The Golden Boy's playing in the Euro 2024
The Euro 2024 in Germany is starting this Friday, and here we list all the Golden Boy award winners that will participate for their country in the tournament. As a bonus we are also listing the young players that have a (realistic) chance of winning the award later this year as well.
Golden Boy award winners participating
There are five previous awrd winners that will represent their country in the upcoming tournament, and we list them here in order by year they won.
Jude Bellingham, England - award winner 2023
Our latest golden boy Jude Bellingham will represent his England, no surprise there considering what he has achieved in his club Real Madrid this season. England are one of the favourites to win and Jude Bellingham is one of the biggest stars in the team alongside Harry Kane, and possibly we can include Phil Foden in the same category.
Pedri, Spain - award winner 2021
The 2021 award winner Pedri is one the most likely-to-start players in Spanish team this Euro, and there is no doubt he will be a key part in Spains eventual success in this tournament. In the final friendly match Pedri scored a brace in the 5-1 win against Northern Ireland, and he will not only be the key playmaker, he is also a player that can score crucial goals for his team.
João Felix, Portugal - award winner 2019
While the two previous players are part of the very foundation of their team, João Felix will most likely primarily act as a super-sub this tournament. Even though Felix does not always perform that great in his clubs he is always an appreciated player in the national team. Portugal do however have a fierce competition up in the front so he won't be in the start lineup in most matches, but he will surely come on to the pitch in the second half’s.
Matthijs de Ligt, Netherlands - award winner 2018
The Golden Boy from 2018, the Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt, is naturally part of the Dutch squad but it is actually not certain he will be a starting player. Captain Virgil van Dijk is of course, the number one choice in the defense line and de Ligt often sees himself sidelined by Manchester City's Nathan Aké in the second position. He will most likely not be without playing time though, but how much he will be on the pitch remains to be seen.
Kylian Mbappé, France - award winner 2017
Kylian Mbappé is not only part of France squad, but he is also the biggest star of this championship. He newly, and finally, signed for his dream club Real Madrid so not only is Mbappé the worlds best striker at the moment, he will also enter the competition in a brilliant mood and most likely with a big appetite for revenge after losing the World Cup final a year and half ago. Together with England’s Harry Kane he is big favourite to grab the Golden Boot title as well.
Potentially Golden Boy award winners 2024 playing in the Euro
It is not only Golden Boy award winners that participate in this championship, but we also have a bunch of players that are potential winners of the award this year. We have already reported which the favourite players are to win this year, but apart from the very top candidates we also have a couple of players right behind them in the Euro 2024.
Missing in the list below is Spain’s and Barcelona’s great defender talent Pau Cubarsi. He was part of Spain’s preliminary squad but was cut out as one the final names, so unfortunately for him he won’t participate in this championship.
Lamine Yamal, Spain
The Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal is at the moment the favourite to grab the award at the moment and he is not only part of the Spanish Euro squad, but also predicted to start the match for Spain against Croatia on Saturday. Yamal is also the youngest player of all in this tournament, he will turn 17 the day before the final.
João Neves, Portugal
The Benfica midfielder João Neves is part of Portugal’s squad but unlike Yamal, he is not likely to be in the start lineup. He will most likely get his chances as a substitute in a couple of matches, but due to hard competition among players in Portugal, he is more in Germany “to learn” this time.
Warren Zaïre-Emery, France
Paris Saint-Germain’s 18-year-old Warren Zaïre-Emery has been more or less a regular starting player this season, but in the national team he is not likely to start, at least not in the beginning of the tournament. Like Neves he will probably come on to the fields in some matches as a substitute, but it is not likely he will be a key player for France this tournament.
Kobbie Mainoo, England
Kobbie Mainoo have had his breakthrough in Manchester United this season and it has led to him being part of the England squad. But not only that, it is actually not unlikely that he will be on the pitch when England’s first match against Serbia starts. At the moment Mainoo is behind the previous mentioned guys in the Golden Boy award race, but a successful Euro might bring him up in the award discussions.
Arthur Vermeeren, Belgium
Arthur Vermeeren is expected to be Belgium’s next midfield star and the 19-year-old Atlético Madrid player is not just in Germany to learn, he is very much a player that very well might be a starting player for Belgium. In the Golden Boy award discussions, he is a bit behind the guys above so he would really need to show himself from his best side in Germany to have a chance to grab the award.
Kenan Yıldız, Turkey
The Turkish attacking midfielder/forward Kenan Yıldız have been receiving more and more playing time in his club Juventus as this season have prolonged, and even though 6 goals in 39 competition matches might not sound that impressive, the expectations are high on this 19-year-old player. He has started four out of the five last games for Turkey so he is not only in the squad because he is an exceptional talent, he is also expected to play a lot in this Euro.
Also...
Missing Turkish Arda Güler above? Well, officially he is not on the list as one of the candidates, read more about it here, which is why we don't have him listed as one of the players above.