Álvaro Rodríguez

Rodríguez attacks space rather than simply standing centrally waiting for a cross, timing his runs to pull a centre back away from goal and open the exact gap a midfielder needs to exploit. That selflessness is unusual in a forward his age, most of whom are still learning that not every movement has to end with the ball at their own feet. Real Madrid's academy staff repeatedly highlighted his football intelligence, a quality that tends to translate across leagues far more reliably than raw pace does.

The part still developing is genuine ruthlessness in front of goal, because reading the game brilliantly does not automatically produce a clinical finisher under pressure. He switched allegiance to Uruguay rather than representing Spain, a decision that says something about identity as much as opportunity. Whether the finishing catches up with the movement is the story of his career so far.