Euro 2025 breakout stars: Which U21 players will shine?

The 14th variation of the women's European Championship is acceptable to statesman connected July 2 successful Switzerland and, historically, large planetary tournaments person proven to beryllium a hotbed of emerging talents.

A showpiece lawsuit gives the stars of time a platform, with young players often catapulted consecutive to stardom with bully performances. Recent occurrence stories see Linda Caicedo (Colombia), Lena Oberdorf (Germany) and Salma Paralluelo (Spain).

Here are 5 players aged 21 oregon younger to support an oculus connected during this summer.

Sydney Schertenleib (18, FW, Switzerland)

A standout subordinate for Switzerland's younker sides, Schertenleib's breakthrough came successful 2022 with FC Zürich and Grasshopper, earlier she joined Barcelona successful 2024. In her archetypal play with the star-studded Blaugrana, the 18-year-old recorded 4 extremity contributions successful Liga F.

Her elder planetary debut besides came successful 2024 and Schertenleib has shown herself to beryllium a invaluable attacking weapon, with an quality to screen each leaf of writer betwixt the 2 boxes. Her positioning during the antithetic phases is superb arsenic she offers enactment for her teammates and she has received 6.3 progressive passes per 90 minutes successful Liga F this season, which puts her successful the apical percentile.

She is originative arsenic well, consistently looking to interruption lines and enactment successful unsafe balls successful the last third, and her 6.1 shot-creating actions per 90 this play is among the champion successful Liga F. Her determination making needs immoderate good tuning, but her shots are usually a large blend betwixt powerfulness and finesse.

At 5-foot-10 she is among the taller women's players, but she is precise agile with bully adjacent control. Her trademark agelong strides let her to retrieve possession and transportation the shot forward, and she has averaged 3.4 progressive carries per 90 successful the league.

Switzerland person been winless successful their past six games successful the pb up to Euro 2025 and, successful lack of overmuch acquisition successful attack, Schertenleib volition transportation a batch of hopes for the big federation connected her young shoulders.

Esmee Brugts (21, LW/LB, Netherlands)

Netherlands are looking to recreate their occurrence from Euro 2017, erstwhile a flamboyant near winger (Lieke Martens) terrorized defenses and led them to glory. They present person an electrical winger susceptible of recreating immoderate of that magic.

Brugts has recorded 10+ extremity contributions successful each of the past 2 seasons with Barcelona (10 successful 2024-25 and 13 successful 2023-24). And she is blessed with a thunderous close foot, making her a large menace erstwhile cutting wrong oregon shooting from distance.

The erstwhile PSV subordinate is an fantabulous shot bearer with speedy feet and adjacent power that allows her to flight from choky spaces, and she has averaged 3.4 progressive carries per 90 astatine Barcelona this season. Her gait besides makes her a nightmare for immoderate absorption afloat backmost to woody with.

A earthy winger, Brugts has often been started astatine left-back but takes the accidental to complaint guardant astatine each opportunity. Indeed, astir 57% of her full touches person travel successful the attacking 3rd this season. However, she has besides improved her antiaircraft contributions successful 1-vs.-1 situations, winning 29 of her 37 attempted tackles successful Liga F this season.

Netherlands person scored conscionable 1 extremity successful their past 2 games against Germany and Scotland, truthful they volition beryllium hoping that Brugts' show tin assistance them astatine some ends of the pitch.

Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir (21, GK, Iceland)

Rúnarsdóttir was touted arsenic the astir promising subordinate successful the Icelandic league successful 2020, earning a large estimation astatine her nine Fylkir, and yet moved to Bayern Munich successful 2022. This year, she had a breakout play connected indebtedness astatine Inter Milan arsenic she was voted the champion goalkeeper successful Serie A (after keeping 10 cleanable sheets successful 23 games) and helped the Italian broadside decorativeness 2nd to unafraid European shot for adjacent season.

According to FBref, lone Portugal's Inês Pereira (0.4 goals saved per 90) has averaged a amended goals-saved complaint than Rúnarsdóttir successful Europe's apical 5 leagues this season. With an 82% prevention percentage, she allowed 9 less goals than expected based connected the post-shot expected goals model.

At 6-foot-2, she is gangly but has fantabulous reflexes to propulsion disconnected saves from adjacent scope and is besides speedy to get down debased erstwhile needed. But determination are inactive areas to improve. She doesn't often follow a proactive attack to stopping absorption crosses by coming retired to assertion the ball, and her quality to punch wide isn't the astir reassuring either.

Still, astatine conscionable 21, she looks acceptable to go a mainstay for Iceland for years to come.

Ellen Wangerheim (20, ST, Sweden)

Wangerheim has been making waves successful Sweden since the commencement of 2025 and the young Hammarby striker has already scored 10 goals successful 10 games for her nine truthful acold successful the Damallsvenskan.

The 21-year-old shares a batch of traits with her compatriot Stina Blackstenius, who scored the victor for Arsenal successful this year's UEFA Champions League last vs. Barcelona, and her main spot is her movement, which allows her to onslaught a defender's unsighted broadside and look unmarked astatine the acold post.

Wangerheim has an innate knowing of the timing and way of runs successful behind, allowing her to consistently get connected the extremity of high-quality chances. Her gait is besides cardinal successful being capable to make an other gait of abstraction for a changeable and, contempt being 5-foot-6, she is besides capable to get connected the extremity of crosses and connection an aerial threat.

She has country to amended her shot striking, occurrence complaint successful duels, and determination making nether pressure. But successful a Sweden onslaught that chiefly relies connected stars from the FIFA Women's World Cup six years ago, Wangerheim is simply a enactment of caller aerial and volition assistance exploit bushed defenses this summer.

Emilia Szymczak (19, CB, Poland)

Poland person qualified for their first-ever large contention and portion each eyes volition beryllium connected her Barcelona teammate and Europe's apical extremity scorer this season, Ewa Pajor, Szymczak volition beryllium tasked with helping to support things choky astatine the different end.

The young midfielder-turned-defender has been progressive successful the pb up to the tournament, playing a portion successful Poland's qualifying games against Austria, and has 10 caps for her state contempt not making a elder quality for Barcelona yet.

Szymczak's main spot lies successful her ball-playing ability. She loves to orchestrate play from deep, has the scope and imaginativeness to motorboat close agelong balls, and tin springboard her broadside from defence to onslaught with 1 swift pass. But she besides has a bully speechmaking of the game, which allows her to presumption herself good to disrupt absorption attacks, and is not acrophobic to usage her physicality to bully players disconnected the shot and beryllium assertive to triumph her duels.

Of course, astatine 19 and with small elder experience, she isn't a finished merchandise yet and tin amended her shielding of the shot better, arsenic good arsenic her 1-vs.-1 battles. But if Poland are to proceed making past astatine Euro 2025, she volition surely play a ample part.