By: Ellie Zhang 1
There are plenty of talented youngsters who may not be as widely known as others in football. The 2024 Euro gives an opportunity for these younger players to showcase their abilities on the field.
One player you may find is Lamine Yamal. The 16-year-old is the youngest goal scorer in La Liga History, the first Spanish football league, founded in 1929. He plays as a right winger, an attacker stationed near the touchlines. Yamal is currently in the Barcelona Football Club, and won his first title with them on May 14, 2023. He has scored a total of 7 goals between 2023-2024.
Once France’s youngest player at the age of 17, Warren Zaïre Emery was the youngest to represent the country since 1914 at the professional level. As of August 2022, he debuted for the Paris Saint-Germain football team. Currently, he is 18 years old and plays midfielder, the player who typically travels the greatest distance during a match. He scored a total of 5 goals between 2022-2024.
‘Turkish Messi’ is the nickname of the young star, Arda Güler, who scored a total of 93 goals for Real Madrid. While his position is primarily midfielder he is skilled enough to play a number of attacking roles. Güler made his senior debut for Turkey on November 19, 2022.
21-year-old Florian Wirtz and his team, Bayer Leverkusen, became the first ever football team to go an entire Bundesliga (Germany’s top division soccer) season unbeaten; Wirtz was one of the key players to this victory. He scored 42 goals total this season; 18 goals and 19 assists. Wirtz’s main position is midfielder, but he also serves as a great right winger.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/68969207
Wikipedia