Euro 2024 Young Player of the Tournament Power Rankings

9 Rasmus Hojlund

Denmark

After a tricky debut campaign for Manchester United, Rasmus Hojlund still managed to show glimpses of genuine brilliance in the main striker role. The Great Dane will be hoping to be a more consistent threat for his nation at the European Championships this summer.

Judging by his previous record for Denmark, averaging roughly a goal every other game, it would not be smart to bet against him, particularly with an unshackled Christian Eriksen given licence to create from an attacking midfield position behind him. Solid performances from Hojlund could be the catalyst for Denmark to progress out of the group stages and go on a serious run in the competition.

8 Benjamin Sesko

Slovenia

The towering, agile striker who came through at Red Bull Salzburg has been lumbered with comparisons to Erling Haaland throughout most of his senior career. Benjamin Sesko did study one of the best strikers in the world but is intent on carving out his own legacy.

Unlike Haaland, Sesko led his nation to Euro 2024 with five goals and two assists in a successful qualification campaign. A fearsome striker of the ball, the RB Leipzig forward was heavily linked to several Premier League clubs on the eve of the tournament before turning down the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United by signing a new deal with the Bundesliga outfit. A standout tournament for the 21-year-old could reignite those rumours.

7 Xavi Simons

Netherlands

With Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners ruled out of the Netherlands’s squad at Euro 2024 through injury, the responsibility for a creative spark falls on the shoulders of Xavi Simons. Having generated 23 goal contributions for RB Leipzig in the 2023/24 season, it would seem that the youngster will certainly be up for the challenge.

If the Dutch are to go far in the competition, Simons will need to perform at his brilliant best. Much like the rest of his colleagues – aside from the proudly unique Wout Weghorst – Simons endured a quiet start to the tournament. But with so much quality sprinkled around the squad, the 21-year-old still has plenty of time to thrive.

6 Riccardo Calafiori

Italy

Riccardo Calafiori had only earned 96 minutes of senior international football before Euro 2024 kicked off. Luciano Spalletti looked beyond the 22-year-old centre-back’s inexperience and started him in Italy’s triumphant opener against Albania.

A commanding figure out of possession, Calafiori is part of an Italian backline that doesn’t contain Leonardo Bonucci or Giorgio Chiellini. Not since the 2006 World Cup have the Azzurri gone into a major tournament without either of their defensive totems. Calafiori brings a layer of silk alongside the requisite steel. After racking up five Serie A assists for Bologna last season, Spalletti predicted that he could be moved into an attacking midfield role in the future.

5 Florian Wirtz

Germany

In a Bayern Leverkusen team that went invincible in all domestic competitions in the 2023/24 season, there is an argument to be made that Florian Wirtz was the best player in Germany during that period. He was suffocatingly influential in Leverkusen winning their first-ever Bundesliga title, generating 22 goal contributions throughout their record-breaking campaign.

If he can consistently translate his club form to the international stage, then Germany could be in for a brilliant tournament. As one of the three forwards floating behind the centre-forward, Julian Nagelsmann has given Wirtz the freedom to excel in front of packed home crowds.

4 Arda Guler

Turkey

Countless players have shouldered the unwanted burden of being dubbed the next Lionel Messi. While most have crumpled under the crushing weight of expectation, others have managed to shrug off the tag and carve out a respectable career. Arda Guler hasn’t quite escaped his billing as the ‘Turkish Messi’, but he is doing his best.

The 19-year-old Real Madrid forward emphatically announced his arrival at Euro 2024 with a rip-snorting curler into the top corner to give Turkey an opening-game victory over Georgia. Lining up opposite Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz, another exciting prospect at the tournament, Guler could help his nation belatedly live up to another unwanted tag of dark horses.

Related

The 10 Youngest Goalscorers in Euro History

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney are just two of the 10 youngest goalscorers in Euro history

3 Jamal Musiala

Germany

If Florian Wirtz can’t quite manage to impact games in the way he would like, then there is another German 21-year-old attacking midfielder who could easily step in and impress. Jamal Musiala was fired up for the tournament, as his Bayern Munich side went trophyless in the 2023/24 season, for the first time since 2012.

Musiala is a game-winner and can provide Julian Nagelsmann’s side with a real spark in attack. Trying to stop arguably the best dribbler in world football is like pinning a wave to the sand. The wriggling menace kick-started the competition with a stunning individual display against Scotland that hints at a bright tournament.

2 Lamine Yamal

Spain

Lamine Yamal is already a record breaker for club and country, and the sky is well and truly the limit for the 16-year-old. As is the case with many La Masia products, Barcelona are hoping that Yamal will be the next-generation Lionel Messi and if he can have an impact for Spain in the way that the Argentine could for his nation at the Qatar World Cup, then he may just live up to the hype.

The school kid who still wears braces marked his first appearance at the tournament – shattering the record for the youngest player in Euros history in the process – with an assist. Spain’s goalscorer Dani Carvajal is twice as old as his compatriot (32).

Related

Who is Barcelona and Spain Wonderkid Lamine Yamal

Lamine Yamal became the youngest player to record an assist for Barcelona in La Liga history at the weekend, but who is the teenage sensation?

1 Jude Bellingham

England

The number one spot on this list has to go to arguably the best player in the world, and he also happens to be only 20 years old. A player that is also in contention for Player of the Tournament outright, of course, Jude Bellingham has to top the power rankings for the junior equivalent.

The attacking midfielder has become a genuine footballing megastar in the last 12 months and could secure the Ballon d’Or if he can be the catalyst for England to obtain a first-ever European Championship win. With expectations higher than they have ever been for the Three Lions, all eyes will be on Bellingham to be a difference-maker at vital times for his country.

All statistics in this article are via Transfermarkt. Correct as of 19th June 2024.