When California native Sebastian Soto arrived in Hannover in August last year from MLS side Real Salt Lake, even the most faithful of American football fans would have doubted his immediate success. At 18 years old, Soto had only just broken into the United States’ under-19 side, and had yet to register a single senior appearance at club level. Fast forward less than a year however, and Soto has exceeded all expectations. The 18 year-old from Carlsbad had a breakout season in the U19 Bundesliga for Hannover 96, scoring 17 goals, and 4 goals, including a brace against pre-tournament favourites France, at the U20 World Cup, where his performances were instrumental in propelling the United States to a quarter final berth.

Soto is a true modern day forward, with an ability to play naturally and comfortably within a fluid, rotational front three, with a particularly strong ability to drop in, holding up the ball before creating chances for his fellow forwards. This ability is reflected in his 0.3 assists + second assists per 90 minutes in the league, an elite statistic for a player who also touches the ball in the penalty box 5.48 times a game. Even withstanding these impressive numbers, he also possesses the often neglected ability to make instinctive runs in behind defences, something which cannot truly be quantified, but an ability which is consistently effective at creating chances for his team in the attacking third. All of the above ignores his most obvious and best skill – his gift for goals. In all competitions in 2018-19, Soto bagged 21 goals, significantly exceeding his 18.27 xG, an excellent number in itself, showing simultaneously both his phenomenal positional ability and his brilliant finishing talent. Even so, a brief observation of some footage of Soto’s season would show the young American was at times wasteful in front of goal, meaning that at only 18 years old Soto has room to improve on his already boundless talent. This should not be cause for concern for fans of the young Hannover 96 forward; composure is an attribute learned through experience, and with the relegation of ‘Die Roten‘ from the Bundesliga last season, it seems likely that Soto this year will be able to improve on his 3 senior appearances and help to drive Hannover’s push to return immediately to the German top flight.

While the above focusses on Soto’s travails in club land, it was in Poland at the recent FIFA U20 World Cup where Soto truly made a name for himself, in front of the watchful eyes of scouts from big clubs all over Europe. His 4 finishes, showed his brilliant mix of skills; a powerful header to open the scoring against Nigeria, followed up quickly by a skilful finish which confused the Nigerian keeper, then his two goals against the favoured French, both similarly showcasing his phenomenal ability to avoid the offside trap and get in behind defences with instinctively times runs.

Soto is a huge talent, but one who many never would have heard of, hiding in relative obscurity within the Hannover 96 youth setup. However, with the exits this summer of Takuma Asano, Bobby Wood and Ihlas Bebou, Soto has a fantastic opportunity to push on from his goalscoring exploits in the U19 Bundesliga and at the U20 World Cup, and to become Hannover’s first choice striker in their upcoming 2. Bundesliga campaign. If this happens, American fans can get really excited for the future of this talented young man, and for the future of the USMNT, with the collective strikeforce of Timothy Weah, Josh Sargent and Soto seeming a mouthwatering prospect for years to come.