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Individual performances are the norm of big international competitions, and sometimes these individual performances come from young players who kick-start their careers in these competitions, their baptism by fire. Think Cristiano Ronaldo of the Euro 2004, his threshold from being potentially one of the best became the first step to be the superstar he is today.
The prestigious "Young Player of the tournament" award goes to the player under the age of twenty-two who has had a brilliant tournament or has shown incredible potential to go on to be one of the best. There have been quite a few players at Euro 16 fitting the description, we look at the contenders to pick up the award.
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# Eric Dier
The only shining light of the English team, he announced himself in the tournament with a brilliant free kick against Russia, only to see it get cancelled out in injury time. After a gruelling season with Tottenham in which he almost played all the games, he had three great games at the heart of midfield (during the group stages) for the Three Lions.
He got taken off after half-time in the loss against Iceland, and the England midfield looked disjointed and devoid of inspiration. He may not be your next Pirlo, but he is definitely one around whom a team can be built.
# Breel Embolo
The Swiss wonder-kid started the competition on the bench, but soon was promoted to the starting line-up to provide inspiration to an otherwise poor frontline of the Swiss. Strong and fast, he may not have set the world alight, but his clever movement afforded much more space to the likes of Shaqiri who had an appalling till that stage in the competition.
Signing for Schalke during the tournament, he was linked to the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool, and at 19 years, with the strength and technical ability he possesses he is one to keep an eye out for.
# Bartosz Kapustka
Starting at the heart of midfield for Poland, the 19-year-old who plays for Cracovia was brilliant in the opening two games of the competition (especially against the Northern Irish), his escapades not going unnoticed in the press, and was complimented by the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Gary Linker on his performances.
A deep-lying midfielder, intelligent on the ball, with great distribution, the sky is the limit for the young Polish star. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more of the teenager in the recent future.
# Renato Sanches
Now we are getting into the heavyweight section of the list. Renato Sanches broke into the Benfica first team around October of 2015, since then he has turned into one of the most well-known teenagers in the echelons of football. Being courted by the likes of Manchester United he signed for Bayern before the Euros started.
Bullishly string on the ball, great vision, lovely distribution and a great shot on him, he is one of those modern footballers who can do anything. Bayern have a gem on their hands here, and he showed exactly what he can do against Poland and followed it up with a nerveless penalty in the shootout. If he picks something out of his hand in the finals, the award will most likely go his away.
Honourable Exclusions: Elseid Hysaj, Arkadiusz Milik, George Williams and Ozan Tufan.
#Joshua Kimmich
He might have got a lucky break to get into the team, but boy has he done well since then. Playing his first game against the Irish, he was brilliant, so good that Joachim Löw dropped Howedes to start the Bayern youngster in the round of 16.
He hasn't looked back since then, a defensive midfielder by trade, he showed maturity beyond his years to adapt to a relatively unknown position. Whether it is putting mean crosses in the box, or a last-ditch challenge, or counter the Italians in their formation, or getting into the box to head balls, he has been impeccable. He is, at the moment, the favourite to pick up the award.
