Scouting: UEFA EURO U19, 2024 Edition
10 promising players to follow in the next few years.
Eight countries qualified to the final stage of the U19 EURO 2024 and in the end, as almost always happen, Spain got crowned champions (their twelfth title at this level), even if they were considerably weaker and adopted a more pragmatic style this year. There are limits to what we can learn from a shorter tournament like this, but it was enough to convince me of some of these players’ quality.
I could list names like Saïmon Bouabré, Simone Pafundi, Iker Bravo and even Francesco Camarda here (all of them had some good games at the tournament), but I feel like they’re already well known to anyone who follows a bit of youth football. For that reason, they’ve been excluded and, instead, I focused on players that, at least to me, represented new discoveries.
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GK: Pierce Charles (2005, Sheffield Wed)
The Northern Ireland goalkeeper, Charles is comfortable drawing pressure before breaking lines, moves around really nicely to offer passing lines to defenders and is also able to find teammates with long balls — all that probably relates to his formative years at the Manchester City academy. His ball-striking skills and tendencies to be involved in the build-up phase could be an asset to lots of clubs in need of a ball-playing goalkeeper. What he offers as a passer, however, he lacks controlling his own box, as he can be quite passive when claiming crosses.
🇳🇴 FB: Aleksander Andresen (2005, Stabaek)
Andresen impressed for his physical profile: at just 19 years old, he can drive forward with and without the ball time after time down the line, sprinting to beat his opponents for full a 90 minutes. The Norwegian fullback enjoys short combinations and thrives upon receiving the ball ahead of him, in situations where he can pick it up and keep carrying it forward. His overall speed and acceleration are also a defensive asset. At Stabaek, currently in Norway’s second division, he’s already established as a starter and it shouldn’t take too long for us to see him at a higher level.
🇳🇴 CB: Rasmus Holten (2005, SK Brann)
Playing alongside Andresen, Holten is a solid defender. He isn’t really explosive (takes a while to accelerate), but controls depth well enough in a high line, mostly covering other defenders, and knows how to use his body to his advantage, exploring his upper body strength. At 1.95 meters tall, he’s great at aerial duels too. Professional football means he’s gonna face stronger and faster players, but I think he could still be a solid defender.
🇺🇦 CB: Taras Mykhavko (2005, Dinamo Kiev)
An aggressive, front-footed defender, Mykhavko is always looking to anticipate duels, staying active and taking initiative rather than reacting to the attackers. We can see that in the way he contests aerial balls, pouncing himself over opposite players to attack the ball — that and his jumping reach more than compensates for his fairly low height (considering some of the elite modern defenders), 1.85m. He also played at left-back during the tournament, showing good carries into the final third, but I would definitely say his future lies at the heart of the defense.
He already had experience at professional football, starting seven games for Dinamo Kiev before the U19 EURO and that trend continued after it, with Mykhavko cementing his place at the starting eleven of the Ukrainian team. Fully expect him to be the target of big clubs in the next few transfer windows.
🇩🇰 CB: Villads Nielsen (2005, FK Bodo/Glimt)
Nielsen’s ball-striking skills were on full display at the U19 EURO. The Danish defender can hit some diagonal long balls to perfection, shifting the game from one side of the pitch to another at ease, finding the opposite winger on favorable conditions to take on the defender. He’s much more of a passer than a carrier, but showed promise driving forward too, when space was made available to him. He does have some room to grow physically (he’s 1.92m, lean, and sometimes lets strikers get the best of him in physical duels), but that ability on the ball alone is worth a lot to any club looking to build-up from the back.
🇩🇰 DM: Thomas Jorgensen (2005, FC Copenhagen)
Jorgensen got signed by Viborg FF, also from Denmark, after the tournament. Transfermarkt listed this transaction at 600k euros, making him Viborg’s most expensive transfer ever. Clearly they liked what they saw.
Downing the number 10 shirt, Jorgensen is a left-footed midfielder who usually operates in a deeper zone, even dropping between both center-backs sometimes to help distribute the ball into the final third. He’s quite good at recognizing when to attempt more risky passes and when to circulate the ball to keep possession and does have the ability to break lines with his passes. He doesn’t take too many touches before releasing the ball and knows how to draw pressure before finding space behind the lines.
🇫🇷 CM: Valentin Atangana (2005, Stade Reims)
To me, Atangana was easily one of the best players of the tournament. His ability to evade pressure using little shoulder drops and then carry the ball forward proved to be one of the most important assets of this France squad. When he isn’t carrying the ball, he’s got good timing and the speed to crash the attacking box as a late runner. Furthermore, Atangana is a really good duelist, using his body well to recover and shield the ball upon engaging in physical battles.
At 19 years old, that’s massive, as it enables him to impact professional games, something he’s been doing since last season. He debuted at 17 yo, made seven (out of 18 games played) starts last season (Ligue 1 games only) and is currently an undisputed starter at Stade de Reims. Brace ourselves: French football is about to deliver us another really good midfielder.
🇮🇹 CM: Luca di Maggio (2005, Internazionale)
Mostly a left-sided 8, di Maggio was one of the standouts in a quite balanced Italian team. Aside from some central runs, he likes to get involved in the final third, moving himself laterally to get the ball under less pressure and then carry it inside, to his favorite right foot. The Italian midfielder is also a good dribbler and usually relies on body feints to bait a defender, creating space for passes and shots in the edge of the box.
Internazionale are quite stacked at the midfield right now, so it makes sense that they would send him on loan to a smaller Italian team. In this case, it was Perugia (Serie C, third tier).
🇩🇰 W: Oscar Schwartau (2006, Bröndby IF)
A tall, dribbly winger, Schwartau isn’t the most technically refined player, but he’s still able to control the ball in smaller spaces, as well as turn under pressure before driving forward. A right-footer, he can play from both flanks, going central to combine or attack the box, and I reckon he could be a good attacking midfielder too, under the right context.
After the EURO, he moved from Bröndby IF to Norwich City for around 2.5 million euros. Not really sure about this move early in his career, but time will tell if it was a smart decision. At least he’s starting games at the Championship (two out of three, so far).
🇺🇦 ST: Matviy Ponomarenko (2006, Dinamo Kiev)
Ponomarenko was one of the players that impressed me the most at this year’s edition of the U19 EURO. A relentless runner, he offers a great variety of offensive movements, from in behind runs to dropping deep ones. Coming deep to receive the ball at his feet seems to be his most assertive role right now, one that enables him to display his technical skills (one touch passes, backheels, shoulder drops) and his ability to absorb physical contact before progressing play. He’s quite strong already and works hard defensively too.
He’s got a good goalscoring record at youth level and scored a single goal as a professional for Dinamo Kiev (75 minutes across 9 games, always coming from the bench). Unfortunately, he injured himself at the beginning of this season, so it might take a while for us to see him again.
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