The U.S. National Team departs Friday for the 2016 IFAF Under-19 World Championship in Harbin, China.

The competition comes at an appropriate time for an international American football competition. The sport has never been more popular abroad than it is now.

Fans’ appetite for the sport continues to grow around the world as evidenced by the NFL's increasing global outlook. For the fourth consecutive season, the league will operate three regular season games in London. It will also play a regular season game in Mexico for the first time, after playing six regular season games in Canada between 2007-13.

The World Championship in Harbin precedes the NFL's first game in China, which is expected to take place in 2018. 

An NFL team making its home outside of the United States might not be far off, either.

"I actually believe that a franchise in London is realistic," NFL commission Roger Goodell said earlier this year. 

The expansion of football is behind that of other American-born sports such as baseball and basketball, but it's certainly picking up steam. The growth is reflected not only in fan interest but in player development.

Whereas the United States was vastly superior in talent to every other country during the famous 1992 "Dream Team" Olympics, the rest of the world has dramatically narrowed the gap in basketball.

Slowly, other countries are beginning to catch up on the gridiron.

Consider that in 2015, the San Francisco 49ers signed Jerryd Hayne, previously a rugby player, from Australia. And in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected Moritz Boehringer, a wide receiver from Germany.

Nevermind the fact that Canada is producing more elite football talent than ever.

In 2015, Toronto-area defensive tackle Neville Gallimore was one of the country's top recruits, eventually signing with Oklahoma. The 2016 recruiting class saw Chase Claypool, a four-star receiver from British Columbia, sign with Notre Dame.

The 2017 recruiting class could be Canada's best yet. It features the likes of Luiji Vilain, a four-star Michigan commit and uncommitted four-star Jonathan Sutherland.

Josh Palmer, an Ontario native, is a standout receiver on St. Thomas Aquinas, currently ranked as the No. 1 high school football team in America according to MaxPreps.

None of this comes as a surprise to Jim Stefani.

For nearly a decade, Stefani has operated Recruiting Brain, the leading prospect identification tool for football recruits both in the United States and internationally.

"Canada and Mexico border the United States, and it is only logical that they have the best professional leagues outside of the U.S," Stefani said.  "Canada has the second strongest professional league in the world in the CFL and numerous club and high school teams."

Countries outside of North America are also making major strides. In all, 71 nations on six continents possess national federations dedicated to the sport.

Stefani points to the creation of the American Football League of China as a sign of progress in China's development.

"In China football is rapidly evolving, in good part due to the formation of the American Football League of China by former U.S. college players Zach Brown and Chris McLaurin," Stefani said.

Erwin Sennett Wu, the founder of Gridiron China, is a native of Long Beach, Calif. but has lived in Shanghai for the last five years, also working to bring football to China.

He believes China has taken significant strides, despite lacking youth leagues where young players can consistently test themselves in game situations.  Sennett Wu thinks football in China is set to soar in popularity.

“In 2011, I stated American football will be the third largest team sport [behind basketball and soccer, respectfully] in China in 15 years. I still believe in 10 years, that will be true,” he said.

The consensus seems to be that  players can develop most rapidly in “non-ball" positions, such as offensive and defensive lineman.

Quarterbacks spend years honing their craft with football-specific techniques. However, for most other positions, the main prerequisites for success are the right combination of size, speed, and quickness.

SEE ALSO: Road to China: Tre' Bugg

SEE ALSO: U.S. World Championship roster

This principle is what has allowed numerous basketball players, endowed with tremendous size, to transition into highly successful tight ends, for example.

Last February, BYU signed Mo Langi, a 6-foot-9, 410-pound specimen from Tonga. He had never played a down of football.

So while it may be a long time before a quarterback born on foreign soil emerges as a capable Division I or NFL-level signal-caller, players at other positions will develop much more rapidly.

While Canada is now routinely developing top talent, here are five international recruits from outside the United States that colleges will have their eye on.

1. Daniel ‘Baby Shaq’ Faalele, Melbourne, Australia Faalele is largely the reason Jim Harbaugh and staff are heading to Australia. The 6-10 16-year-old is simply a fascinating physical specimen. Like Langi, Faalele had never played football but has a background in basketball and rugby. Faalele is the prime example of the intrigue that could ensue if the world's top athletes opt to play football.
2. Tyrese Johnson-Fisher, London, England Johnson-Fisher is a world class athlete who, thus far, has starred in rugby. He has an excellent build and moves extraordinarily well, having been timed as fast as 10.74 seconds in the 100-yard dash. Johnson-Fisher has considered the idea of playing football in the United States and says he's found football "extremely entertaining." However, Johnson-Fisher told USA Football that there would be lots of logistical challenges to him pursuing the sport in the United States.
3. Blessman Taala, Pago Pago, American Samoa Not only does Taala have one of the best names in the 2017 recruiting class, but his play on the field backs up the hype. Taala has been described by local media as a "manchild." (Will link) The 6-3, 275-pound defensive tackle already has offers from Oregon State, Hawaii and others.
4. Eneasi Kavapalu, Melbourne, Australia Another recruit that captured Michigan’s attention during its satellite camp in Australia, Kavapalu is a year older than Faalele but also plays on the offensive line. He already has an offer from Hawaii, and the prospect of playing Division I football appeals to him. “Coming from nothing to playing big-time football, a sport I’ve never played in my life, it’s a massive opportunity not only for me but for family,” Kavapalu he told FoxSports.
5. Mustapha Ibrahim, Zaria, Nigeria  Ibrahim hails from Nigeria, the world's seventh most populated country. Ibrahim's team, the Ahmadu Bello University Titans, recently participated in what was purported to be the first American football game played in West Africa. The program also produced Abdul Bello, current Florida State offensive lineman. Ibrahim is raw but appears to have impressive physical gifts. At 6-5 270, he's nearly as big as Bello.