Heroes are born

Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Franck Ribery are among the stars everyone is itching to see in action on the biggest stage of all. But what about the potential breakthrough players? Unfortunately for the European scouting network, some of the best young players in the world are not travelling to South Africa, as most of the national team coaches went for form and experience in their squad selections rather than precocious talent. Among the exciting youngsters left behind are the likes of Neymar, Alexandre Pato, Theo Walcott, Mario Balotelli, Bojan Krkic and Sergio Canales. But there are still plenty of young players to keep an eye on. Here are five names we hope to see plenty of down in Africa who, if given the chance to shine, have the potential to go on to become household names:

1) Toni Kroos

The injury to Germany captain Michael Ballack was obviously a blow to Joachim Lowe's hopes of leading his team to World Cup glory. However, while no one likes to see an influential player miss out due to physical problems, Ballack's absence opens up a space in central midfield for a young pretender. Lowe has only selected six midfielders in his final 23-man squad and one of them is 20 year old gem Toni Kroos. The Greifswald-born attacking midfielder has long been on the radar of Europe's top clubs. His major breakthrough came at the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup where he was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament. Kroos is owned by Bayern Munich and will feature for their first team next season following a very successful loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen. He is a classic number ten with wonderful vision and has been earmarked as future leader at both club and international level. At the moment he sets up more goals than he scores himself but that ratio should shift a little as he grows in confidence. Bastian Schweinsteiger switched to centre midfield for Bayern Munich for their 2009-10 double winning season and his dominance could see Kroos start the World Cup on the bench for Germany this year; hopefully he will force his way into the starting eleven sooner rather than later. 

2) Christian Eriksen

Danish winger Christian Eriksen only turned 18 in February and that makes him the youngest player set to feature at the World Cup this year. He has also made his debuts for both Ajax and Denmark since the turn of the year so we haven't seen that much of him yet, but what we have seen has been very encouraging. He has already been compared to Danish legends Michael and Brian Laudrup in his home country and Ajax boss Martin Jol has predicted that he will go on to become just as successful as Rafael Van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder in the number 10 position. He can play either in the middle or on the left as a right-footed winger cutting in from that side. He makes a lot of space for himself with his speed and technical ability but he has proved to be a little wasteful in his short career to date, having notched just one goal in nearly a dozen appearances for Ajax despite getting into fantastic positions to score in every game he has played. Martin Jorgensen, Jesper Gronkjaer and Dennis Rommedahl are all coming to the end of distinguished international careers but Denmark's attacking midfield future should be in good hands with Eriksen. That is to say, I wouldn't be too surprised if he turned up at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 as one of the most feared players on the planet. 

3) Dominic Adiyiah

We have seen precious little of Dominic Adiyiah so far on the international stage. After winning both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2009, I was hoping to get a better look at him at the African Nations Cup at the start of this year, but he was reduced to just a couple of substitute appearances. AC Milan snapped him up after his impressive showing in Egypt but despite finally qualifying for a work permit in February he has yet to break into the rossoneri first team. He is a fast, powerful forward who seems more comfortable in a central role than on the wing where he has been utilised in the past. His two Under-20 Golden Ball predecessors, Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi, have made the step up to full international stardom but that is not always the case. Ever heard of Emilio Peixe, Caio or Andres Nicolas Olivera? No, not many people have. They are all former Golden Ball winners who have faded into obscurity. Adiyiah has all the ingredients to avoid a similar fate and, if he impresses Milovan Rajevac in training this month, he could be given the chance to prove it.

4) Neven Subotic

Serbia have one of the most imposing centre backs in the world commanding their back four in the form of Manchester United rock Nemanja Vidic. Next to him there is a place for Borussia Dortmund giant Neven Subotic if he proves to Radomir Antic that he is worth a starting berth ahead of Udinese's Aleksandar Lukovic. Subotic has already made a big splash in the Bundesliga and is the subject of constant speculation about a move to one of Europe's biggest clubs. At 6'4" he is taller than Vidic but he does not lack for pace what he carries in extra weight like many of the bigger players. 21 year old Subotic is the only defender on this list but he could turn out to be the most expensive player named here if he has a good World Cup, with his price tag bound to rise above the 20 million euro mark. 

5) Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez is the best known of the players on this list and, at 21 years old, is already a big star in his native Chile. He has also made a name for himself in Serie A with northern club Udinese, where he has already been established as a firm favourite among the Zebrette fans due to his mesmorising skill. Unlike the other players previewed here, El Nino Maravilla (The Wonder Boy) will be an automatic first choice in Marcelo Bielsa's team and will expected to terrorise the Honduran and Swiss defences if not that of A-listers Spain in Group H. He can operate in the hole behind Humberto Suazo (if the Real Zaragoza forward is fit) or on either wing. Sanchez is extremely quick over ten yards and has even quicker feet to compliment that advantage. At just 5'6" he is diminutive in stature but like so many of the games' great dribblers, that contributes to a very low centre of gravity, allowing him to twist and turn past his forlorn markers.