Falling down a 2025 rabbit hole...
...and reliving the best U-23 displays of the year.
Welcome to The Rabbit Hole: Team of the Year edition.
This newsletter is usually a collection of single-game stat leaders from the latest week of football, including the whimsical exploration of infinite tangents...
However, as its the final edition of the year, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at 2025 in its entirety to remind ourselves of the rabbit holes we've fallen down. As a result, this newsletter is free to read. You just need to be a (free) member to read it.
At the end of all this, you'll find an Alternative Team of the Year stacked full of under-23 players that have punctuated 2025 with standout statistical displays.
Let's begin.
Follow the white rabbit, Neo 🐇
Support SCOUTED
👶 Breakout Babies
At 15 years and five days old, the youngest player to make an appearance in 2025 was Beytullah Gezer. The Turkish teenager played nine minutes for Adana Demirspor in May 2025 but has not appeared in a game since. The second-youngest at 15 years and 16 days old was Ukranian Oleh Dziurynets but the Rukh Lviv forward is another one-game wonder.
Luis Fragozo, however, has made nine appearances as a 15-year-old this year and became the youngest debutant in the recent history of the LigaPro Ecuador. At 15 years and 244 days old, Fragozo is the youngest player to start a first-team game on the Stathead database this year and recently became the second-youngest to provide an assist at 15 years and 251 days old. He started as a left-sided #10 for Emelec against El Nacional, playing 67 minutes and providing the assist for the opening goal. Per Sofascore, no player on the pitch attempted more dribbles (4). Heading into 2026, Luis Fragozo is very much a name to keep track of.
