Euro 2024 Players to Watch
Euro 2024 Players to Watch
Seeing players who many may not often watch or even hear of is part of what draws so many people to major international football events.
There are standout players in every competition, whether it’s the World Cup or the European Championship, and Euro 2024 won’t be any different.
However, you won’t find well-known players on this list. Not present are Kobbie Mainoo, Lamine Yamal, Xavi Simons, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Kylian Mbappé, Florian Wirtz, or Jamal Musiala.
No, you already know they’re rather useful; the idea here is to find up-and-coming talent that may be a bit more niche—basically, guys your dad hasn’t heard of, and if he does, good for him for still playing Football Manager.
It’s true that the brief is very ambiguous and has arbitrary limits, but whatever, it’s finished.
For a list of the nine Euro 2024 players to keep an eye on, continue reading.
Zeno Debast
Centre-Back, Belgium
Zeno Debast, who recently finished his second full season with the senior team of Anderlecht, appears to be having a fantastic summer. In addition to joining famed talent scout Sporting CP in a contract apparently valued at an initial €16 million, it looks like he will be making his big international tournament debut at Euro 2024, which may be the first of many.
Debast has been observed by several prominent European teams for a few years due to his striking centre-back style of play.
It won’t be shocking to hear that he was an offensive midfielder in his childhood football career since he is very at ease with the ball and an excellent mover of the play.
However, he now embodies the contemporary centre back well. His prowess with the ball is evident from the fact that he ranked fourth among all defenders (minimum 1,000 minutes played) in the top 10 European leagues this season with an average of 27.8 carries (movements of five metres or more with the ball) per ninety minutes in the Belgian Pro League.
Furthermore, Debast ranked 13th among the same group of players with 174 carries that advanced the ball at least 10 metres upfield; nevertheless, it should be noted that some of the players who ranked higher than him had the benefit of being full-backs.
Debast, who plays centre defence on the right side, is tall, nimble, and has an advanced sense of vision. Even though he only completed 84% of open-play passes, he led all Pro League centre-backs in both progressive passes (136) and long balls (446). This suggests that he has a positive mindset, which may naturally result in less successful passes.
Strahinja Pavlovic
Centre-Back, Serbia
Over the years, Serbia has produced several very good defenders; Strahinja Pavlovic seems to be another; the Red Bull Salzburg player is kind of a cross between the traditional and modern centre-back sorts.
You see, Pavlovic first stands out mostly because of his physical characteristics, even if Debast is perhaps more well-known for his passing and skill with the ball at his feet.
He is essentially a prime physical specimen and an absolute unit, and his defensive production reflects this. No striker will like playing against him.
Just three players, although facing at least 177 more duels than him, could match his 64.1% duels success percentage among all outfielders to play at least 1,000 minutes in the Austrian Bundesliga this season. Pavlovic’s 71.9% aerial victory percentage was only surpassed by two other outfield players; his total of 153 was also more than three times that of the two players above him.
However, his natural strength shouldn’t give rise to misunderstandings regarding his methods. He may not have “got a good touch for a big man,” but he is undoubtedly happy to get the ball and score goals. He tied for fifth place among outfielders for progressive carries of at least 10 metres (122), and he ranked third for progressive carries of 345. These stats show how eager he is to put Salzburg ahead.
His unexpected change in speed is helpful in this regard as well, and it also highlights his remarkable recuperation abilities because, once underway, he truly transforms.
Only three players under 24 will have more senior caps than Pavlovic at Euro 2024—Illia Zabarnyi, Bukayo Saka, and Dominik Szoboszlai—with 35 caps already at the age of 23. Pavlovic will almost certainly start on the left of a back three.
It remains to be seen if he can actually help Serbia make an impression, but there’s a good chance Pavlovic sticks out—in more ways than one.
Martin Baturina
Central Midfielder, Croatia
When Martin Baturina ultimately outgrows Dinamo Zagreb, whom he assisted in leading to a league and cup double this season, he appears destined for a career at the pinnacle of the European game. Baturina is clearly another jewel off the production line.
Baturina is a dynamic and agile player who is ranked between ten and eight, although he has good ball handling and distribution skills. Though he could be the long-term successor to Luka Modrić, Baturina is a bit more explosive than the Real Madrid star—or at least this version of the 38-year-old—despite the comparisons between the two players.
Baturina is a left half-space operator who provides vision, creativity, and flare to his side in the attacking half. In the Croatian first division in 2023–24, he was second for both dribbling attempts (100) and opportunities created in open play (48).
Perhaps his best quality on the ball is his optimism. Not only does he not hesitate to take the game by storm, but his fearlessness, boldness, and technical skill allow him to rapidly convert defence into attack on his own.
Only three players have more progressive carries this season than Baturina (174), and only Dario Maresic, a defender who plays in less crowded parts of the field, has more than 100 of those carries (100 of which saw him advance the ball by at least 10 metres).
He even puts in a lot of effort when attacking without the ball, as seen by the fact that his 22 possession recoveries in the last third of play rank seventh in the Prva HNL this season.
With just three senior caps under his belt thus far due to Zlatko Dalic’s limited usage of him, he’ll probably have to settle for playing off the bench. Nonetheless, he possesses the type of talent that would undoubtedly be useful as a stand-in if needed, which it will eventually come to pass.
Heorhii Sudakov
Central Midfielder, Ukraine
Heorhii Sudakov, who was a member of the Ukrainian team that defeated France to go to the 2023 Under-21 European Championship semifinals, appears to be the next young Ukrainian to bring home a hefty payday for Shakhtar Donetsk.
Large teams are allegedly showing interest in Sudakov, given that his release clause is supposedly set at €150 million and that he was the subject of over €40 million in rejected bids.
He has allegedly recruited public relations specialists to enhance his image in Western Europe; nevertheless, Opta Analyst has not been approached, I assure you! No, he’s just featured because he’s interesting and kind of an outcast.
Technical and well-groomed, Sudakov aims to put his side ahead of the opposition. He possesses the inventiveness, creativity, and goal-scoring ability to play as a number 10, as well as the poise and dexterity to make passes from a deeper position in confined areas.
During the competition last summer, he was more of the latter, serving as Ukraine’s main creator and frequently cutting left to connect with Mykhailo Mudryk, a former teammate of Shakhtar.
With an average of 84.5 touches per ninety minutes, he was the most active player for Ukraine during the tournament; only Arsenii Batahov, the center-back, played 74.8 passes more than the much sought-after Shakhtar midfielder (68). However, Sudakov’s fourth-place finish for passes made in the opposition’s half (46.8) shows that he remains positive even when he is playing deeper.
His decision to run with the ball frequently demonstrated his confidence with it; out of all the midfielders who played at least 100 minutes in the tournament, his 28.2 carries per ninety were the highest.
Though he was the non-defender with the most touches (65.5) and carries (18.7) per 90 for Ukraine in qualification, Sudakov and his team won’t see nearly as much of the ball as that this summer.
In any case, having started all one of Germany’s ten Euro 2024 qualifiers, he is set up for a big part there. If Germany can repeat their Euro 2020 run to the quarterfinals, Sudakov will have done his part.
Euro 2024 Players to Watch In Summary
- Euro 2024 will showcase up-and-coming talents who may not be well-known to the general public.
- Zeno Debast, a Belgian centre-back, is known for his ball-playing abilities and progressive passing.
- Strahinja Pavlovic, a Serbian centre-back, combines physical strength with good ball progression and aerial dominance.
- Martin Baturina, a Croatian midfielder, is a dynamic and creative player who excels in transitioning defence into attack.
- Heorhii Sudakov, a Ukrainian midfielder, is a technically gifted player with an eye for goal and the ability to create chances.
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