World Cup Breakout Stars: Where Will They Play Club Football After The World Cup

Before a World Cup starts, fans and prognosticators like to highlight teams that are on their “last chance”. Belgium was an example of this in the 2022 World Cup.

The Belgian “Golden Generation” arrived in 2014, and it looked like they had the talent to reach a World Cup final. As we see in the 2022 World Cup, it’s imperative to capitalize on your young talent when it’s young – Belgium lost in the group stages, and their Golden Generation turned into an older generation quickly.

International football becomes more about young players with endless youthful energy stepping up in big moments. Their youth is an advantage – they’re too young and inexperienced to understand how big the moment is.

Each World Cup, a few young stars break out on the international stage and become the focus of major clubs to secure their talents for club football. Let’s look at some of the breakout stars from World Cup 2022, and see where they might be headed after the World Cup.

Jude Bellingham: Premier League Bound?

19-year-old Jude Bellingham has been a big part of England’s success at the World Cup. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder has played with great purpose. He’s been on the end of dazzling runs through other teams’ defenses. Bellingham also opened the scoring for England in the 2022 World Cup. He became the 2nd youngest player to score for England in a World Cup.

Bellingham has scored 19 goals over his three years at Borussia Dortmund. Borussia Dortmund has long been a club that has built its success on letting young players play, until a major club snaps them up. Bellingham is now in a position to be courted by some of the biggest teams in the world.

Interested teams include Manchester City, Real Madrid, and PSG. The most vocal suitor for Bellingham is Liverpool. They hope that having former Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp at the helm will influence Bellingham to come to Anfield.

Goncalo Ramos: How Much Time Left at Benfica?

Portugal dominated Switzerland 6-1 in the round of 16. This victory stood out because Cristiano Ronaldo was not in the starting eleven for Portugal. He was replaced by 21-year-old Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos. This was Ramos’ first start for the national team, and he delivered.

Ramos had a hat trick in his first start for the national team. As Portugal advances, he’ll have more opportunities to dazzle. Ramos’ contract with Benfica runs through 2026, but I would expect that he’ll have a lot of suitors after his World Cup performance. Manchester United failed to sign Ramos last summer – if they’re interested again in January, the price will be much more competitive.

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