The problem with teenage phenomena is they don’t often live up to expectations but Samir Nasri, Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa appear to be doing just that.

All born in 1987, the year when Michel Platini retired, the trio first attracted attention by helping France win the European Under-17 title three years ago. Since then they’ve done enough to suggest they are indeed the future of French football.

The three played their first international this year, all scoring on debut, like a certain Zinedine Zidane once did.

Being of North African descent and possessing exceptional skills mean the three have inevitably been compared with the great man, especially Nasri, the only playmaker in  the lot who, like the balding maestro, grew up in a Marseille suburb.

Unlike Zidane, who never did, Nasri actually plays for Marseille, where his game intelligence and maturity beyond his years have already made him the boss.

The other two were formed at and play for six-times French champions Olympique Lyon.

A lethal mix of power, speed and skill, forward Benzema grew up admiring Ronaldo (the real one, not Cristiano) and his 11 goals from 14 league games this season indicate he could become just as devastating. Unfortunately for David Trezeguet (sorry, Julien), France coach Raymond Domenech’s headaches when it came to decide who to field up front alongside Thierry Henry are now over.

Benzema is the obvious answer and if Domenech needs a complement for his two strikers, a young magician capable of acting both as an attacking midfielder and a winger, he can confidently pick Ben Arfa.

Arguably the most gifted of the three youngsters, Ben Arfa was once criticised for not trying hard enough and some were concerned he might waste his talent but he has definitely made his breakthrough and the harmonious pair he forms with Benzema at Lyon has become Ligue 1 defenders’ worst nightmare.

The three still need to learn and might be too tender to steal the limelight at next year’s Euro 2008 finals but by 2010, they should all be gracing glamorous outfits such as Arsenal or Real Madrid and the World Cup in South Africa could provide them with the perfect stage on which to show off what they’re made of.

PHOTO: Thierry Henry and Karim Benzema during their Euro 2008 Group B qualifying match against Lithuania in Nantes, October 17, 2007. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau