Originally scheduled for the spring of 2020, the Euro 2020 tournament was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and instead kicked off last week in Rome.
The quadrennial tournament was supposed to be played at 13 different venues in 13 countries, a rare one-off occurrence to celebrate the 60th “birthday” of the tournament. But due to various restrictions, the number of venues is now down to 11, with the semifinal and final to be played at Wembley Stadium in London.
Though obviously not the global phenomenon that is the World Cup, the Euro Championship captivates audiences around the world with such a large portion of the world’s population of European descent.
But because the tournaments happen every four years and so much of the global support is based on loyalty to heritage or country of origin, it can be hard to keep up with which teams are taking part, and who the players are year to year.
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Check out the charts below provided by Statista to see the market value of some of the top players participating, which teams leaned older or younger with their roster selections, and how some of the top professional clubs are represented in the tournament.
Average age of players at Euro 2020 by country
You will find more infographics at Statista
As you can see in the chart above, Sweden has, on average, the oldest roster in the tournament with an average age of 29.2 followed by Belgium (29.1), Slovakia (28.2), Finland (28.1) and Hungary (28) to round out the top five.
Sweden and Belgium have built similar teams, deciding to lean heavily on veteran defenders while their younger players tend to be forwards. This is likely due to the pace often provided by younger players. Sweden does not have a defender under the age of 26 and five of their nine defenders are over 30, including captain Andreas Granqvist at 36.
Meanwhile, four of Belgium’s eight defenders are listed over 30, including 35-year-old Thomas Vermaelen.
On the other end of the spectrum, Turkey is fielding the youngest team in Euro 2020 with an average age of 24.9. England (25.2), Wales (25.5), Ukraine (26.4) and Spain (26.5) round out the five youngest teams.
It is a complete youth movement for Turkey, who have only two players on the entire team over the age of 30. Turkey does not have a midfielder or defender over 30 and many players are in their early 20s. If not for captain Burak Yilmaz (35), Turkey’s average age would be even lower.
Players with the highest market value at Euro 2020
You will find more infographics at Statista
That England team is well represented in the list of Euro 2020 players with the highest market value. Harry Kane, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford all rank in the top 10 while Phil Foden is a little further down the list.
Several of the top power nations in soccer are represented on the list in addition to the five players from England. Five of the 27 players are from Germany, four each from Spain and Portugal, three from Belgium and two each from the Netherlands and France.
The most expensive player in the tournament is French forward Kylian Mbappe at 160 million euros. Kane comes in second at 120 million euros and Alexander-Arnold, Sancho, Sterling and Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne sit at 100 million euros.
Professional soccer clubs with the most players at Euro 2020
You will find more infographics at Statista
English Premier League
When not representing their home countries, the players at Euro 2020 are spread out across Europe and the world playing with their club teams. It should be no surprise how many of the players at Euro 2020 play in the EPL with an English professional team as it is the most-watched sports league in the world.
Reigning Premier League champion Manchester City and Champions League Sportsbook Chelsea each have 15 players in the tournament, the most of any club teams. Germany’s Ilkay Gundogan, Portugal’s Ruben Dias and Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne are some of the tournament’s top players and all play for Man City while Germany’s Kai Havertz, England’s Mason Mount, France’s N’Golo Kante and Croatia’s Mateo Kovacic suit up for Chelsea.
EPL squads Manchester United (10), Liverpool (8) and Tottenham (8) are also well represented at the tournament.
Bundesliga
The German Bundesliga has three of the eight teams with 10 or more players at Euro 2020 as Bayern Munich is second with 14 players while Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach have 10 each.
The rest of the list is mostly dominated by Serie A teams like Juventus and Inter Milan, but there are a couple of interesting non-powerhouse teams on the list who play outside Europe’s biggest professional leagues.
Dynamo Kyiv plays in the Ukrainian Premier League and has 11 players at the tournament because 10 players on that squad play for Ukraine’s national team. Dinamo Zagreb is in a similar position as they play in the small Croatian First Football League, but five of their players play for Croatia’s national team.
