With the FIFA World Cup in less than a week, we at NextGenSports felt obliged to give you all some profiles on who will be the breakout young stars in this tournament. These footballers are all under the age of 23 and may be unknown to the casual soccer fan, but could all dictate how far their respective countries go.

Jozy Altidore (USA)

The blazing fast 20 year old striker from New Jersey will perhaps determine if the United States is able to right their ship of recent World Cup failure. He has proven more than adept at the international level, scoring 9 goals with the team through qualifying rounds, the Confederation Cup, and friendly matches. His success on the club level with Hull City (English Premier League) was non- existent, probably attributed to the very little playing time he saw. The one advantage of playing overseas for Altidore was his gaining of familiarity to many opponents he will have to play against in the World Cup, like England’s defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole, each from Chelsea. One of the issues for the United States that makes Altidore all the more important is their lack of depth at forward. Charles Davies did not recover fast enough from his October car accident, and that means the second striker spot will be up in the air between Edson Buddle, Robbie Findley, and Hercules Gomez. Watch out for veteran Clint Dempsey, probably the most polished scorer on the roster, to step in and play some striker on occasion. Read More→