The World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the USA is just around the corner. Many young talents in Austria dream of a big football career. In training centers like LASK in Linz, children strive to make the leap to the top. For many children, the dream of becoming a professional footballer begins early. At LASK in Linz, young players are working to achieve their goals. Eleven-year-old Valentin Rogl from Ansfelden dreams of playing for Barcelona one day. Raffael Schaufuß from Pichling, ten years old, also dreams of becoming a professional footballer. The training focuses on recognizing and promoting potential, says Philipp Leeb, youth leader at LASK. Coach Patrick Wieshofer emphasizes that the fun of playing and the courage to fight are at the forefront. The path to the top is hard, only one to ten percent of young footballers achieve their dreams. Philipp Leeb explains that over 32,000 boys in Oberösterreich play football from U9 to U14. The chance of becoming a professional is extremely low. Injuries or lack of luck can quickly end the dream. In the Landesausbildungszentrum Linz, the children also pursue ambitious goals. Twelve-year-old Valentina Mindl from Leonding, for example, wants to join the main squad and then join an academy and a professional club. Marco Mittermayr, head of the LAZ Linz, explains that the training is individually tailored to improve each player. Football as a way of life promotes dynamic and courageous players, says Katrin Mindl, head of the LAZ Linz's pre-stages, and emphasizes that children grow not only physically but also personally. Raphael Koch from the Oö. Football Association says: „Experience shows that often diligence and personality beat talent. But the optimum is, of course, when you combine both. And we work on that too, that we give the girls and boys that talent is not enough, but that they also have to do something to really get to the top.“ The upcoming World Cup motivates the young talents. Many are in World Cup fever and have their favorites. Raffael Schaufuß believes England will win, Valentina Mindl and Altay Alpaslan favor France. Even if the path is difficult, the dream of the big football stage begins in the youth teams.