Euro 2024 has come to a close and some of the finest players around the continent made their mark on the tournament in Germany.
It was Spain who ended up lifting the silverware in Berlin, beating England in the final in dramatic late fashion While plenty of experiences pros helped La Roja over the line, it was their young aces who sprinkled stardust on their performances and seriously impressed.
UEFA hand their Young Player of the Tournament award to a player who is at most 22-years-old, so with that criteria in mind here are 90min’s best young stars of Euro 2024.
Nation: Portugal
It’s nothing less than a disgrace that Portugal didn’t go any further than the quarter-finals. Roberto Martinez is a massive problem as manager, while the ego of Cristiano Ronaldo meant the Selecao had little edge in attack.
Their failure will be tough to stomach for their fans given the wealth of talent Portugal have at their disposal, but Nuno Mendes at least left the tournament with plenty of credit in the rank.
His side lost to France in a penalty shootout but not before he thrashed in one of the spot-kicks you’re ever likely to see.
Nation: England
It’s a little odd to still be placing Bukayo Saka among the youngsters around Europe, given he plays with a maturity that belies his 22 years.
Stats of just one goal and no assists for the tournament don’t do the Arsenal star justice. Saka saved England from a premature exit to Switzerland with a beauty from distance and tucked away his penalty in the shootout, vanquishing a few ghosts from Euro 2020.
He looked capable of delivering a game-changing moment in the final against Spain, but it just didn’t quite arrive.
Nation: Germany
Florian Wirtz powered his way into Germany’s squad with his awesome displays during Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title-campaign and showed the world what he’s all about with a goal in the opening night demolition of Scotland.
He suffered a little bit in the subsequent games, not looking as comfortable on the left wing as he is in the middle, but the 21-year-old still bounced back from being dropped against Denmark to score a late equaliser Spain in the quarter-finals.
It wasn’t vintage Wirtz, but he’ll only get better at major tournaments in the future.
Nation: England
England’s midfield…
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