What happened to the Golden Ball and Golden Boot winners from previous U17 World Cups
The list of players who have won the Under 17 World Cup Golden Boot and Golden Ball includes the likes of Phil Foden and Toni Kroos but what happened to the rest of them?
Germany won the most recent edition of the U-17 World Cup but England supporters will no doubt look back fondly on the 2017 triumph led by Steve Cooper. The team included the likes of Foden, Jadon Sancho and Conor Gallagher, who have all gone on to make appearances for the Three Lions at senior level.
The Young Lions defeated Spain 5-2 in the final, with Foden picking up the Golden Ball award while Rhian Brewster won the Golden Boot after netting eight times in the competition – but who else has won the two coveted individual accolades in previous tournaments?
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Below SPORTbible has put together a list of some of the standout Golden Boot and Golden Ball winners between the 2001 and 2023 U-17 World Cups.
2001 Golden Ball & Golden Boot winner - Florent Sinama Pongolle (France)
At the time, the Frenchman was one of the most promising forwards in Europe and signed for Liverpool in 2001. Although he boasts a Champions League winners medal from his time at the Premier League club, he failed to fulfil his potential and went on to become a journeyman.
2003 Golden Boot & Golden Ball winner – Cesc Fabregas (Spain)
A man who needs no introduction, at the time he was a Barcelona youth product before signing for Arsenal in the summer of 2003.
He went on to play for Barcelona, Chelsea and Monaco – during a playing career which saw him win the Premier League as well as the 2010 World Cup plus the 2008 and 2012 Euros with Spain, just to name a few of his many accolades. Fabregas is now head coach of Serie A side Como.
2005 Golden Ball winner - Anderson (Brazil)
Manchester United fans will be familiar with the former centre-midfielder.
At the time, he was playing for Gremio in his native Brazil and made a name for himself at the 2005 edition of the tournament, during which Brazil finished as runners-up.
He made the move to Europe, joining Porto in 2006 before arriving at Sir Alex Ferguson’s United in 2007.
And although he arguably failed to fulfil his potential he left Old Trafford in 2015 after winning four Premier League titles and a Champions League crown during his 181 appearances for the Red Devils.
A spell at Internacional, a loan at Coritiba and two seasons at Adana Demirspor followed before Anderson retired in 2020.
2007 Golden Ball winner – Toni Kroos (Germany)
Arguably the player who enjoyed the most success on the list was Kroos.
At the time, he was a young midfielder at Bayern Munich and later went on to become a legend at Real Madrid, playing 465 times for Los Blancos. The 35-year-old also enjoyed success with Germany’s senior side and was part of the 2014 World Cup-winning team. He retired from football in the summer of 2024 following the European Championship, which was held in his native country, and is widely considered as one of the best midfielders of the past two decades.
Full list of Under-17 World Cup Golden Ball & Golden Boot winners
2001 Golden Ball winner - Florent Sinama Pongolle
2001 Golden Boot winner - Florent Sinama Pongolle
2003 Golden Ball winner - Cesc Fabregas
2003 Golden Boot winner - Cesc Fabregas
2005 Golden Ball winner - Anderson
2005 Golden Boot winner - Carlos Vela
2007 Golden Ball winner - Toni Kroos
2007 Golden Boot winner - Macauley Chrisantus
2009 Golden Ball winner - Sani Emmanuel
2009 Golden Boot winner - Borja Baston
2011 Golden Ball winner - Julio Gomez
2011 Golden Boot winner - Souleymane Coulibaly
2013 Golden Ball winner - Kelechi Iheanacho
2013 Golden Boot winner - Valmir Berisha
2015 Golden Ball winner - Kelechi Nwakali
2015 Golden Boot winner - Victor Osimhen
2017 Golden Ball winner - Phil Foden
2017 Golden Boot winner - Rhian Brewster
2019 Golden Ball winner - Gabriel Veron
2019 Golden Ball winner - Sontje Hansen
2023 Golden Ball winner - Paris Brunner
2023 Golden Boot winner - Agustin Ruberto
Topics: Football, England, Germany, Spain, Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho
Luke Davies