The 40-man (boy) shortlist for the prestigious Golden Boy award has been announced and two U.S. national team players have made it.
Kylian Mbappe (who was named Golden Boy in 2017 and would become the first-ever player to win it twice) is the favorite to win the award dished out by Italian newspaper Tuttosport since 2003, as they crown the best player under the age of 21 in European soccer.
USMNT star Christian Pulisic once again makes the list and after his fine start to the season for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, the 20-year-old from Pennsylvania will be up there with the top contenders.
Pulisic’s teammate with the USMNT, Tim Weah, has also made the list as the 18-year-old has scored once in five appearances for the Stars and Stripes and has also become a regular squad member for PSG, scoring twice in three appearances for the French champions this season.
Having two U.S. players on this list after breaking through at two of Europe’s biggest clubs is certainly something to get excited about.
From a Premier League perspective, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City’s Phil Foden are also on the shortlist, as are Everton’s Tom Davies and Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot.
Below is the shortlist in full (see what we did there?), as you can vote for the elite youngsters in Europe here.
Shortlist for 2018 Golden Boy award
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Kelvin Adou Amian (Toulouse)
Houssem Aouar (Lyon)
Musa Barrow (Atalanta)
Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord)
Josip Brekalo (Wolfsburg)
Patrick Cutrone (AC Milan)
Daniel Carvajal (Dinamo Zagreb)
Diogo Dalot (Manchester United)
Tom Davies (Everton)
Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax)
Moussa Diaby (Paris Saint-Germain)
Moussa Djenepo (Standard Liege)
Ritsu Doan (Groningen)
Gabriel Eder Militao (FC Porto)
Odsonne Edouard (Celtic)
Evander (Midtjylland)
Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Achraf Mouh Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund)
Amadou Haidara (Red Bull Salzburg)
Joao Felix (Benfica)
Jota (Benfica)
Jovane Cabral (Sporting Lisbon)
Dejan Joveljic (Red Star Belgrade)
Boubacar Kamara (Marseille)
Moise Kean (Juventus)
Abdoulaye Keita (Dijon)
Justin Kluivert (Roma)
Alban Lofant (Fiorentina)
Manuel Alonso Manu Garcia (Toulouse)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Pietro Pellegri (Monaco)
Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund)
Marcelo Saracchi (Red Bull Leipzig)
Ismaila Sarr (Rennes)
Dayot Upamecano (Red Bull Leipzig)
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
Moussa Wague (Barcelona)
Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain)
Nicolo Zainolo (Roma)