5 Teenagers who took the World Cup by storm

#2 Michael Owen (1998)

Injuries took a toll on his career

A former Ballon d'Or winner, Michael Owen was a prodigious talent for Liverpool and England. A lethal combination of rapid pace and clinical finishing meant that Owen was known as the baby-faced assassin.

Having burst onto the scene with Liverpool during the 1997-98 season, the 18-year old become England’s youngest ever player at the world cup. He made his world cup debut as a substitute against Tunisia and scored his first goal in the 2nd group game against Romania.

But it was the 2nd round match against Argentina that summed up Owen’s electric genius. A sensational individual run from the halfway line, shrugging off challenges from three Argentine defenders, yet retaining the composure to lift the ball over the goalkeeper.

Owen went on to become one of England’s great centre-forwards, currently standing 5th in the list of all-time top scorers with 40 strikes in 89 games.

Despite his achievements, a wretched injury record meant that his electric pace and agility was gone by the age of 26, preventing him from truly becoming an all-time great.