The round of 16 matches of the European Football Cup held in Germany will start tomorrow, Saturday, with Switzerland meeting Italy, Germany meeting Denmark, Spain meeting Georgia, while England meeting Slovakia next Sunday, then France meeting Belgium and Portugal meeting Slovenia next Monday, and the matches of this round will conclude next Tuesday, with Romania meeting the Netherlands, and Austria meeting Turkey.
After the curtain fell on the group stage, the 16 qualified teams began preparing for the knockout rounds. The first round was an opportunity for some young faces to showcase their talent. Among these young players who excelled in the group stage, there are five players who are twenty-one years old or younger, and they excelled in the group stage.
Spain’s strong performances in the group stage contributed to making it one of the most prominent candidates to win the title, and the most brilliant among its ranks was Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams. Williams, who helped Bilbao be crowned champion of the Spanish Cup for the first time in 40 years last season, proved that he belongs to the elite at the international level, as he posed a constant threat to the defenses of the opposing teams thanks to his speed, dribbling prowess, and strong physical structure, and he was chosen as the best player in the strong match against Italy.
-Jamal Musiala (Germany)
Jamal Musiala was Germany’s most effective striker, scoring a goal in each of the first two games. He added to his dribbling skills, an effective finisher.
Musiala put behind him a poor season with Bayern Munich, who came out completely empty-handed domestically and continentally, and proved that he forms a harmonious duo with Bayer Leverkusen star Christian Wirtz.
– Jude Bellingham (England)
Despite being only 20 years old, Bellingham, who has shone for Real Madrid this season and led them to the double (local league and Champions League), has become a key player in the England national team.
Scoring England’s only goal against Serbia in their opening group game put them on the right track.
Bellingham, along with England’s top scorer Harry Kane and winger Phil Foden, will be the focal point in making the Three Lions team put an end to a long drought from major titles, especially since it was crowned world champion in the tournament it hosted in 1966.
– Arda Guler (Türkiye)
Guler continued his upward trend in recent months in the Spanish ranks of Real Madrid, where he scored 5 goals in his last five matches, and became the youngest player in the history of the European Cup to score a goal in his first match in the continental championship at the age of 19 years and 114 days, erasing the previous record recorded in the name of the Portuguese star. Cristiano Ronaldo, knowing that Guler was not born when the Portuguese star set his record in the 2004 edition.
He scored a wonderful goal against Georgia that will be a candidate for the best goal award in the tournament.
– Lamine Jamal (Spain)
Spanish winger Lamine Jamal became the youngest player to play a match in the European Cup finals when he participated for his country’s national team against Croatia (3-0). In the same match, Jamal became the youngest player to make a decisive pass when Dani Carvajal converted his cross at the end of the first half and scored the third goal for his country.