Top 5 Young Stars Who Shone at UEFA Euro 2024 ft. Mainoo, Musiala, Williams, Bellingham, and Yamal

After Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe won in 2016, while Leonardo Bonucci and Georgio Chiellini won in 2021, UEFA Euro 2024 will be remembered as the occasion where footballing power shifted from the hands of the veterans to the new generation, as young players ran riots, notably led by Lamine Yamal who is yet to be called a legal adult.

Let us now have a look at the 5 best young players of the tournament:

#5 Kobbie Mainoo (England)

Kobbie Mainoo had not even been called up to the English senior squad before this year, but after this tournament, it can be said with confidence that the Manchester United youngster will be in charge of the Three Lions’ midfield for many years to come, provided he is successful in maintaining his form.

Mainoo was not a part of Gareth Southgate’s initial plans, who had first decided to play Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield alongside Declan Rice. After that experiment failed, Southgate tried playing Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher in that position, but he could not do much either.

Finally, after making substitute appearances against Serbia and Slovenia, Mainoo was included in the starting XI for the against Slovakia, and he has not had to look back ever since. His best performance came in the match in that Round of 16 fixture where he attempted 70 passes and 65 of those were successful, with a success rate of 92.9%.

Mainoo made 8 tackles of which 6 were successful, while he had 4 blocks and 6 interceptions too. But more than his defensive abilities, what stood out was his passing range as he attempted 203 passes and 183 of those were successful, meaning he had a pass completion rate of 90.1%, which can be considered incredible for a 19-year-old.

#4 Jamal Musiala (Germany)

Jamal Musiala is the third consecutive player on our list who was born in England and played youth football for the Three Lions but in the Euro 2024, he was seen lighting up the stage for hosts Germany with his electrifying performances.

Musiala was the joint-highest goal-scorer with three goals in the five matches that Germany played. His first goal came in the opening match against Scotland and then he followed it up with another goal in the very next match against Hungary. Musiala’s last goal game in the Round of 16 tie against Switzerland. Incredibly, Musiala only had 4 shots on target in this tournament, which shows his superb goal-conversion rate.

But Musiala was not just about goals, as he had 28 progressive carries in this tournament, which is the most by any German player. The 21-year-old winger of Bayern Munich is also the only player from Die Mannschaft who has been included in UEFA’s official Team of the Tournament.

His link-up play with his attacking partners like Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz was also effective, as he attempted 168 passes and was successful in completing 148 of those, at a pass completion percentage of 88.1%. He also had 246 touches in this competition, of which 128 were in the attacking third and he covered a total of 677 yards or progressive carry with the ball.

#3 Nico Williams (Spain)

Nico Williams scored Spain’s equalizer in the final

It indeed is true that being only 17 years of age, Lamine Yamal has stolen all the limelight in the Spain squad, but one must not forget how crucial Nico Williams’ contribution has been in La Roja’s fourth European Championship win.

He was Spain’s joint second-highest goal-scorer with 2 goals. One of those goals came in the 4-1 win over Georgia in the Round of 16, but the most important goal was surely the wonderful strike in the final which gave Luis de la Fuente’s men an important lead at the very beginning of the second half. Besides that, he also had an assist which came against Georgia as well.

A tireless worker both with and without the ball, he had 32 progressive carries, which is the most by any Spanish player and joint-highest overall, alongside France’s Ousmane Dembele.

Beyond his goals and assists, Williams attempted 220 passes and 179 of those were successful, at a success rate of 81.4%. He attempted 36 take-ons, which is the second-highest in the tournament behind only England’s Bellingham. In terms of progressive carries, he covered 774 yards across the tournament, which happens to be the most by any Spanish attacker.

#2 Jude Bellingham (England)

Jude Bellingham is often not considered among youngsters because of how much he has already achieved, but he still is only 21

Jude Bellingham has already won so much in his short career, including La Liga, UEFA Champions League and DFB Pokal, that we often tend to forget that he is a very young player too, currently at just 21 years of age.

Bellingham predominantly played as a number 10 in this competition for England and had a good outing overall, where he combined with defense and also helped out in attack.

Coming to his attacking skills first, Bellingham scored two goals and was England’s second-highest goal-scorer after Kane. One of those goals was the winner against Serbia in the first match, but more importantly, he scored the last-minute equalizer against Slovakia in the Round of 16 which kept England alive in the competition. He also assisted Cole Palmer’s equalizer in the final against Spain.

As for his passing, he attempted 363 passes and 311 of those were successful, at a success rate of 85.7%. Contributing to defense, Bellingham made 15 tackles which is the most by any English player, and 11 of those were successful. He also made 7 blocks and 4 interceptions, alongside 7 clearances.

#1 Lamine Yamal (Spain)

All of the above said and done, there cannot be any doubt about who the best youngster of Euro 2024 was. It was indeed the superstar who was awarded the Young Player of the Tournament honour – Spain’s Yamal.

The 17-year-old youngster, who started the competition as a 16-year-old and subsequently became the youngest player to play in the European Championship, had five goal contributions in this tournament which was joint-highest alongside fellow Spaniard Dani Olmo.

Yamal scored one goal which came in the semi-final against France, but it was arguably the best goal of the tournament. Besides that, he gave four assists, coming against Croatia in the group stage, Georgia in the Round of 16, Germany in the quarter-final, and most importantly, England in the final which set up Williams’ goal.

Yamal had 31 progressive carries, which is the joint second-highest, while he also attempted 33 takeons which was the second-highest in the Spanish side, and sixth-highest overall. Besides that, Yamal attempted 205 passes and completed 158 of those, with a success rate of 77.1%. Despite being so young, Yamal’s positioning sense stood out as he had 198 touches in the attacking third, which is also the second-highest in the tournament.