As a lead up to the Copa America starting 14 June in Brazil, English football website 90min picked their six young players to look out for in the tournament, one of which is Japan’s Takefusa Kubo.

The 18-year-old became the second youngest player to represent Japan in the match against El Salvador on 9 June. 90min gave an analysis of Kubo, describing him as “a defender’s nightmare”.

“As the youngest player at the entire tournament, ​all eyes will be on Japan’s 18-year-old Takefusa Kubo, but that’s nothing new to him.”

“‘The Japanese ​Messi’ was tipped for greatness when, as a ten-year-old, he joined ​Barcelona’s academy in 2011, only to lose his eligibility to play for the club four years later as the Blaugrana were found to have broken FIFA regulations. He returned to Japan, where he has continued to shine.”

“Kubo is an outstanding talent who knows how to use his low centre of gravity to leave opponents in awe. Quick and deceptively strong, he truly is a defender’s nightmare, and it seems just a matter of time before he returns to Europe.”

Japan will face Chile (17 June), Uruguay (20 June) and Ecuador (24 June) in the Copa America. Kubo, who is playing in his first international tournament, looks forward to the Copa America. “The stronger the oppositions, the better it will be,” he said.

Kubo was also picked by Spanish newspaper Marca as a under-21 player to look out for.

6 Young Players to Watch Out at the Copa America

01 Wuilker Farinez (Venezuela, Millonarios, GK, 21)

02 Santiago Arzamendia (Paraguay, Cerro Porteno, DF, 21)

03 Eder Militao (Brazil, Porto, DF, 21)

04 Yangel Herrera (Venezuela, Huesca, MF, 21)

05 Federico Valverde (Uruguay, Real Madrid, MF, 20)

06 Takefusa Kubo (Japan, FC Tokyo, MF, 18)

For Japanese football news: CoolJapan Soccer

Sources: Yahoo, 90min

Images: gettyimages