Two Midfielders that Could Steal the Show at UEFA Euro 2024

With the club football season drawing to a close, anticipation has reached a fever pitch for UEFA Euro 2024. Between the curtain raiser between Germany and Scotland at the Allianz Arena on June 14th to the finale in Berlin exactly a month later, the continent's 24 finest international teams will battle it out for continental supremacy.

With the best countries in the world, all competing, naturally the best players will be too. And here are two in particular that we can see stealing the show.

Kylian Mbapppe

At just 25 years of age, Kylian Mbappe already has the world at his feet. He has already announced that he will be leaving Paris Saint-German in the summer after leading them to yet another Ligue 1 crown as well as the UEFA Champions League semifinals. Since his €170m move from AS Monaco in the summer of 2017, he has netted a mighty 256 goals in 307 appearances in all competitions. He's widely expected to make the move to the Bernabeu this summer and if that wasn't enough, he's also among the favourites to win the Ballon d'Or.

Paddy Power has made France 7/2 second favourites to win the Euros this summer and if they can live up to the billing, Les Bleus will end their 24-year European Championship drought. And speaking of the Irish gambling giant, it isn't just it isn't just outright betting that they are providing on the action this summer. They will have a bucketload of promotions throughout the tournament and as well as that, their table games such as Paddy Power blackjack and poker.

One man who won't be taking a rest from the action however is Mbappe. The Frenchman is without a doubt his country's leading light, even taking over as captain following the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He led his team to the final of that particular tournament, their second in succession, and he even netted a blistering hat trick in the final. Ultimately the French would have to succumb to Lionel Messi and Argentina, but with Mbappe firing on all cylinders once more this summer, they will be aiming to leave that Lusail heartbreak firmly in the rearview mirror.

KYLIAN MBAPPE WORLD CUP FINAL HAT-TRICK 👑 pic.twitter.com/FEXUS4u1IJ

— GOAL (@goal) December 18, 2022

Toni Kroos

Much like Zinedine Zidane did before the 2006 FIFA World Cup - also hosted in Germany - Toni Kroos has announced that he will retire from professional football at the end of Euro 2024. His contract was seen to come to an end at Real Madrid this summer and while he was expected to be offered new terms after the UEFA Champions League final, the former Bayern Munich man has opted to bow out from the game at the peak of his powers. Now, he will be looking to end his career on top by leading his beloved Die Mannschaft to European glory.

The Germans have been a shell of their former selves in recent years. They have bowed out from the last two World Cups at the group stage and their form since Qatar 18 months ago has been disastrous. However, their midfield metronome Kroos was reintroduced to the fold a couple of months ago, and immediately Julien Nagelsmann's side started picking up results.

Back-to-back victories against France and the Netherlands in warm-up matches in March have brought positivity back to German football just as Jurgen Klinsmann's appointment as national team manager did in 2006. Back then, Germany reached the semifinals as the host nation, and a similar result this year would be considered an achievement. Expect Kroos to dazzle on the grandest stage one final time.