Youth Soccer

We have discovered the next Alisson Becker — it's 18-year-old Braga prospect João Carvalho, who makes Alisson look about as talented as Loris Karius in comparison. 

On Tuesday, in Portugal's Liga Revelação U-23 division, Carvalho took possession in the 89th minute with his Braga side holding a slender 2-1 advantage over Rio Ave. In this situation you're supposed to "GET RID!" by smashing the ball 30 yards out of play, but Carvalho is built different.

In 2020 my creative juices were flowing as I penned three award-nominated (not actually nominated) horror stories about youth soccer.

The São Paulo Youth Football Cup, known as the Copinha, is a world-renowned staging ground for some of Brazil's most prodigious U-20 talents. Monstrous footballers like Endrick, Kaká, Neymar and Vini Jr have all shined in the competition, and we learned a new name on Tuesday: Dieguinho.

The 19-year-old plays for Hercílio Luz's U-20 team, and they went up against Capital CF during the group stage of the competition. 

If you've played indoor soccer before, you've undoubtedly been left mad as hell at your goalkeeper for making a total mess of harmless balls smashed off the walls. The corner is a particularly dangerous area for keepers with zero foot skills, but we've also all probably seen a traditional outfield player being forced into the keeper role and getting beat by the softest of efforts.

What I've never seen before is this: a player understanding all the angles, all the realities, and purposefully hammering one off the wall to outfox a keeper coming out to usher away a chance.

When we cover the San Marino national team here at The18, it's usually to report on players breaking down in tears after securing 0-0 draws with Gibraltar. 

The squad has attracted a global following by virtue of being the worst international team on the planet — San Marino sits dead last (211th) in the FIFA Rankings with an all time record of 194 matches played, one win, eight draws and 185 defeats with a goal difference of negative 770.

It's become an annual tradition unlike any other here at The18. Every winter the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament comes around and, like clockwork, drops the highlight of the year.

Given the success of TBT Enterprises' "The Basketball Tournament" — which has grown over 10 years to a 64-team tournament of global talent competing for $1 million on ESPN — it was only a matter of time before the event organizers turned their focus to accomplishing something similar with the world's game.