As we near ever closer to the finals in Russia, Goal takes a look at the youngest players to have represented their countries at the tournament
15Chris Wood – New Zealand – 18y 6m 8dChris Wood was long touted as the future of the New Zealand football team and his performances during 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup would lead to him being called into the senior set-up in 2009 ahead of the Confederations Cup in South Africa. Wood then travelled with the first-team squad to the 2010 World Cup and replaced Chris Killen during his nation's 1-1 draw with Slovakia in the group stages as the All Whites claimed their first-ever point at a finals.AdvertisementGetty Images14Michael Owen – England – 18y 6m 1dMichael Owen, the once-Golden Boy of English football, represented his country at three World Cups, scoring in all of them. His three goals in four games for England Under-17s during the 1997 FIFA Youth Championship led to the Liverpool youngster making his senior debut as an 18-year-old, then to him becoming the country's youngest ever player at a World Cup as he replaced Teddy Sheringham in the Three Lions' 2-0 win against Tunisia.13Assimiou Toure – Togo – 18y 5m 12dA graduate of the Bayer Leverkusen academy, Toure played twice for the Germany Under-18 team before representing his native Togo at senior level at the 2006 World Cup. Toure would play two of his side's three group stage games before they were eliminated from the tournament.Gettyimages12Vincent Aboubakar – Cameroon – 18y 4m 28dThe Porto forward has 65 senior Cameroon appearances to his name but his success at international level started at the 2010 World Cup as an 18-year-old. Aboubakar was the only player in the selected squad based in Cameroon at the time, making his debut at the tournament against Denmark as a late substitution in place of Pierre Webo.