The best players at Euro 2024 | OneFootball

Well, there we have it. Euro 2024 is over.

Spain won a record-breaking fourth European Championship — moving one clear of Germany — thanks to their 2-1 win over England in the final in Berlin.

After Nico Williams had given Spain a lead early in the second half, Cole Palmer’s strike looked to be taking another Euros final to extra-time. But Mikel Oyarzabal won it in the final minutes to give La Roja the glory.

Now the tournament is over we can take a look back at the stars of the show. There were a host of big names in Germany for the month-long tournament, and a few stood out more than most.

Euro 2024 Player of the Tournament

Rodri (Spain)

No matter who you support, it’s hard to deny that Spain were worthy winners of Euro 2024. La Roja were the only nation to really look on top form in Germany this summer, playing as a well set-out despite the absence of star names that other nations might have had.

The main man for Spain, as chosen by UEFA’s technical observers, was Rodri. We’ve all grown accustomed to Rodri’s importance in whatever team he plays in. He is the lynchpin of Pep Guardiola’s midfield for Manchester City and plays the same role for Spain.

Rodri played 521 minutes of Spain’s 660 at Euro 2024, missing the third group stage game against Albania due to suspension, and only failing to complete two of the six matches he had started. One of those did come in the final, as Rodri had to be taken off at half time due to injury.

A pass-master, Rodri was in the top 10 for passes attempted (436) and completed (407) at Euro 2024, with an accuracy of 93.35%. He also attempted the 10th-most final third passes with 120 and had 501 touches. Rodri was also key to Spain regaining possession. He ranked top at Euro 2024 for possessions won in the middle third at 23, while also winning the third-most possessions in the attacking third (six). Rodri also made 13 tackles, the eighth-most at Euro 2024.

The Player of the Tournament award, and the Young Player of the Tournament award, was selected by UEFA’s technical observers of Euro 2024, which includes a number of big names in football history. These were Fabio Capello, Ioan Lupescu, Michael O’Neill, David Moyes, Aljosa Asanovic, Rafael Benitez, Avram Grant, Packie Bonner, Frank de Boer, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Aitor Karanka and Jean-Francois Domergue.

Euro 2024 Young Player of the Tournament

Lamine Yamal (Spain)

Completing the Spanish double to go with their trophy, this award wasn’t going to anyone else. Lamine Yamal was the young star on display at Euro 2024, with all eyes on him at the start of the tournament. Records were going to be broken the moment he stepped on a pitch in Germany, and there were a few more that could have fallen if Yamal and Spain prolonged their stay.

And pretty much every record that could be broken by Yamal, was. Starting in Spain’s 3-0 win over Croatia in their opening game, Yamal became the youngest ever player in men’s European Championship history, aged 16 and 338 days. On that same day, Yamal became the youngest player to record an assist at a men’s European Championship, setting up Dani Carvajal for Spain’s third goal.

He was also the youngest player to appear in a knockout stage match at the men’s European Championship and the youngest to appear in a final, doing so one day after his 17th birthday. And then, the big one, Yamal scored a rocket to equalise for Spain in their 2-1 semi-final win over France — the moment all fans had been waiting for. In doing so, Yamal became the youngest ever player to score in a major men’s international tournament, breaking a record sent by Pele in the 1958 World Cup.

But it wasn’t just about records for Yamal. He was a genuinely important part of Spain’s success. The 17-year-old created 19 chances and eight big chances at Euro 2024, more than any other player. He recorded four assists, the first Spanish player to hit that feat in a single European Championship tournament and the joint-most any player as managed since Opta’s records began in 1980. Yamal also ranked in the top 10 for shots and shots on target, with one goal.

Euro 2024 Golden Boot

Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Harry Kane (England), Georges Mikautadze (Georgia), Jamal Musiala (Germany), Dani Olmo (Spain), Ivan Schranz (Slovakia)

Normally when there is a tie for the Golden Boot at a European Championship, the award goes to the player with the most assists. If there is still a tie there, then minutes played comes in. In that case, Dani Olmo would have taken the crown with three goals and two assists. However, for Euro 2024, UEFA decided that there would be no tie breaker, with six players eventually getting a share of the Golden Boot, all tied on three goals.

It’s the seventh time as little as three goals has been enough to secure the Golden Boot, though that does include the first three tournaments where there were only four teams involved and four matches played. In more recent history, three goals was enough to give Fernando Torres the Golden Boot at Euro 2012, taking the award over Mario Gomez on minutes played (having both recorded one assist).

Olmo’s goals all came in the knockout stages, having been drafted into the XI to replace the injured Pedri. Georges Mikautadze scored all three of his goals in the group stage, including one in Georgia’s famous 2-0 win over Portugal to secure their spot in the last 16. Cody Gakpo, Ivan Schranz, Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane also scored three goals, with the latter trio not managing an assist.