The Euro 2024 Young Player of the Tournament award will be only the third of its kind given out. Here we will speculate who could win it, and which of the Euros' best young players from the past would have taken it since the dawn of the new millennium.
Renato Sanches won the Young Player of the Tournament award at Euro 2016, as he helped Portugal on their way to winning the trophy, while central midfield prodigy Pedri dazzled for Spain as he won the last award at Euro 2020.
After picking out some candidates to clinch the Euro 2024 Player of the Tournament award, we will now take a more in-depth look at the potential candidates that could win the Young Player of the Tournament award in Germany.
Who could win the Euro 2024 Young Player of the Tournament award?
Lamine Yamal
Yamal has had an outstanding tournament considering that he was just 16 years of age going into it. The FC Barcelona starlet produced what could turn out to be the Goal of the Tournament (GOTT) in Spain's 2-1 win in their semi-final against France, and also leads the assist charts with three going into La Roja's final against England on Sunday night.
Nico Williams
Yamal's partner-in-crime Williams will also be a strong contender for the award. The 21-year-old has been simply electric on the opposite wing for Spain, marked by a dazzling solo goal in their 4-1 win over Georgia in the round of 16.
Jude Bellingham
Bellingham is perhaps a surprise inclusion after a string of below-par performances for England, but he has shown that he can produce moments of magic in crucial periods of games. Indeed, the 20-year-old scored a spectacular bicycle kick deep into stoppage time that salvaged England's Euro 2024 status in their round of 16 clash with Slovakia, and we would not be surprised if he made the key difference for the Three Lions in the final.
Kobbie Mainoo
Bellingham's England teammate Mainoo is certainly one to watch when it comes to this award. The 19-year-old produced a man-of-the-match (MOTM) performance as England beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the semi-final, and has gracefully glided across the pitch with a maturity well beyond his years since coming into the Three Lions team.
Xavi Simons
Perhaps an outside choice given that his team did not make the final, but Simons could well come into contention for the Netherlands. The 21-year-old's spectacular strike gave the Dutch the lead against England in their semi-final, while he also managed to contribute a further two assists in the tournament.
Jamal Musiala
Again perhaps an outside pick given that his team got knocked out in the quarter-final by Spain 2-1 after extra-time, but Musiala was certainly the standout player for the hosts Germany. The 21-year-old scored three goals in total at the tournament, and is currently still the joint-top scorer going into the final.
Euro best young players from the past: Our picks
Euro 2012 – Mario Balotelli
Fresh after helping Manchester City win their first ever Premier League title in dramatic fashion ahead of bitter rivals Manchester United on the final day of the 2011/12 season, as he famously claimed his only assist of the campaign by setting up Sergio Aguero to score the winner deep into stoppage time to beat Queens Park Rangers 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium, a 21-year-old Balotelli would then lead the line for Italy at Euro 2012.
The controversial “Why always me?” striker ended up being the joint-top scorer in the tournament with three goals, including two in the semi-finals against Germany as Italy triumphed 2-1. Unfortunately, they would then go on to lose 4-0 to Spain in the final, but Balotelli certainly had an impressive Euros, and we think that he would have gone on to win the Young Player of the Tournament.
Euro 2008 – Cesc Fabregas
After an impressive individual 2007/08 season with Arsenal, where he recorded the most assists over all competitions in the squad, 21-year-old Fabregas headed to Euro 2008 with Spain. He helped his team win the first of an unmatched three consecutive major international titles, and played with a maturity that was beyond his years.
Indeed, Fabregas scored and assisted in Spain's opening group stage game of the competition as they beat Russia 4-1, while against the same opponents in the semi-finals, the central midfielder produced a further two assists to help his team win 3-0 and reach the final. Fabregas was also named in the 23-man Squad of the Tournament.
Euro 2004 – Milan Baros
There were plenty of young breakout stars at Euro 2004, notably Portugal's 19-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo and England's 18-year-old Wayne Rooney. Both were named in the Team of the Tournament, but we have picked the third forward that was named in the XI in Baros.
The then 22-year-old finished as the competition's top scorer with five goals, while he also produced two assists for a perhaps less-fancied Czech Republic team. He helped the Czechs reach the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by eventual shock winners Greece.
Euro 2000 – Thierry Henry
Henry was just 22 years of age when he lit up Euro 2000 for France, helping his team go on to win the competition. The talented forward scored a total of three goals, including one in the semi-finals against Portugal, and was named in the 23-man Squad of the Tournament.
Henry also won France's Player of the Year in 2000, and started to really kick on into his prime. He had unfortunately lost the UEFA Cup final with Arsenal (against Turkish giants Galatasaray) at the end of the 1999/00 season, and was clearly determined to win silverware at the Euros.
