EURO 2024 has a high number of participants, which means that, with the exception of Norway, there are no major absentees at this edition of the tournament, where many of the big breakthroughs of European football in recent seasons will be unveiled to the general public.
It isn’t just big breakthroughs, as international tournaments also often produce unexpected heroes or serve as a showcase for players who are less known to the international public. Let’s remember the case of Damsgaard or Dumfries in the last edition and the case of players like James Rodríguez in the World Cup.
This European Championship held in Germany inevitably puts the host team in the spotlight, and is notable for being the last tournament for Toni Kroos, one of the best midfielders in history, who will retire from football once the tournament is over.
The team coached by Nagelsmann stands out mainly for its midfield, in which Kroos and Gündogan will be in charge of creating the game.
These two are already familiar to us, but Musiala and Wirtz will be the ones to accelerate the play in three quarters to create the goal-scoring chances. The former was already a starter at the World Cup in Qatar, but the Bayer Leverkusen player is making his debut at a major tournament with the national team after his breakthrough season.
Most of the players to be highlighted are three-quarter wingers with overflow or creative and dynamic players close to the box. In this case, we cannot fail to mention the Spanish national team, which will bring two very young pure wingers who we Spaniards are already familiar with, but who, perhaps abroad, are not so prestigious.
Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal will provide depth and allow us to see a much more vertical Spain than Luis Enrique showed us. In addition to this, Dani Olmo is in a great moment after his season of confirmation as a top European level player.
For the vast majority, France and England are the main favourites. We already know Kane, Bellingham, Mbappé and Griezmann, so in this case, we must focus on other more unknown players.
Cole Palmer, who at 22 years of age, with 22 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League, is probably starting to become better known, and he will be accompanied by Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden, who is coming off the best season of his career.
Three players under the age of 25 who, apart from generating advantages with their quality and ability to unbalance, will be responsible for nurturing Harry Kane, so that the ‘Three Lions’ are presented with one of the best generations in their history.
We have already mentioned that most of the young players expected to excel at EURO 2024 will be in positions close to goal. However, France has one of the best centre-backs in the world at the age of 23: William Saliba.
A wall in the air, a tremendous and powerful stride to defend in the open field, the defensive fundamentals to withstand a ‘one on one’ of the best strikers in the Premier League and the ability to come out with the ball played make this Frenchman a delight of a centre-back.
Still with centre-backs, Portugal also offers Antonio Silva of Benfica. At 20 years of age, he is already a player of renown in his country and with many of Europe’s top clubs. The Lusitanians will also showcase players such as João Neves or a more well-known Rafael Leão, for whom this tournament could be his consecration as a world star.
The talent pool for this European Championship is enormous, as many of the teams with fewer options also have a lot to offer: Ukraine with Mudryk, Dovbyk or Sudakov; Hungary with Szoboszlai or The Netherlands that, despite the absentees, will allow Xavi Simons, Zirkzee, Veerman or Reijnders to make themselves known to the general public.
EURO 2024 in Germany promises a lot, especially in terms of the level of the players. If you want to find out which players your team should sign or get a closer look at some of the players who are set to make their mark on European football, I wouldn’t miss any of the games.
Translated by Marcos Rodríguez.
Main image: Edit Pablo Benítez.
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