The 16-year-old La Masia talent Lamine Yamal surpassed Switzerland's Johann Vonlanthen as the youngest goal scorer in the history of Euros. The Spanish right winger scored the equalizer against France in the Euro 2024 semi-final from outside the box to register his name in the history books.
The Euro is one of the biggest platforms for European football players to showcase their talent. Most young players often falter under pressure or spend years on the training grounds before making their mark on the world stage but the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney stand out among the elites who tasted success early in their careers. In this article, we'll look at the top 5 youngest scorers in the UEFA Euro history.
Read Also: Top 5 Goalscorers of UEFA Euro 2024
Top Five youngest scorers in UEFA Euro history
5. Dragan Stojkovic (Serbia/Yugoslavia) – 19 years 108 days
The present Serbian manager Dragan Stojkovic comes fifth on the list of youngest scorers in the history of the UEFA Euro. He was the former holder of this record for four years before Wayne Rooney broke it in the 2004 edition of the tournament. His first-ever goal in the competition came when he converted a late penalty for Yugoslavia in a 3-2 loss against France. Yugoslavia took the lead in the first half, but Platini's hat-trick helped France win the clash.
4. Renato Sanches (Portugal) – 18 years 317 days
The 2016 Golden Boy Renato Sanches scored against Poland in the Euro 2016 Quarter-Final to grab the spot among the youngest scorers in the history of the UEFA Euro. Portugal were trailing against the Polish team after Robert Lewandowski scored in the 2nd minute of the game. Sanches scored in the 33rd minute to level the scoreline. The match eventually went into penalties and Portugal won it 5-3.
3. Wayne Rooney (England) – 18 years 237 days
Ronaldo was in the second spot but it took Wayne Rooney only five days to break Ronaldo’s record and even surpass Stojkovic when he scored a brilliant header against Switzerland in the second match of the group stages. Rooney scored his first Euro goal from Michael Owen’s perfect cross. The goal was the first of his two goals in the 3-0 victory, making him the youngest-ever player to score a brace in the Euros.
2. Johann Vonlanthen (Switzerland) – 18 years 141 days
Wayne Rooney held the record for four days before Johan Vonlanthen of Switzerland surpassed him in the last group-stage match against France. He scored the equalizer and wrote his name in the history books. Switzerland eventually lost the game 1-3 and got knocked out of the competition but Vonlanthen held that record for 20 years before Spanish talent Lamine Yamal broke it against the same opposition.
1. Lamine Yamal (Spain) - 16 years 362 days
Lamine Yamal made history after scoring an equalizer for Spain against France in the 21st minute in the semi-final of the UEFA Euro 2024, becoming the youngest goalscorer (16 years and 362 days) in the history of this competition. Yamal has been dominating every opposition in the 2024 edition of the European Championship but only a goal was missing from his tally. It eventually came in the big moment when he scored the equalizer with his left foot from outside the box. Yamal is currently the joint assist leader of the tournament with three assists and lots of credit goes to him behind Spain's domination in the Euro 2024.