Ouédraogo, Nwaneri and Jamison - 10 players to watch at the U17 World Cup

The U17 World Cup in Indonesia kicks off on Friday, Nov. 10, with Panama against Morocco and host Indonesia versus Ecuador. The U17 World Cup has been the stepping-stone for the careers of many great players, including Cesc Fabregas, Toni Kroos, and Phil Foden. Ahead of the tournament, Transfermarkt’s team from around the world has picked ten players to watch at this year’s edition. 

U17 World Cup - Ten players to watch

Claudio Echeverri –Argentina (River Plate) 

Scott Christensen Area Manager Argentina: Claudio Echeverri is, with no doubt, the biggest prospect from Argentina. We've been hearing about the kid for four or five years now, and he made his debut for River Plate's 1st team this year. Surprisingly, Gianluca Prestianni, probably the second most promising Argentine player, wasn't taken to the World Cup. It is thought that it's related to discipline issues in his club. Echeverri is very skillful, a good dribbler, creative, hard to anticipate, and has a good definition. He's one of those players that's constantly asking for the ball and takes the initiative. There's been a rumor linking him with Real Madrid, and he has already trained with the senior national team.

Kauā Elias - Brazil (Fluminense)

Thiago Rabelo Transfermarkt Content Manager Brazil: Kauã Elias is an old-fashioned center forward. Strong, fast and with great finishing power. He was recently appointed one of the 60 most promising player in world football by The Guardian. For the Seleção, he was the top scorer in the South American Under-17 Championship in Ecuador and arrives at the World Cup with the responsibility of being the topscorer and the star of the Brazilian team.

Taryck Tahid – Canada (Vancouver FC) 

Manuel Veth Area Manager North America: Taryck Tahid has been writing major headlines in the Canadian Premier League this season. The 16-year-old playmaker made history earlier this season when he became the youngest player in Canadian Premier League history when made his debut in a 1-1 draw against Cavalry FC on May 7, 2023. Tahid also holds the record for the youngest goalscorer in Canadian Premier League history when he scored in Vancouver FC’s 3-6 defeat to British Columbia rivals Pacific FC on Jun. 3, 2023. A very skillful player, Tahid is just one of two CPL players in a squad dominated by MLS academy players and the only one who has played regular first-team minutes for a senior team. With that in mind, expect Tahid to lead the line for Canada at the tournament. 

Ethan Nwaneri – England (Arsenal)

Ben Littlemore UK Content Manager: Ethan Nwaneri blew away the record for the youngest Premier League player when he came on in Arsenal’s 3-0 win at Brentford last season, aged 15 years five months and 28 days. With electric dribbling and superb ball-striking ability, he's been a star player throughout the Gunners youth ranks and has scored five goals in six games from attacking midfield for the Arsenal U21 team this season. Man City and Chelsea both tried to prize the youngster away from North London this summer, but Mikel Arteta convinced him to stay, and he signed a two-year scholarship deal. He hasn't featured for Arsenal since that Brentford game, but he will be one to watch in this Under 17 World Cup and will be hoping to catch Arteta’s eye.

Bastien Meupiyou – France (Nantes)

Joachim Durand Content Manager France: On the face of it, the numbers don't look good for Bastien Meupiyou, who was sent off after his first nine minutes in Ligue 1 this season. However, the FC Nantes player has been watched by some of Europe's top clubs for several months now, including Borussia Dortmund, City Football Group, and Red Bull. Regularly called up to the junior national teams (22 matches), he should be the defensive leader of the French U-17 team during the World Cup.

Assan Ouédraogo – Germany (Schalke) 

Bundesliga expert Manuel Veth: Schalke 04’s wonderkid Assan Ouédraogo is one of the big winners of the recent 2. Bundesliga market value update. The 17-year-old saw his market value increase from €500,000 to €6 million, which ranks him among the 20 most valuable U17 players in the world and the most valuable player at this tournament. That’s not surprising, given the fact that Ouédraogo is already a regular for Schalke in Germany’s second division and is being scouted by every single top club in Germany and abroad. What sort of player is Ouédraogo? The midfielder is an interesting cross between Leroy Sané and Jude Bellingham and is, without a doubt, a generational talent. 

Barajas, Jamison, Guiu & Co.: 10 players to watch at the U17 World Cup

Gaku Nawata – Japan (Kamimura Gakuen High School)

Takako Maruga Area Manager Japan: Head coach Yoshiro Moriyama nominated only four new players (Homare Tokuda, Alen Inoue, Katsuma Fuse, Haruki Komori). It is interesting that there are many talented strikers in this generation. Gaku Nawata is the player to watch. Capable of playing both as a no.9 and a supporting striker, Nawata has scored six goals and six assists in 12 games played in the Prince Takamado U18 Premier League West.

Fidel Barajas – Mexico (Charleston Battery) 

Manuel Veth: It says a lot about Mexico’s youth development in recent years that the most promising player in the squad plays for USL Championship side Charleston Battery. Without a doubt, the USL Championship is slowly turning into a talent factory and is the only league represented twice on this list. Barajas, in turn, has been impressive playing with fully grown men in the USL, where he scored five goals and 11 assists in 32 games combined in the regular season and the playoffs for a Charleston side that will challenge for the title this upcoming weekend in the final against Phoenix Rising. With that in mind, it isn't surprising that Barajas is already linked with a move to Europe where PSV Eindhoven are interested. 

Marc Guiu – Spain (Barcelona)

Ivan Turmo Area Manager Spain: The Barcelona youth player Marc Guiu is one of the most important talents in the youth categories of the Spanish team (he has 8 goals in 12 games with the Under 17) and stood out in the last Under 17 European Championship with 4 goals (the same amount as Lamine Yamal). The forward, who made his debut with the Barcelona first team, scoring just after entering the field, is an imposing attacker (1,87cm.). He is a pure no.9 who stands out for his power, speed, and finishing ability and is compared to Robert Lewandowski.

Bryce Jamison – United States (Orange County SC)

Manuel Veth: This is a very talented US youth men’s national team side that Gonzalo Segares has assembled for the U17 World Cup, and several players are worth watching. But one name stands out, in particular, and that is Bryce Jamison from USL Championship side Orange County SC. Jamison is a physically strong and direct winger who has featured in 29 games across all competitions for OCSC this season (two goals and two assists). Orange County are one of the most productive clubs in the United States when it comes to sending players to Europe, with Jamison soon headed over there, as well as he is likely to join partner club Feyenoord Rotterdam (for more on Jamison, click here).