Rafael Leão - World Cup One to Watch
Excitement is starting to build all over the world of football as the 2022 FIFA World Cup is mere days away.
For the players, such huge tournaments are the biggest stages they can get to showcase their talents. Nowhere does this ring truer than for under-23 talents.
Therefore, we will be taking a look at a number of young talents who are primed to impress in Qatar this winter.
Today Tom Underhill joins us to discuss Rafael Leão.
Is there a more fulfilling sight in football than a young player who plays with a smile on their face?
A talent in their formative years, undaunted by the stage and pressure upon which they have been thrust, beaming with an infectious radiance.
Rafael Leão is just this.
Aside from the glorious potential and ability he possesses, the 23-year-old brings a joy that is distinctly lacking throughout the rest of Fernando Santos’ Portugal squad.
It is uncertain how prominent a role the Milan winger will play in Qatar, but should Portugal underperform as drastically as their form should suggest - and pundit opinion suggests they will - then Leão could be a major beneficiary of regime change.
A factory-built phenom
One of the first things that strike you about Rafael Leão is his size.
Few wide attackers match the Portuguese’s six-foot-two-inch frame, but the lanky and thin teenager that arrived in Milan from Lille has given way to a broad and muscular athlete that is the envy of Europe.
Some wingers share such height (Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratshkelia is just a few inches shorter), and others can compare themselves to Leão’s strength (Gabriel Martinelli or Vinicius Jr. for example).
To match the two together, however, is rare indeed.
Gifts such as these give Leão a unique advantage on the left wing.
He possesses the explosive pace to burn beyond the full-back and power into vacant space and equally can utilize this speed to separate from an opponent to make a run in behind and receive a long pass over the top.
Should he collect the ball at a standing stop when played into his feet, the long reach and strength of his upper body bullies any advancing challenge out of the way.