German rising star Lukas Podolski wins the FIFA Best Young Player award of the 2006 World Cup, July 7, 2006 (Xinhua Photo)

German rising star Lukas Podolski won the FIFA Best Young Player award of the 2006 World Cup on Friday.

The 21-year-old Polish-born striker has scored three goals in Germany's six World Cup matches so far. His two early goals in the Germany-Sweden knockout duel sent the hosts into quarterfinals. The other goal came from Germany's last Group A match against Ecuador.

Podolski said: "I would have liked to have taken home the World Cup. But this is a great honour and is a great motivation to become more successful."

Podolski beat off competition from 40 candidates including Cesc Fabregas from Spain, Lionel Messi from Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal, Luis Valencia from Ecuador to win the coveted prize.

"Podolski not only scored three goals, he was a key element in Germany's attack," explained Holger Osieck, head of the FIFA Technical Study Group. "He showed a great understanding with Miroslav Klose and the two players formed a very effective partnership. Together, they netted eight of Germany's 11 goals."

Klose, the German first division top scorer from Werder Bremen, is now leading the top scorer list with five goals.

Podolski is a sparkling young talent who made his international debut at the age of just 19 years and two days when he played against Hungary in 2004.

His terrific vision, great speed and goal scoring skills have earned him further caps at UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, where he scored three goals.

A product of FC Cologne's youth academy, Podolski stayed loyal to the club when they were relegated in 2004 and scored 24 goals the following season to help Cologne regain German first division status.

An integral part of Jurgen Klinsmann's starting line-up, Podolski already boasts a tally of 15 goals in 31 games for his country. An impressive haul for one so young, over the course of this FIFA World Cup Podolski has demonstrated time and time again that he thrives under pressure.

"Our choices are based on hard facts and how a player performs at a given tournament, the World Cup in this case," concluded Osiek. "Podolski still has a lot to learn but he is clearly a player with a great future."

Editor: Donald