The most interesting players from Euro 2024

Yamal scored a gorgeous goal against France in the semifinals to help carry Spain to the final…and a few days later he turned 17. The phrase “youngest player ever to” abounded when it came to Yamal at Euro 2024. While he had some hype coming into the tournament, playing at 16 for Barcelona will do that, Yamal’s star is now white hot. The kid is going to be an all-timer. He showed in Germany he’s already a high-level attacker.

Let’s flip to the other team that made it to the final. Gareth Southgate took a second to figure out how to handle his midfield. Turns out Trent Alexander-Arnold was not the answer. Honestly? We figured the 19-year-old midfielder Mainoo was in the squad for the experience, seeing the field in spot minutes in games that had been settled. Instead, in the final group stage game Mainoo was installed into the starting lineup, and then he stayed there. He helped unlock things for England, and Manchester United has to be intrigued about what he can do for it this upcoming season.

We figured having one goalkeeper on the list made sense. A few keepers played well, but Costa, the Portuguese keeper, did it deep into the tournament, and was required to stand on his head a few times. Without Costa, a Portuguese team inexplicably catering to Ronaldo offensively would have been in trouble. He had three clean sheets, and in penalties against Slovenia Costa was a star. The 24-year-old won out over more experienced goalies and showed he belonged. Portugal is in safe hands in net, but Costa is likely not long for Porto at this point.

Is Gakpo, as was bandied about during this tournament, one of those players better for country than for club? The Dutch forward saw action in 35 Premier League games for Liverpool last season, but 18 of them were as a sub. Gakpo scored eight goals, but three Liverpool players had more, and Luis Diaz had just as many. At Euro 2024 though, Gakpo scored three goals for the Netherlands, and he would have had a fourth had it not been labeled an own goal in the end. Gakpo is 6’4’’. He’s bigger than Darwin Nunez! Can he serve as a target man for the Reds this season under new Dutch manager Arne Slot?

Toni Kroos was not able to ride off into the sunset with a Euro title, but Germany's future is bright with Kai Havertz, Florian Wirtz, and Jamal Musiala around. Musiala was the best of the bunch. He scored three goals and put five shots on net. Havertz had more shots on target, but he was more of a finisher. Musiala did more and proved more of a connector, and the 13 fouls he drew shows just how involved he was.

Yes, Arda Guler got plenty of flowers at Euro 2024, but that was kind of expected in a way. Yes, he’s 19, but the Turkish midfielder also plays for Real Madrid and came in pre-hyped. Guler lived up to that hype, but we weren’t really familiar with Kokcu. The fact the 23-year-old plays at Benfica is part of that. However, as noted Kokcu is only 23, and he had two assists and two shots on target. Consider us intrigued.

A few players ended up on three goals at Euro 2024. Musiala and Gakpo, for example! In the mix, though, there’s Mikautadze of Georgia. He scored a goal in all three games of the group stage, and picked up an assist against Portugal as well. Mikautadze is 23, and he plays club football at Metz. Metz is now down in Ligue 2. Yeah, the Georgian will be somewhere else for the 2024-25 season. Mark it down.

Announcers were falling over themselves during Euro 2024 to wonder aloud if Saliba is the best centre back in football. And, well, that may be true. Saliba was incredible during Euro 2024, locking down opposing attackers for France. Pepe playing viable defence in his forties was remarkable, but a 23-year-old being maybe the best centre back there is means more going forward, and is more interesting. Saliba could hold onto the crown for a decade.

In a way, Ralf Rangnick’s glorious, all-out football was the star for Austria. This was a fun team to watch. Two players popped, though, Marcel Sabitzer and Baumgartner. Baumgartner plays club football at RB Leipzig, which surely helped prep him for playing for Austria, given that Rangnick’s footballing ethos drives clubs like Leipzig. With a goal, an assist, and eight shots over four games, Baumgartner was a kinetic force on the field, and he can smoothly transition back into club football without having to adjust style of play. How convenient!

Ivan Schranz was one of the three-goal players at Euro 2024, but he’s also a 30-year-old who plays club football at Sparta Prague. Of all the players who hit that goal threshold, he’s the one who is clearly one of those fun quirks of tournament football. Haraslin’s tourney was more interesting to us. The midfielder started all four games for Slovakia, picking up an assist and three shots on target. Haraslin also drew six fouls while only committing two. Now, he’s also playing for Sparta Prague, but he just turned 28 and has played in Italy in the past. Maybe he has another run in big-league football in him.

The last vestiges of the Golden Generation of Belgian football went out with a whimper. Not all is lost, though! Doku…man, he’s so fun to watch. Nobody is as kinetic and exciting with the ball at his feet. He’s possibly the best dribbler in the world. Doku needs to get better at shooting and passing (both important!), but he’s elite in one way already, and by the time of the next World Cup he’s going to be Belgium’s best player.

Switzerland’s quarterfinals run was built upon the spine of its team. Fabian Schar, Granit Xhaka, Michel Aebischer, the big names in their prime. Among attackers, Ndoye is the only one who started all five games for the team. While he only managed one goal, he threw a whopping 14 shots out there. That was six more than any other Swiss player. Plus, he’s only 23. Notably, Ndoye and Aebischer both play for Bologna in Serie A, and helped it qualify for the Champions League this upcoming season. Exciting times!

Drawn into a group with Italy, Croatia, and Spain, nobody expected Albania to advance. Also, it didn’t. However, Albania also proved more competitive than most expected. Asllani, a 22-year-old midfielder, led the team with eight shots, and also with three shots on target. He only committed two fouls, drew four, and did not get a yellow card. Asllani is already at Inter Milan, so he’s at a big club. Will he be in for a bigger role this season, though?

Man is a forward, but he’s no “shoot first, shoot second” striker type. Playing on the wing for his club team Parma, the Romanian did not score a goal playing forward for his country, but he did have two assists. Man did put three shots on target as well over four games, though. The 25-year-old was a driving force for Romania. He had 11 goals for Parma down at the Serie B level last season. Man helped it get promoted, by the way. It’s time for the forward to play some Serie A football!

One legendary Luka is on his way out. Luka Modric, now 38, is presumably done playing for Croatia. Nobody is going to pull a Pepe as a midfielder, you know? Who is next up? After Euro 2024, we’re predicting it will be Sucic. He played in all three games for Croatia, including one start. Sucic did that as a 21-year-old. Nobody else outside of the defensive line that had a significant role for the country was younger than 28. The next step for Sucic will be a transfer. While RB Salzburg is not a bad club, the Austrian league doesn’t offer week-to-week high-level competition.

We end with Italy, as it passed the torch at Euro 2024, having won Euro 2020 but losing in the round of 16 this year. Are there any positives for Italy to take away? Any interesting performances to be found? You bet! Bastoni started all four games at centre back. He scored a goal, one of only three Italy managed, and even in a key defensive role he only committed three fouls while drawing six. What makes Bastoni’s performance particularly interesting is that the 6’3’’ defender is only 25. If Saliba isn’t going to be the best centre back in the world over the next decade, it will be because Bastoni is.