Who Will Be the Next Messi?
Rising Stars to Watch at the World Cup and Beyond
Welcome to our JOÜK- CFC 2026 World Cup Reading Challenge! This time, we ask:
With some of the most famous players of all time retiring after this World Cup, who will be the next soccer giants?
It won’t be easy to fill Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Luka Modrić, and Guillermo Ochoa’s cleats—but these three young rising stars give us hope that the next World Cups will be just as thrilling.
Check out their stories and get inspired! 🏆
⚽️ 🚀 JUST BLASTING OFF:
Three of the World Cup’s youngest players are catching fans’ attention with their amazing skills:
🇲🇽 Gilberto Mora, 17, Mexico
🏟️ CLUB: Xolos de Tijuana, MX
📋 POSITION: Winger and Midfielder
💥 POWERS:
👀 Elite field scanning - playing with his head up and looking around at all times.
↔ Finding the open space between 3 defenders’ legs
🧊 Staying incredibly cool under pressure.
Imagine setting three giant records before you even finish high school!
Gilberto Mora is on an incredible streak:
Age 15: youngest player to score in La Liga MX (Mexico’s first division)
Age 16: youngest player ever to win an international trophy (beating out Lamine Yamal and Pelé for that record!)
Age 17: youngest Mexican player ever to grace the World Cup
How did he do it?
A big part is his impressive vision. Before he even gets the ball, he’s scanned the whole field, looking in every direction until he knows where every player and space is. Check out the video here to understand more ➡️.
Gilberto’s scanning helps him make passes with laser accuracy, through tight spots others don’t see. Last year, he was also #1 in the world in keeping possession of the ball under pressure.
Undercover Talents
Teammates and even rivals call Mora unique—on and off the field.
On the Mexico bus, Gilberto’s teammates were surprised to see him reading books while everyone else scrolled their phones. Another day, he shocked them by speaking perfect English at a press conference.
“He shoots with the left, he shoots with the right, he talks to you in English, and if you ask him, he even speaks German…What more could you want?” joked his coach, famous Uruguayan ex-player Sebastian “El Loco” Abreu.
With top European teams already scouting Gilberto, all those language skills might come in handy soon!
Check Gilberto out at Mexico’s next game, Sunday July 5th at 8 pm EST
Below: Mora at age 8 and in 2026 vs Czechia in the World Cup. Once a crack, always a crack!
And our second rising star is…
🇲🇦 Ayyoub Boaddi, 18, Morocco
🏟️ CLUB: Lille, France
📋 POSITION: Midfielder
💥 POWERS:
🧘🏽♂️ Keeping calm and winning back possession
⚡️ Quick thinking on the field, to be in just the right place and time
🏆 Near-perfect pass accuracy
So…you are just 18, playing in your second senior international match ever, and you have to face… Brazil 🇧🇷!?
Sounds really tough, but if rising star Ayyoub Bouaddi was nervous at the recent Morocco vs. Brazil World Cup game, he didn’t show it at all.
Take a look at this BBC chart ⤵️ of where he touched the ball during the match and you’ll see why. He literally was everywhere, controlling the game.
A Junior GOAT 🐐
Of all the Morocco players that day, Ayyoub touched the ball the most and completed the most passes (60). Not to mention, he won nine 1-v-1 duels.
No wonder Morocco captain and Paris St. Germain star Achraf Hakimi called Ayyoub’s performance “a masterclass”!
In this video ⤵️, you’ll understand why:
Of course, Ayyoub is used to shining against much older players. On his 17th birthday, he played so well to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League, that his club’s fans sang Happy Birthday to him on the pitch 🎂.
Ayyoub the Brainiac 👨🏽🎓
Off the field, his coaches and friends call him highly focused and eager to learn. As if training to face Messi and Vini Jr. were not enough, in his free time Ayyoub:
📢 Has won a public speaking contest for French academy players
📐 Is studying for a bachelor's degree in Math from Aix-Marseille University
🥗 Eats healthy, ever since he was a kid
📚 Reads books (hmm do we sense a trend here?!)
From Fan to Player
Ayyoub recently posted a photo of himself at age 10 supporting Morocco from the stands. Today he’s on the field, hoping to take his team further than ever.
“Proud to represent Morocco in the greatest of competitions ♥️🇲🇦” he wrote.
“I will give my all to represent my country in the best possible way.” Mission accomplished!
Check Ayyoub out at Morocco’s next game vs. Canada, July 4 at 1 pm EST
LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LeAST:
🇫🇷 Désiré Doué, 21, France
🏟️ CLUB: Paris St. Germain
📋 POSITION: Winger and Attacking Midfielder
💥 POWERS:
🧴 Complete ball control - Like Messi, Désiré dribbles like the ball is stuck to his foot with glue.
⚽️ Flair and grace on his first touch - See the video below at TKTKT time to see what we mean—have you ever thought of trapping the ball like that?
💪🏽 Winning back the ball - Doué can play defense just as well as attacking
What if your whole family were professional footballers?
That’s Désiré Doué’s life: his brother and three cousins are all pro soccer players in France and Portugal, and his uncle was a Club World Cup and U-20 World Cup referee.
The relatives even share a perfect last name: Doué means “gifted” in French.
It was thanks to his older brother Guéla that Désiré got his start: when Guéla went to try out for the Rennes academy, Désiré tagged along. The coach spotted five-year-old Désiré juggling the ball on the sidelines, and quickly accepted both boys!
This World Cup, Guéla, age 23, played for Ivory Coast, and Désiré for France, wowing fans with their tight ball skills.
The two brothers stay close even when their teams play each other! ➡️
☄️ Wonderkid #1
At just 21, Désiré has already:
🥅 Scored 41 goals in senior games
🏆 Won both Champions League and Ligue 1 championships
🥇 Been awarded a Golden Boy trophy, the UEFA Champions League Young Player of the Season, and Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Year.
Will he win the World Cup Young Player of the Year award this summer? Watch this video and see what you think! ⤵️
@ac_football_10 Desire Doue - Dribbling Skills ☠️ #soccer #soccertiktok #doue #desiredoue #soccerusa ♬ Ai Se Eu Te Pego (Nossa Nossa) - Michel Teló
Check out Désiré at France’s next game vs. Paraguay, July 4 at 5 pm EST
We hope you enjoyed our Reading Challenge. Let these players inspire you to train hard and dream big! Maybe one day you’ll be the next Messi or Marta…Or a rising star in whatever you choose to excel at.
As Gilberto Mora says, “And WHat if? WHat if?” Believe in yourself and Go for it! 🌟 🌍 ⚽️ 🏆
Photos: via Wikimedia Commons, Bruno Guimar and Yants Images