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The FIFA World Cup is just less than ten days away and you can feel things heating up. It is one of the most awaited sporting events and it kicks off in Russia on the 14th of June.
All the 23-man squads of all the nations participating at the World Cup have been announced and there are some exciting young prospects taking part as well. However, interestingly this is the first time since 1990 that no player younger than 19-years-old has been selected by any of the teams.
There are seven teenagers on show at the grand stage, and we will be looking at 5 of the youngest of them. Uruguay's Federico Valverde and Senegal's Moussa Wague are the two players who missed out on our list.
P.S: All 'days' are accurate as at when this article was written.
#5 Trent Alexander-Arnold (19 years and 241 days)
Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was a rather surprising inclusion in Gareth Southgate's England squad, as he had also picked Manchester City's Kyle Walker and Tottenham Hotspurs' Kieran Trippier, both of whom are right-backs as well.
However it cannot be denied that the youngster had a solid season with the Reds, with him being one of the regular players in Jurgen Klopp's starting eleven that finished fourth in the English Premier League and reached the UEFA Champions League final.
Although the scouser is actually a central midfielder, with all the competition from the senior players in the squad, the chances of him playing any role for the team is bleak. But Alexander-Arnold expressed his determination in the form of a cracking goal in his first training session with his national team.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is just 19 years and 241 days old, was born on the 7th of October in 1998 and is merely three days younger than Senegal's Moussa Wague who didn't make it to the list.
All stats via transfermarkt
#4 Francis Uzoho (19 years and 220 days)
The fourth youngest player in this year's World Cup is Nigeria's Francis Uzoho. The young goalkeeper plies his trade for Spanish La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruna and even made two appearances in the league this season.
Francis, as he is called in Spain, made his debut for Nigeria's senior team against Argentina on the 14th of November 2017 and has made three appearances since.
The teenager stood between the sticks for the Super Eagles in the friendly match against England this past Saturday, which saw his team lose 2-1.
The Nigerian fans seem to be confident on starting the youngster ahead of their other two experienced goalkeepers.
#3 Achraf Hakimi (19 years and 213 days)
At 19 years and 213 days of age, Achraf Hakimi is the third youngest player at the World Cup this year. The Spanish born Moroccan plays for Spanish giants Real Madrid, and this year became the first Arab player ever to win the prestigious UEFA Champions League trophy.
The right-back made nine appearances for Los Blancos in La Liga this season and even found the back of the net on two occasions.
Hakimi made his debut for the senior team of Morocco at the age of 17 back in 2016 and is expected to start for the side in their World Cup group stage ties against Iran, Portugal and Spain.
#2 Kylian Mbappe (19 years and 167 days)
Back in 2015, a 16-year-old Kylian Mbappe broke Thierry Henry's record as the youngest player to play for Monaco's senior team, and he has been on the rise ever since.
In the following season, Mbappe inspired the French side to beat Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title and was named as the Golden Boy in 2017.
The teenager was signed on loan by Paris Saint-German last summer, but soon a fee of £130 million was fixed for making the move permanent making him the second most expensive player in the history of football.
The 19-year-old will be a pivotal figure in Didier Deschamps' France team that is named as one of the early favourites to win the World Cup at Russia. Mbappe will team up with Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele and Atletico Madrid's Antonio Griezmann to form an attacking trio that every opponent will fear.
#1 Daniel Arzani (19 years and 152 days)
Australia's Daniel Arzani will be the youngest player at this year's World Cup. At 19 years and 152 days of age, the teenager is only 15 days younger than Mbappe.
After the Iranian born winger had a successful season with Australian A-League side Melbourne City, in which he scored two and assisted three from 16 appearances in the league, the Socceroos manager Bert van Marwijk picked him in the squad that will represent the nation at the World Cup.
Arzani made his senior team debut for Australia in the team's 4-0 win against Czech Republic this past Friday, after he came on as a substitute in the 84th minute of the game.
