Making Their Mark

Lamine Yamal was not the only player to make a splash at Euro 2024, so Stephen Donovan names five of the tournament’s other breakout stars.

Riccardo Calafiori – Italy
It was a fairly underwhelming defence of the crown as far as Italy were concerned, but they have a new star defender in Riccardo Calafiori. With a good positional sense and a useful turn of pace, he is also good on the ball and represents a new generation of centre-backs for the Azzurri. His performances in Germany helped earn him a summer move to Arsenal.

Marc Guehi – England
Many fans of the Premier League will have already been aware of Marc Guehi’s talents through his mature displays for Crystal Palace, but amid the pressure cooker of a major tournament he took the place of Harry Maguire at the centre England’s defence and was totally seamless. He is now likely to be first choice for the Three Lions for years to come.

Arda Guler – Turkey
Having already shown clear signs of his potential for Real Madrid towards the end of last season, there were high hopes for Arda Guler at Euro 2024 and he truly didn’t disappoint. His wondrous goal against Georgia in his side’s opening match set the tone and he was influential throughout their run to the quarter-finals, also assisting both goals in the last 16 win over Austria.

Nuno Mendes – Portugal
Portugal flattered to deceive on their way to exiting the competition in the quarter-finals, but young defender Nuno Mendes was one of A Selecao’s outstanding performers throughout. The 22-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star showed pace and dynamism when supporting attacks but was also immaculate at the back as his side conceded just once while he was on the field.

Dan Ndoye – Switzerland
One of many emerging stars at Bologna, the versatile Dan Ndoye was a lively presence for Switzerland, playing as both a striker and a wing-back. He continually got himself into threatening positions and always asked questions of opponents, grabbing a well-taken goal against Germany along the way. Even more exciting for the Swiss is that he still has room for improvement.