Coming off the bench during England’s 1-0 victory over Croatia in their first match in Euro 2020, Jude Bellingham became the youngest player to appear in the tournament. Let’s now have a look at the youngest players that made an appearance before the former Birmingham player.
Jetro Willems (18 years and 71 days at Euro 2012)
Willems started for Holland during their first group game during Euro 2012. Despite the Oranje finishing at the bottom of the table, the youngster played in all three games. Moreover, until Bellingham came on, he held the record for being the youngest player to feature in the Euros.
Enzo Scifo (18 years and 115 days at Euro 1984)
Scifo made his debut for the Belgian national team a week before Euro 1984, and made a name for himself during the tournament. He provided the assist for Belgium’s second goal against Yugoslavia in their 2-0 victory, and has since gone down as a legend.
Valeri Bojinov (18 years and 128 days at Euro 2004)
Bojinov came on as a second-half substitute in their final group game against Italy, which they lost 2-1 courtesy of Antonio Cassano’s injury-time winner. The player did not have the most prolific career, scoring only 6 goals in over 40 appearances. Moreover, Bulgaria have not qualified for the tournament since 2004.
Johan Vonlanthen (18 years and 137 days at Euro 2004)
Colombian-born Johan Vonlanthen made his international debut for Switzerland as a late substitute in a friendly win over Liechtenstein on June 6, 2004. Just 11 days later he would make his major tournament bow as a late substitute during their 3-0 defeat by England in their second Group B game.
Marcus Rashford (18 years and 229 days at Euro 2016)
The English forward made his debut for the national team only four months after making his debut for Manchester United. He has since gone on to establish himself as one of the most prominent players for United, and enjoyed his most productive seasons in the last two campaigns.
