With the 2024 UEFA European Championship a week away from commencing, we highlight five stars at the tournament who could have a big impact for their respective nations.
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Kylian Mbappe
With the duopoly of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi seemingly over, Kylian Mbappe is now the would-be heir to the title of best player in the world. The Paris native is coming off yet another prolific season with Paris Saint-Germain, having won a seventh Ligue 1 title, while leading them to a UEFA Champions League semi-final. While Mbappe has always been mercurial for Les Parisiens, he has seemingly always produced his best work for the French national team. He won the 2018 FIFA World Cup and reached the final again four years later, scoring a hat-trick in the historic clash against Argentina. However, a tournament that has not yet seen the best of him is the EUROs. He played in his first continental competition in 2021, but was unable to score a single goal in the tournament. Now captain of Les Bleus, he will be looking to make a big impression in Germany, and will likely be even more confident of doing so having just completed his move to Real Madrid.
Bukayo Saka
Another forward who will have a point to prove at Europe's biggest football tournament will be Bukayo Saka. Like Mbappe, the London native is coming off yet another prolific campaign with his club Arsenal, having scored 20 goals and provided 14 assists, and while he was not able to pick up any silverware with the Gunners, he will be looking to rectify that with the Three Lions.
Ever since being first selected by Gareth Southgate in 2020, more often than not Saka has been a starter in the star-studded side. Of his 32 caps, the 22-year-old has started 25 of them, a testament to the belief his manager has in him. The last match the youngster played in the EUROs, he missed a penalty in the shootout of the 2021 final, but since then he has become the one of the best wingers in the world, and he will be looking to complete his redemption arc at this iteration of the competition.
Florian Wirtz
Young stars are set to shine at the EUROs in Germany, and for the host nation, one of those expected to shine brightest is Florian Wirtz. There has been a lot of hype surrounding the versatile attacker since he burst on to the seen as a teenager, and he now looks as though he is finally living up to that expectation. The Pulheim native caught a lot of the world's attention during the 2021/22 season with Bayer Leverkusen but later on that season he injured his cruciate ligament.
That setback curtailed his progression, but he now seems to be back on track as he looks like one of the best playmakers in world football. This past season, he showed his ability in a massive way, being one of the main protagonists in Leverkusen's "Invincible" Bundesliga campaign, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists in all competitions, and now he will be looking to carry that rich vein of form to the international stage on home soil as Die Mannschaft bid to win the EUROs for the first time since 1996.
Rafael Leao
While Germany are being tipped as being one of the favourites to go far in the tournament, another favourite is undoubtedly Portugal. That is the case due to the abundance of individual talent they possess, and one of the A Selecao das Quinas stars to watch out for is Rafael Leao. The 2021/22 Serie A MVP may not be as prolific as the aforementioned stars, but his dribbling and ability to draw multiple defenders makes him a dangerous player. Given that he is also playing with other world-class attackers such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Jota, the attention he garners will avail space for his clinical teammates, and that could prove pivotal in their hopes of winning a second EURO title.
Lamine Yamal
A player who has a lot of similarities to Leao is Spain's Lamine Yamal. It is quite extraordinary to think that a 16-year-old is one of the best players for a powerhouse such as La Furia Roja, but that's exactly the case with Yamal. The wonderkid enjoyed a breakout season with FC Barcelona this past season, and while he did not win any title with his club, he certainly made it known he is a key player for both club and country. While playing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup winners in the previous international break against Brazil, he received a standing ovation from the Santiago Bernabeu crowd in their 3-3 draw as he was at the heart of all the goals his side scored.
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Now, he will have to do it on an even bigger stage, but given what he has shown over the past 12 months, there is nothing that suggests that that isn't possible.
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