Predicting the World Cup's Breakout Stars | The James Rodríguez Award

Our 7-day march to opening kick off of the World Cup continues with a deep dive into who might take home the tournaments most coveted prize – the James Rodríguez Award. This special trophy is awarded to the World Cup's most electric young player, but with a catch. First, you must be 22 or younger by the conclusion of the competition. Second, you cannot already be a global star playing for a megaclub (Yamal, Zaire-Emery, Güler). And third, you ideally don't play for one of the biggest international footballing nations (Endrick, Nico Paz). The James Rodriguez winner, much like its namesake, will capture the hearts and minds of soccer fans everywhere and will be launched into stardom. Our mission is to build a starting 11 of contenders who we deem most likely to take home this honor (in addition to a hearty bench). Will your favorite youngster make our roster? Find out on World Cup Preview 4 of 7. 3 more to go! Finally, we experienced a tech error during the recording of the episode, so Maxwell's face is absent for the second half. Many apologies. Cheers! Chapters: 01:15 - the premise & close omissions 08:00 - Goalkeeper 10:00 - Centerbacks 14:15 - Fullbacks 16:00 - Midfielders 20:45 - Forwards 26:05 - Bench & honorable mentions 31:15 - Our picks for the James Rodríguez Award