Germany: Young stars emerge and big names underperform. Fans party on the streets of Germany and grumble about controversial VAR decisions. Ahead of Sunday's final between Spain and England, here's a look at what we've learned from Euro 2024 so far.
Young talents Tournament soccer offers a chance for young players to break through. They're not normally this young. Lamine Yamal has been the star of Euro 2024, especially after his stunning goal against France in the semifinals, which made him the youngest-ever scorer at a men's European Championship.
He turned 17 on Saturday, a day before the final against England in Berlin. German 21-year-olds Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz lit up the tournament for the host nation, and another 21-year-old, Xavi Simons, scored a spectacular goal as the Netherlands lost to England in the semifinals. There was disappointment for Spain midfielder Pedri, also 21, whose tournament was ended by a rough challenge from Germany's Toni Kroos in the quarterfinals.
Misfiring superstars This hasn't been a tournament for Europe's biggest names to shine. Cristiano Ronaldo could have become the European Championship's oldest ever scorer at 39, but finished without any goals from five games amid enduring questions about whether Portugal would be a better team without him on the field. His biggest impact was arguably on tournament security as a string of selfie-seeking fans tried to reach him on the field.
Kylian Mbappé's tournament started with a broken nos.