The 2022 World Cup may have been the last hurrah for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but the tournament also witnessed the arrival of a new crop of talented young players.

AFP looks at some of rising stars who shone during the finals in Qatar.

Jude Bellingham (England)

England teenager Jude Bellingham arrived in Qatar tipped as a potential World Cup star and left as one of the hottest properties in global football.

The Borussia Dortmund player – a modern box-to-box midfielder – opened England’s account at the tournament with a fine header in the team’s 6-2 romp against Iran.

The 19-year-old also shone in the 3-0 quarter-final win against Senegal, crossing for Jordan Henderson to stroke home the first and driving through the midfield to launch the attack that led to the second.

“I think he’s a fantastic player. He has everything with and without the ball, presses really well, gets around the pitch, tackles,” said captain Harry Kane.

Read the full story on SportsDesk

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.