Five stars to watch out for at Euro 2020

WITH 24 nations taking part at the Euro 2020 football championships, there are over 600 players in all who are all hoping to leave their mark on this tournament, which began on Saturday morning (Singapore time).

With 51 games taking place in 11 cities across the continent, thousands of spectators at the stadiums - and millions more tuning in from around the world - will get to watch these stars strut their stuff with their national teams.

From Cristiano Ronaldo to Romelu Lukaku, Robert Lewandowski to Gareth Bale, some of the sport's most recognised players are on a mission to lead their countries towards Europe's most prestigious international trophy.

BT Weekend has combed through the final squad lists of each of the teams, and here - in no particular order - are five top players to keep your eye on during the month-long extravaganza.

Frenkie de Jong (The Netherlands)

After helping Ajax Amsterdam reach the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019, de Jong completed a big-money transfer to Spanish giants Barcelona. The 24-year-old didn't discover his best form in La Liga in his first season, but in his second campaign he featured in all but one of Barcelona's league games. He is a fast player who can make late runs into the box, and can both create and score goals.

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The versatile midfielder has come in for plenty of praise from many quarters, including from Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez who recently described him as a "total footballer for modern football". De Jong is widely expected to play a starring role for the Dutch when they face Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia in their group.

Teemu Pukki (Finland)

The Finns are making their debut at the European Championships, and while few expect the Nordic nation to progress beyond the first round, the team will be hoping to at least ruffle some feathers in a group containing Denmark, Russia and one of the tournament favourites, Belgium.

Their most recognised player is a 31-year-old striker named Teemu Pukki, a man whose 10 goals in the qualifying stage helped the Eagle Owls (Finland's nickname) to secure a spot at their first major tournament.

Pukki, who plays for Norwich City in England, netted 26 times as they secured promotion to the English Premier League (EPL) last month. With 30 goals for his country so far, Pukki is just two shy of the all-time record held by Jari Litmanen, a man widely revered as the best Finnish footballer of all time.

For a country of 5.5 million where ice hockey is the most popular sport, football has grown in stature in Finland thanks to Pukki, now a national icon who has captured the hearts and imagination of his countrymen.

Phil Foden (England)

It was certainly an eventful season for Manchester City's Phil Foden. Last September, the midfielder was sensationally axed from the England national team for breaching Covid-19 rules in Iceland. After issuing a public apology, Foden kept his chin up and played an integral part in City's relentless charge towards the EPL title in May.

He's only 21 but already has three EPL medals around his neck and even ousted Raheem Sterling to become one of Pep Guardiola's most important players in the starting 11. Foden - the EPL's young player of the year - was involved in 14 goals (he scored nine and created five) in the top division last season, more than any other played aged 21 or younger.

Foden faces stiff competition from Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish in England coach Gareth Southgate's line-up, but all signs point to him featuring heavily in the Three Lions' group games against Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic.

Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)

Belgium made it to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 and were semi-finalists at the last World Cup. And if the world's top-ranked football nation can go one step further and reach the Euro 2020 final, the Red Devils will need their star striker Romelu Lukaku to be at his lethal best.

The 28-year-old scored 24 goals for Inter-Milan in Italy's Serie A en route to winning the league title. That was the second-highest tally in his career after netting 25 for Everton in the 2016/17 campaign. Last Sunday, Lukaku scored from a goalmouth scramble to help Belgium defeat Croatia 1-0. That was his 60th goal in 93 appearances for his country, and all signs are that he will add to that impressive tally in the coming weeks.

Karim Benzema (France)

When France coach Didier Deschamps announced his provisional Euro 2020 squad last month, one name that stood out was Benzema's. Frozen out of the national team for almost six years, the 33-year-old Real Madrid striker missed Les Bleus' 2018 World Cup triumph and played no part in their run to the Euro 2016 final, so he will be eager to make up for lost time.

His extraordinary form for Real Madrid after a season in which he scored 30 goals for the Spanish team earned him a much-deserved recall, and he joins an already fearsome French attack that already includes the lightning-quick Kylian Mbappe and the experienced Antoine Griezmann.

Benzema knows this could well be his final international tournament, and he will be determined to help his country win the trophy they so narrowly missed out on five years ago.