And what lesser known nation do we predict to really develop in the next few years and deliver a South Korea, Senegal, Iceland moment in the near future?
Estonia
In 2017, Man United had a 13 y/o striker on trial from Estonia.
He managed 35 goals in 25 appearances at senior level in the 3rd division of the Estonian league. Representing Hellas, at the U17 Championships he scored a hat trick against Inter, who are no mugs themselves being the reigning Italian U17 age group champion. He's now a Roma player. It's not often someone from Estonia is able to player for a team of this calibre, I can only think of Liverpool's Klavan, and the goalkeeper Mart Poom who famously scored a header for Sunderland, and not so famously saved a penalty from Man Utd's Sheringham after making a comical mistake in the first place.
If he becomes a good player, perhaps he could make Estonia a one man team in the best possible respect. He's a striker, so if going forward Estonia can cede the majority of possession in a resolute defensive performance, bolstered by the raucous atmosphere from their passionate fans that would welcome them as heroes if they were to even make it to the knock
out stages. In this way, I can see them having a role similar to that of Iceland in the foreseeable future albeit it is exceedingly unlikely they will qualify for a major tournament.
Turkey
Some national sides seem to have an outpouring of talent in a particular position, in the case of Turkey, that can be saidof the centre halves at their disposal. Söyüncü was a name being thrown about as a contender for making the EPL Team of the Season, as Leicester are third in the league for least goals conceded. Similarly, on the international stage, it was Turkey that had a commendable defensive record with no team conceding fewer goals during the qualifying games. Apart from Söyüncü, Turkey have Demiral who arrived to Juventus in somewhat similar circumstances to De Light. Of course, he didn't come with the huge reputation, however, both 21 years of age to my knowledge, and 19/20 would be their first season at Juve.
Demiral made a better account of himself in the Juve colours thus far, and that's testament to his ability. A pity about his injury, but perhaps the break would have done him some good for his recovery, as he would have missed the Euros. Ozan Kabak is arguably as good of talent, if not greater and it won't be long before he makes a lucurative move. Turkey seem to have
high hopes for Cengiz Ünder, but I'm not familiar with him myself.
Algeria
Belmadi has had a galvanising influence on Algeria. In 2016 alone, ALgeria had four different managers, a real tumulturous period, and almost a 30 year time span since Algeria won the most prestigious international trophy for Africans. Now, Belmadi since taking over from 2018 had transformed the fortunes of the club, its nearly 2 years since they lost a game. He had the balls to drop the likes of Brahimi for an alternative in Belaïli who has limited exposure on the European stage. They recently beat Columbia albeit a friendly with relative ease.
Mahrez have some talented players ... Atal is a mauruding full back with excellent dribbling ability which aids him tremendously in his offensive endeavours. They also have Bensabaini on the opposite side, his highlight of the season at club level being his 2 goals in the win against Bayern Munich. Bennacer had a fantastic tournament, and his performances at club level are
making him linked to other elite clubs than the sleeping giants of Milan. There's something aesthetic about the way he dismantles the shape of opposition with his exuberance. Furthermore, they have Hicham Boudaoui who recently won the award for Young Player of the Year award for Nice respectively. Speaking of ...
Paradou academy is bearing fruit, and paramount in the process of players making the transition to European shores, Atal, Boudaoui, and Bensabini played for them as well as El Melali, Loucif who both play for Angers. Perhaps Naidji will be the next. The impressive thing is that the academy was only established in 2008, and the senior side is almost like an Algerian
version of A.Bilbao as the senior team is predominantly those from the academy. I say almost loosely here, as it isn't a rule so to speak.
Mali
I reckon Mali may surprise people, they having an interesting midfield to boot.
They were runners up in 2015 during the U17 World Cup losing to Nigeria. 2 years later, they had a goal wrongly disallowed against Spain in the semi-final. In the U20 World Cup, they played no friendlies leading up to the tournament which led to them having a sluggish start, despite that, they were entertaining to watch.Mali won AFCON at U19 just last year, featuring pretty much the same players that won AFCON U17 twice in a row in years 2015 and 2017. In the senior 2019 AFCON, they were for me the most impressive side to watch from an aesthetic standpoint.
Players to look out for in 2021 AFCON:
Diadie Samassékou, Sékou Koïta and Cheick Doucouré.
*Diadie Samassékou:
Very strong showing in the Europa League last season. And was also impressive
in the past AFCON tournament. Made a seamless transition from box to box midfielder to the deepest defensive linchpin. His spacial awareness to disrupt the rhythm of the opposition is perhaps his greatest quality.
*Cheick Doucoure:
A defensive midfielder both diminutive in stature, and an elusive dribbler. Progressive in his ball distribution and exuberant in movement. I would like to see Magassouba give him a start in an admittedly stacked Mali midfield. At club level, I think a manager similar to Arsene Wenger could really have a galvanising influence on him. A manager with an affinity to technical players who're somewhat obscure. Could potentially reach the heights Alex Song achieved under Wenger, and for a greater longevity.
*Sékou Koïta:
Dynamic, extremely direct goalscorer. Needs to work on his decision making, but has the versatility to cause problems when running the channels.
Look at the locomotion here :
Other players that may have an impact, albeit considerably less, I suspect, than the aforementioned three.
Moussa Djenepo
Yves Bissouma
Haidara
Youba Diarra
Adama Traore from Wolves has committed to Mali, and he'll cause problems
In contrast, the Doucoure from Watford is still eligible to represent Mali. He's rejected them in the past, and has publically declared his preference to play for France.
He's played for France at youth level, and given he's yet to play a game at senior level, he may be willing to change his mind. I don't think he will, in all honesty. In any case, midfield is Mali's strong point.