Cradle of the stars

The UEFA European Under-16 Championship, the first edition of which ran from 1980 until 1982, was the place where stars such as Thierry Henry and Luís Figo took their first step towards the limelight. And since the switch to U17 classification in 2001/02 the likes of England's Wayne Rooney, Spain's Cesc Fàbregas, Gerard Piqué and David de Gea, Germany's Mario Götze and Toni Kroos, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Belgium's Eden Hazard have followed in their footsteps.

Denmark staged the first, 16-team, U17 finals in 2002 and Switzerland captured the hearts of football lovers with a series of stunning performances that were enough to win the title and prove that they could well be a country to watch in the future. However their immediate U17 successors failed to qualify for the 2003 finals – showing how high standards across the continent have risen and how competitive youth football has become.

Hosts Portugal won that edition, followed by another home team, France, in 2004, with Turkey victorious in Italy a year later and Russia then taking the title in Luxembourg. Spain were champions in Belgium in 2007 and Turkey the following year, and were the dominant force in the old U16 championship; indeed all but the first two of those were under Juan Santisteban, appointed in 1988. He retired after the 2008 triumph and the following year hosts Germany secured the crown.

England broke their duck in 2010 in Liechtenstein, winning all 11 games in their campaign including qualifying. The Netherlands, losers to Germany in the 2009 final, gained revenge in 2011 with a thrilling 5-2 win in Serbia and beat the same side on penalties in Slovenia 12 months later to emulate Spain in retaining the title. They did not make the 2013 finals in Slovakia, allowing Russia to take the title, just as in 2006 on penalties, this time against Italy rather than the Czech Republic.

Malta hosted the 2014 event, England winning their second title, before the 2015 finals in Bulgaria expanded to a 16-team event once again, France emerging victorious. In 2016 Portugal were champions before Spain made it three titles in 2017 and the Netherlands emulated them 12 months later before becoming the first team to four titles in 2019 with a second straight final win against Italy. The following edition was abandoned and the 2020/21 season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic but on the competition's return, the Netherlands were dethroned in the 2022 final by France.

The Iberian sides have dominated the U16 and U17 tournaments over the years, with nine Spanish triumphs (six at U16 level) and six by the Portuguese (four at U16). The Netherlands are four-time champions (all U17, a record since the 2001/02 rebrand) while France (all U17) and Germany (including two at U16 with one as West Germany) have three wins to their names.

Some future stars who played at U16 and U17 final tournaments:

Belgium: Eden Hazard, Axel Witsel

England: Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Jadon Sancho, Phil Foden, James Milner, Jordan Pickford, Raheem Sterling

Czech Republic: Petr Čech, Patrik Berger

France: Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, Nicolas Anelka, Samuel Umtiti,

Germany: Mario Gomez, Toni Kroos, Mario Götze, Marc-André ter Stegen

Italy: Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Totti, Moise Kean

Netherlands: Patrick Kluivert, Clarence Seedorf, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Memphis Depay, Donny van de Beek, Georginio Wijnaldum

Norway: Erling Haaland

Portugal: Luís Figo, Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo

Spain: Iker Casillas, Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué, Thiago Alcantara, Isco, Ferran Torres