates in better positions.

The teenager’s data profile from last season’s Liga Professional paints him as a dribbly winger without the best end product, and we could see some roughness his game at the World Cup too. Even though he did get one assist, Gauto did not create as much as he might have been expected to given how much of the ball he saw. Still, he certainly was a livewire on the right and should definitely start in the knockouts.

Facundo Gonzalez - Uruguay

Birth Year: 2003

Club: Valencia Mestalla

Position: CB

ETV: €130K

Uruguay have advanced to the knockouts after keeping two clean sheets in the group stage, so it is only right that we pick out one of their defenders.

Facundo Gonzalez has been a rock at the back for his side, completing three full 90s at the heart of their defence. His physicality and aerial duel qualities have stood out as he has helped keep Randall Rodriguez relatively unbothered in goal. His aerial threat is also useful for set-pieces at the other end, while his polished on-ball qualities are always slightly more valuable for someone who is a left-footed centre-back.

The only weakness in Gonzalez’s game that has been made apparent so far is that he was twisted and turned on the ground a couple of times when England put three past Uruguay, although some blame must also go to his centre-back partner for putting him in tough positions.

Nevertheless, the young Uruguayan is a very good prospect on the whole and might be worth a spot in Valencia’s senior squad after spending this season with the B team.

Kim Yong-hak - South Korea

Birth Year: 2003

Club: Portimonense

Position: RW

ETV: €70K – €100K

South Korea raised many eyebrows when they beat France in their tournament opener to win three points that would prove crucial in helping them progress to the knockouts. Thereafter, they were disappointing in only managing to scrape to draws against Honduras and Gambia, so they have one person to thank for making it to the Round of 16.

Kim Yong-hak has really been the sole spark of their attack, providing a crucial outlet in transition against France when he set up the opener after doing most of the hard work. His speed and one-on-one ability would prove crucial in releasing the pressure for South Korea all game, and he also did well to hold the ball up with little support at times. In the subsequent matches, he sparked a comeback from two down against Honduras by scoring his side’s first and then was presumably rested against Gambia with a knockout spot already sealed.

Having progressed through Pohang Steelers’ youth ranks, Kim moved to Portuguese side Portimonense on a season-and-a-half-long loan at the start of 2022. He has made very few senior appearances there, so one would imagine they will not trigger the buy-out clause. In that case, a return to Pohang or a move to some other side should be right for Kim’s club career.

Marcos Leonardo - Marcos Leonardo

Birth Year: 2003

Club: Santos

Position: ST

ETV: €12.1M – €20.2M

Most of the players featuring in this tournament were not key players for their club sides - otherwise they would not have been released for the tournament. One exception to this, though, is Brazil striker Marcos Leonardo, who had started 38 of Santos’ 42 Brasileirao Serie A matches since the start of last season prior to this tournament. In 2022, he returned with an impressive 13 goals and three assists and put up pretty good underlying numbers too.

He was sure to lead the line for Brazil in Argentina, and he has done so well up to this point. Two of his three goals came in the second half of the defeat to Italy so if anything, he might be a little disappointed to not have fully cashed in during the thrashing of the Dominican Republic and to not have gotten on the scoresheet against Nigeria. He has shown that he can deliver in big games, though, so his side will surely call upon him during the knockouts.

Leonardo was already on the radar of major European clubs on the back of his performances last season, so they did not really need another reminder of his talents. West Ham even made a bid to sign him in January but failed to strike a deal, allowing the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus, Roma, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea to be linked with him now.

Alan Virginius - France

Birth Year: 2003

Club: Lille

Position: RW/ST

ETV: €3.7M – €6.2M

France have had a very disappointing U20 World Cup, which ended in a group stage exit after they lost their first two games, but the only reason they had some hope till the end was Alan Virginius.

The 20-year-old winger pulled one back from the spot against South Korea to set up a grandstand finish in their tournament opener, although they did not manage to salvage even a point in the end. After the loss to the Gambia, they knew that they would have to win big against Honduras to sneak into the Round of 16, but things took a turn for the worse when they had a player sent off and conceded from the resultant free-kick in the first 15 minutes.

Virginius almost single-handedly turned things around by scoring a brace to put France in front, but they still needed three more goals to make their goal difference good enough to get them into the knockouts. Unfortunately, they could only manage one more, so they had to start packing right after the game.

Virginius has done his reputation no harm by popping by to Argentina, although a transfer is unlikely for him. He only joined Lille from Sochaux last summer in a deal worth €4m in transfer fees and has since featured in just under half of his side’s league matches, predominantly as a substitute. He could well start more often next season if they hold on to their European spot on the final day.