NXGN 2025: The 50 best teenage wonderkids in football

NXGN 2025: The 50 best teenage wonderkids in football

The annual NXGN lists are back for another year, highlighting 50 of the most incredible talents to have been born on or after January 1, 2006

The annual NXGN lists are back for 2025, as GOAL ranks the world’s top teenage talents in men’s and women’s football, crowning winners that will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Jadon Sancho and Lena Oberdorf in being recognised as the best young footballer on the planet.

Covering all five major footballing continents and representing 23 different countries, the men’s NXGN 2025 list is a truly global one, featuring established senior internationals, title winners and names that are set to light up the biggest competitions for decades to come.

So without further ado, here is the NXGN 2025 list of the top 50 young talents born on or after January 1, 2006…

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Getty/GOAL48Diego Kochen (Barcelona)The United States has a rich history when it comes to developing goalkeepers, and Diego Kochen looks poised to become the next American shot-stopper capable of plying their trade at the very top of the global game after earning plenty of admirers at Barcelona.The 18-year-old has become a fixture in the Blaugrana’s matchday squads over the course of the campaign, and is expected to make the step up to become Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s primary backup in the not-too-distant future. Kochen has also earned recognition from national team boss Mauricio Pochettino after receiving his first call-up to the senior squad in November.

Getty/GOAL50Chido Obi (Manchester United)Manchester United’s record when it comes to signing strikers in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era isn’t exactly anything to write home about, but there is hope that their capture of Chido Obi in the summer of 2024 will go down as a piece of business that went a long way towards turning the Red Devils around.The Denmark youth international made headlines last year when he went on a tear for Arsenal’s Under-18s, scoring 32 goals in just 18 league matches for the Gunners despite his opponents being a couple of years older than him. United were subsequently able to tempt Obi away from north London amid rival interest from Bayern Munich, and despite him being just 17, there is a growing clamour from the Old Trafford crowd for the teenager to be given more first-team opportunities before the season is out.

Getty/GOAL49Gilberto Mora (Club Tijuana)After an underwhelming half-decade, Mexican soccer is desperate for some new blood to emerge ahead of them co-hosting the 2026 World Cup. Fortunately, in Gilberto Mora, there is hope that El Tri has found its new poster boy after a record-breaking start to the attacking midfielder’s career.At just 16, the Club Tijuana prospect has already become the youngest player to score in Liga MX, while he also played his first game for the senior Mexico team in an unofficial friendly in January. Barcelona and Manchester City are among the clubs to have been linked with moves for Mora, and interest in him is only going to grow as his development continues.