Who are the best 18 year olds in world football?

Hasn't Parrot been hanging around with a criminal element. As you say he's not focused on his career as you would like.

A heap of Argentinian players would make up the majority of the best youths in the world, many who flatter to deceive in time, and for various reasons, their development stunts.

But when talking purely of 18 year olds and youngsters, Argentina have no peers in the raw talent they produce. Having 3 World Cups to me, just shows how they've underachieved in world football.

There's a fallacy that Brazil are synonymous with the word football, the reality is the most football mad country is Argentina, they live and breathe it.

Unfortunately the development, foresight and vision is brutal in the country, in no small part due to divided club loyalties in the AFA, and pull of ultras, and general political corruption in the game in Argentina, holding it back for decades.

But no country consistently produces players of such a natural ability than Argentina. If they'd get their house in order and harness it, the rest of the football world may as well forget about it

Clearly isn't. Football is everything in the country, intrinsically ingrained in every facet of Argentinian life, social, political, illegal etc.

It's stunted the game and ability of the governing body with infighting to put structures in for the youth to develop for years, yet in spite of that they win a world cup.

Brazil it could be argued produce bigger more physical, but technically complete players, who adapt better to the international environment and league's. Argentina produce the smaller, but even more technically skilled, visionarys.

Argentina produce mercurial wonderkids, who's progress is often stunted