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Five Players That Caught My Eye in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup

By Josh Tonti

FLORENCE, ITALY - APRIL 29: Alessandro Plizzari of Italy looks on during a Italy training session at Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano on April 29, 2019 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
FLORENCE, ITALY - APRIL 29: Alessandro Plizzari of Italy looks on during a Italy training session at Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano on April 29, 2019 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images) /
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DAKAR, SENEGAL – MARCH 26: Sadio Mane of Senegal fights for the ball with Dibassi Bakaye of Mali during a friendly match between Senegal and Mali after both teams qualified for the 2019 CAN held in Egypt, on March 26, 2019 in Dakar, Senegal. (Photo by Xaume Olleros/Getty Images)
DAKAR, SENEGAL – MARCH 26: Sadio Mane of Senegal fights for the ball with Dibassi Bakaye of Mali during a friendly match between Senegal and Mali after both teams qualified for the 2019 CAN held in Egypt, on March 26, 2019 in Dakar, Senegal. (Photo by Xaume Olleros/Getty Images) /

4. Wing/FWD – Sékou Koita, Mali, 19.6, FC Liefering (Austrian Bundesliga)

(Yes, that’s Sadio Mané playing vs. Mali in the picture).

This one’s a bit off-the-cuff, but it’s hard to ignore the production.

Sékou Koita’s three goals and three assists in this tournament is excellent, but it’s the level of competition he’s doing it against that makes it so impressive. Against Saudi Arabia he scored once and assisted on two other goals in a 4-3 victory. Against France, Koita scored. Furthermore, he nailed his penalty kick in Mali’s quarter-final advance over Argentina, wherein he played the entire 120 minutes (and registered an assist).

And again vs. Italy, Koita scored against the aforementioned Alessandro Plizzari when Mali were down to 10-men.

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