Who’s the best youth soccer player in the world? If you want to see one of the biggest youth tournaments on the Globe, its right here in Dallas, TX and is called the Dallas Cup. One of the most recent stars was Saka (England/Arsenal).
Best youth players in the world
Best Young Male Soccer Players:
Lamine Yamal, Spanish player for FC Barcelona who was 16 years old when he stepped on the scene in the EURO 2024. Most kids this age are trying to make the high school team. Even the top college players (ages 19-22) are not good enough to play pro in Europe, much less start for Barca.
Pau Cubarsi was only 17 when he was on Barcelona.
Leny Yoro is a Lille academy graduate, Yoro joined the club as a child and then became one of the youngest first-team players when he made his professional Ligue 1 debut in May 2022, at the age of 16 years.
Cavan Sullivan age 14 became the youngest player to ever make a regular season debut in any of the top North American teams when he took the pitch during the Philadelphia Union
Best Young Female Soccer Players:
McKenna “Mak” Whitham set the record in her debut Sunday — one day after her 14th birthday — with the National Women’s Soccer League’s NJ/NY Gotham FC, the NWSL.
Olivia Lynn Moultrie turned pro at age 13.
Kennedy Fuller signed pro with Angel City FC at age 16.
Where these players are found
The top players are found in the best youth leagues and tournaments.
Most of the very best players are found young and grow up in the top youth academies like Barcelona, Ajax, Madrid and others.
In America it comes down to pure talent… Some of the best female players are found playing for the top youth leagues and are quickly noticed and picked up on the USYNT. From their they are now being signed to play pro at ages 13-16.
When, where & who is playing in Dallas Cup
Every April, boys and girls clubs from all over the world U10 – U19 will compete for bragging rights.
The U-19 Super Group is mostly international. There are 12 teams and usually 10 of them are from other countries. Most of all the other ages are mostly U.S. based. Although, there are international sides for the younger ages like U15.
Sites/Locations:
- Cotton Bowl, Dallas
- Richland JC, Richardson
- Money Gram, Dallas/Irving
- FC Dallas Complex, Frisco
Big clubs:
- Real Madrid
- Barcelona
- Arsenal
- Manchester United
- Liverpool
- Tigres
- Sao Paulo
- Riverplate
- Eintracht Frankfurt
Dallas Cup U-19 Super Group Champions
A list of champs over the last 2 decades.
- 2025 Botafogo (Brazil)
- 2024 Sao Paulo (Brazil)
- 2023 FC Midtjylland (Denmark)
- 2022 Panama National Team U20 (Panama)
- 2021 no super group
- 2020 no tournament due to covid
- 2019 Tigres (Mexico)
- 2018 Tigres (Mexico)
- 2017 FC Dallas U18 (USA)
- 2016 Everton FC (England)
- 2015 Coritiba FC (Brazil)
- 2014 River Plate (Argentina)
- 2013 Fulham FC (England)
- 2012 Coritiba FC (Brazil)
- 2011 Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany) and Tigres (Mexico) – Co-Champions*
- 2010 Cruzeiro Esporte Clube (Brazil)
- 2009 Sao Paulo (Brazil)
- 2008 Liverpool FC (England)
- 2007 Sao Paulo (Brazil)
- 2006 Dallas Texans (USA)
- 2005 Clube Atletico Paranaense (Brazil)
- 2004 Clube Atletico Paranaense (Brazil)
- 2003 Tigres (Mexico)
Gaining experience by watching
This is a great time for you and your children to go watch how youth players from around the world play and train.
You can watch how they warm up, play games, cool down and how they simply conduct themselves off and on the field.
If you are one of the best players in your league and think it’s good enough… Well go watch the Dallas Cup and see how you compare?
Gordon Jago Super Group – Age 19 boys bracket has the highest level and have had players like David Beckham, Saka and other super stars come to D-Town for this prestigious tourney. The next set of stars are here, so go watch at one of the four DFW locations.
One of the world’s most renowned youth soccer tournaments is the Dallas Cup. It is one of the largest youth team tournaments on the globe.
Get ready for a thrilling week of international soccer action as talented teams from across the country and beyond come together to compete for the coveted Gordon Jago Super Group Championship title.
The tournament is an event that has showcased the incredible talents of some of the best youth soccer players in the world.
All told, over 140 teams from 28 countries are expected to participate, with more than 8,000 youth athletes taking to the pitch in the pursuit of international glory.
Learn more about the Dallas Cup, including the tournament’s format, participants, and history here. You’ll also get a glimpse into the exciting energy that the event brings to Dallas each year.
So get ready to learn about one of the biggest international tournaments of the year and cheer on the teams competing for this prestigious championship.
Gothia Cup in Sweden
The Gothia Cup is another big tournament, arguably the biggest.