While Burkina Faso may have seen their U17 World Cup hopes ended at the hands of Italy today, it takes nothing away from their impressive performance at this tournament and specifically the performance of Mohamed Zongo.

The attacking midfielder/winger, who will turn 16 years old in just a few days, had a standout performance for Burkina Faso at the U17 World Cup. With two goals and three assists, Zongo was a constant threat in the Burkinabe attack. Full of flair and with a magical left foot to complement it, Zongo can provide or score all the same. What stood out to me while watching is how deceptively powerful his ball striking is. On several occasions, it would look like Zongo was about to deliver a chipped cross, floated to the back post, only for an incredibly powerful shot to come off his boot instead. He showed the ability to put a good amount of curve on the ball, even at high-pace delivery. His goals against Czechia and Germany were a fantastic demonstration of ball-striking ability. For such a young player, Zongo has very impressive technical and physical ability.

Zongo is light on his feet and very agile on the ball, being a constant nightmare to opposing fullbacks in this tournament. His pace and acceleration were solid, not game breaking, but this is not something to judge him on at 15. He showed a good eye for identifying dangerous spaces to move into, and provided strong supporting runs for his teammates while in possession. Out of possession, Zongo looked to put in a high level of effort, and from what I could observe, seemed coachable and responsive to touchline instructions.

While mostly starting as a RW for the Burkina Faso U17 squad, Zongo clearly has the abilities to play more centrally as a #10, and often drifted inside onto his preferred left foot. As he still plays his club football in Burkina Faso, this U17 World Cup is the first I and many others have gotten to see of him, and I’m sure there will be several European clubs shortlisting him as one for the future. The right development path will likely be a significant part of his decision on where to sign, when that happens. At such a young age but having already shown very impressive ability, whichever club signs Zongo will have to be careful to bring him up the ranks at the right pace. He would still be eligible to play youth football for another 4/5 years, but it seems likely that he will make a senior debut sooner than that.

I wish Burkina Faso had advanced so I could have seen more of Mohamed Zongo, but he truly impressed and I see a lot of potential. With time on his side, just remember the name, as Mohamed Zongo is one to watch.

-LM