.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
One of the easiest parts of football is to tell which players are good and bad. The tricky part comes when you're looking to judge how they may improve or decline. There are so many different factors which can affect careers that it becomes an almost impossible task.
Even the greats of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had to get a couple of senior years worth of experience under their belt before they showed to the world just how legendary they could really be, how they had no ceiling to their ability whatsoever. You can find such stories throughout every generation of football - progress isn't linear.
For 10 years, we at GOAL have cobbled together NXGN lists to put a spotlight on the world's best teenage starlets, but even the best talent-spotters can underplay the potential of these kids. Here, we rank the 10 players who most exceeded our expectations over the last decade: