If the premise is a player who emerges first in the 2026 cycle, I guess he wouldn't qualify because if it happened that late he couldn't realistically become a star. That would be like a Buddle or Gomez. Best case a Geoff Cameron. If it's a player who just hasn't emerged as of 7/15/18, but could be a star in 2026, then maybe he would be however. Parallels there would be Dempsey. Don't think there's a point projecting 12 year olds. It's a reach beyond mid teens like De La Fuente or Ferreira. Even at that level you're going out on a limb.
No idea who that is or how you even know about him but comments like that are why I love threads like this. Now I’ll at least check him out when I can. Where does he play? If I had to pick right now, I’d say Nyeman. He’s 14 and just doesn’t make mistakes. Also has incredible creativity and work rate. But in a year or 2 I might say Rotundo. He’s like a faster, higher work rate, better defensively, a little less creative version of Carleton. So dynamic in the attacking third. I know he’s only 13, but I started watching Carleton when he was 14, so I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch.
Of course, now when Etoile Veintiseis comes up through the system, scouts will automatically disregard him as an actual prospect. This is exactly how scouts ended up missing on promising young player Mr. Rising Starr - they saw that and assumed it was a note regarding the player listed below him. Same way we missed out on Hott Prospect, Blu Chip, and Goode Player.
But how about November-December. https://weatherspark.com/m/105083/11/Average-Weather-in-November-in-Doha-Qatar
Qatar should've stuck with the summer window. Just think of the homefield advantage. In a similar vein, Canada should insist that WC 2026 be played in the winter, in the Yukon, and with sticks.