In the absence of domestic football, international tournaments take over the agenda in the summer months of the calendar year. The World Cup dominated the headlines last year, while the UEFA Nations League will attempt to fill a small void this summer.
Given that the Nations League has been short and sweet, football lovers will have to turn to Under-21 and 20's tournaments to satisfy their needs.
The competitions have been fascinating, allowing us to watch the next crop of talent in the game emerge at the international level. There have been success stories and journeys that have not quite lived up to the billing after impressive summer stints.
We'll now take a look at some of the players that have shone in age-group tournaments and where their respective careers have taken them.
Neymar (Brazil)
Neymar's talent was clear from a young age when he starred for Santos in the Brasileiro Serie A. His performances naturally earned him a berth for the national team at the South American Under-20 Championship in 2011.
There, he proved his outstanding calibre by leading betting sites favourites Brazil to the crown, dominating the tournament with his displays.
He kicked off his campaign by scoring four goals in the Selecao's opener against Paraguay before adding another in a triumph over Colombia.
In the finals stage, Neymar notched braces against Chile and Uruguay, taking his tally to nine goals in the competition and ensuring Brazil finished top of the standings.
Neymar has maintained the standard of his form at the highest level, although it didn't result in the ultimate success for Brazil at the 2018 World Cup.
However, he's one of a select group of players in the mould of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to live up to the hype of their wonder-kid status as a youngster.
Alexandre Lacazette (France)
Lacazette has established himself as one of the leading strikers in Europe due to his performances for Arsenal and France. He has been an astute signing for the Gunners, costing £45m from Lyon.
Lacazette has proven his quality in the Premier League and the Europa League, scoring the goals that fired Unai Emery's men to the Europa League final last term.
Before his move to the Emirates Stadium, in the early days of his career at Lyon, Lacazette appeared for France at the 2011 Under-20 World Cup.
In the tournament in Colombia, he highlighted the skills that would take him to the highest level. He scored five goals in France's run to the semi-finals, notably notching a match-winning brace against Nigeria in the quarter-finals.
Lacazette also scored the opener against Mexico in the third-place playoff match, although Les Bleus slipped to a 3-1 defeat to place fourth.
He ended the tournament with five goals to his name, leaving him top of the charts alongside Brazil's Henrique and Spain's Alvaro Vazquez.
Marcus Berg (Sweden)
Berg caught the attention of teams across the globe with a brilliant series of performances in the European Under-21 Championships in 2009.
The Swede came into the tournament off the back of two impressive seasons in Eredivisie for Groningen, scoring 32 goals in two terms. He carried that form into the opener, where he made an immediate impact by netting a hat-trick in his side's win over Belarus.
Berg then notched a brace in a 2-1 win over Serbia to send Sweden through to the last four against England. The Three Lions held a 3-0 lead at the break, but Berg defied the live betting to lead a second-half comeback, scoring twice to help level the scores.
His efforts sent the game to penalties, only for the forward to miss from the spot. Berg finished the tournament as the top scorer and was named the best player. However, he was unable to kick on from his impressive outing, although he has enjoyed a solid career.
Berg failed to make the grade in the Bundesliga at Hamburger SV, struggling in his three seasons in Germany before moving on.
The forward enjoyed a successful four-year spell with Panathinaikos and he now plies his trade with Al-Ain in the UAE Pro-League. Berg has been solid enough at an international level, earning 69 caps for Sweden and scoring 19 goals in the process.
Adrian Lopez (Spain)
In 2011, Spain were at the peak of their powers, having won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008. The depth of their talent allowed La Roja to carry a talented crop of players into the 2011 Under-21 Euro Championships in Denmark.
Adrian had previously won the Silver Shoe in the 2007 Under-20 World Cup, but due to the quality ahead of him, he had not managed to force his way into the full national side.
Adrian entered the tournament off the back of two solid seasons for Deportivo La Coruna, although he was not prolific in front of goal.
In Spain’s opener against England, he failed to find the net, but he exploded into life to score twice to guide La Roja to a 2-0 win over Czech Republic.
The forward and Juan Mata combined to defeat Ukraine to send Spain into the last four of the competition. La Roja were on the verge of defeat in the semi-final against Belarus, but Adrian scored an 89th-minute equaliser to send the contest into extra-time.
He then found the net again to secure a place in the final. Adrian led the way in the competition with five goals as Spain won the competition.
A move to Atletico Madrid followed after the tournament, and he was impressive in his first campaign He played in their Europa League triumph in 2012, scoring eight goals in the term.
Adrian played a role in the club’s La Liga triumph as sports betting underdogs in the 2013/14 campaign, but he failed to have the same impact.
Since then, he has been on the books of Porto but has bounced around Villarreal and Deportivo on loan spells.
Ebenezer Assifuah (Ghana)
There’s always a random player that manages to emerge from nowhere to star at age-group tournaments. Ghana’s Assifuah was the leading scorer at the 2013 Under-20 World Cup.
Paul Pogba and Harry Kane were among the other players in the competition, with the former earning the player of the tournament award. However, Assifuah claimed the golden boot, scoring six goals.
It was an impressive feat given that he failed to find the net in Ghana’s opening two matches before scoring a brace against the United States.
Another brace followed in a thriller against Chile, scoring the decisive goal in extra-time. He scored against France in a 2-1 defeat in the semi-finals as well as Ghana’s victory over Iraq in the third-place playoff.
Assifuah’s career didn’t take off after the World Cup following a move to Swiss side Sion. He struggled for regular goals before transferring to Le Havre in 2017 where he enjoyed a good first term, but he hasn't been prolific since his stint in Ligue 2.
As you can see, some players have gone on to reach the top level of football, whereas others have faded into obscurity after promising campaigns early on in their career in these youth tournaments.
Nothing is guaranteed in football: some players fail to live up to their potential, while others rise above all expectation.
