Fifteen-year-old former Barcelona prodigy Takefusa Kubo was among 21 named to the Japan squad Tuesday for the upcoming Under-20 World Cup in South Korea.

Kubo, dubbed the "Japanese Messi," signed with FC Tokyo's youth team in May 2015 after four years with Barcelona, returning to Japan when the Catalan club was penalized by soccer's world governing body FIFA for violating international transfer regulations.

He became the youngest player to score in a J3 match against Cerezo Osaka's U-23s on April 15.