Jude Bellingham and Beau Greaves among teenage sporting talent in 2022

As the Three Lions celebrate their 3-0 win against Senegal and their progression into the quarter finals of the Qatar World Cup, 19-year-old Jude Bellingham continues to be a roaring success.

Fans and players alike praised ‘Jude the Dude’ for his ‘incredible’ play, his ‘mentality’ and his ‘maturity’ to not only handle the pressure of the World Cup but to also set up England to score goals.

Jude scored a goal in their opening match for the World Cup against Iran, and has since assisted the likes of Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson to put the ball into the back of the net.

While manager Gareth Southgate commended the 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund player’s mentality as soon as England celebrated their knockout win, goal scorer Jordan Henderson continued to speak highly:

The Liverpool captain previously said: “He’s been incredible for a large period of time, but certainly in this tournament, he has been incredible.”

Following the December 4 match, Jordan continued to praise the teenage talent by saying: “I feel like I’m running out of things to say about him. Incredible mentality, incredible player. You’re talking about a player whose mentality is unique.

“He’s a one-off and we just need to let him enjoy his football.”

Despite Jude Bellingham being branded a ‘one-off’ in the football world, 2022 has seen several teenage talents rise to the top in their various sporting endeavours:

Beau Greaves

As Jude battles for World Cup status, 18-year-old Beau Greaves has already clinched the title of Women’s World Dart Champion in 2022.

The Doncaster-born dart star has been playing in tournaments since she was 10-years-old and has the Australian and Dutch Open titles to her name as well as World Champ.

This year’s triumph saw the young star beat fellow English player Kirsty Hutchinson two years after Beau lost in the 2020 World Cup semi-finals to the then-reigning champion Japanese darts player Mikuru Suzuki.

Carlos Alcaraz

At time of writing, Spanish single tennis player Carlos Alcaraz is currently ranked number one in the world by the Association of Tennis Professionals.

This position makes Carlos the youngest ever No.1 at the age of 19 and the first teenager in tennis Open Era history to top the rankings.

Carlos’ successes include winning the 2022 US Open Championship, two Master 1000 titles and accumulating six ATP Tour singles titles.

Joseph Sua’ali’a

While Carlos and Beau have shown that teenagers are finessing their sports as single players, like Jude Bellingham, Samoan rugby player Joseph Sua’ali’a has proven valuable to a team.

19-year-old Joseph was born in Australia and has showcased his talents by scoring 16 tries in 24 NRL games for his home team Sydney Roosters.

However, the young hopeful shone for Samoa in the Rugby League World Cup this year with Samoan teammate Anthony Milford saying that for Joseph, ‘the sky's the limit.’