Euro 2012: One Young Player from Each Nation Who Will Make a Difference

The 2012 UEFA European Championship is getting closer each passing day and as the progression toward crowning the next kings of the continent continues, I wanted to take a moment and highlight some of the up-and-coming international stars that could have an impact on the tournament.

Last summer, the 2011 U-21 European Championship was won by Spain, which has won a major tournament all but one summer since their senior team lifted the 2008 European Championship trophy over Germany thanks to the then in-form Liverpool Red Fernando Torres.

In 2009 they were ousted by a determined United States in the Confederations Cup but returned to South Africa in 2010 to win the FIFA World Cup.

Spain returns this summer in hopes of maintaining their European dominance in defense of not only their current European crown but also their World Cup crown and U-21 European one.

All other nations will be gunning for the Spaniards this summer and they will all be enlisting some talented youth to assist in their quest for glory.

The 2008 version of the tournament saw youngsters like Arda Turan of Turkey, Luka Modric of Croatia and Lukas Podolski of Germany rise to the occasion, and there are multiple players that will hope to make that kind of impact for their nations this go-around.

Croatia: Ivan Perišić

Croatia's Ivan PeriŠić is the brightest young star for his nation and one of the rising young stars of the German Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.

He turned age 23 just over a month ago and is one of the three youngest players on the Croatian national team along with 23-year-old Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic and 22-year-old defender Domagoj Vida.

However, PeriŠić looks the most promising, as his record of success at club level shows he has the ability to be a playmaker alongside Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar in the middle.

With only eight caps for his country, it is a great time to be breaking into an at-times underrated Croatia team.

In the last two-and-a-half campaigns between Club Brugge and now Dortmund, he has scored 40 goals and provided 26 assists in 117 appearances.

If PeriŠić plays up to his potential, he is likely to be Croatia's breakthrough young star this summer.

Czech Republic: Tomáš Pekhart

FC Nurnberg striker TomአPekhart is the youngest player on the Czech Republic's national squad at the age of 22.

Many forget or do not know that he was owned by Tottenham Hotspur from 2008-10; however he never made a first-team appearance for the club in the Premier League.

He spent nine game on loan to Southampton, where he scored his only English goal, and another 13 games at Slavia Prague, where he scored twice before he was sold by Spurs to FK Baumit Jablonec in the Czech Republic.

Another loan spell at Slavia Prague saw him catch the eye of Nurnberg, where he moved at the start of the 2011 season and has scored three goals and produced three assists in the Bundesliga.

Denmark: Christian Eriksen

Denmark youngster Christian Eriksen is one of the highest-rated young players in all of Europe.

The Ajax Amsterdam star has been linked with a host of clubs in both England and throughout the continent, but has remained true to his club as he seeks to develop his abilities in the Dutch Eredivisie like so many great players before him.

His senior club career has seen him make 100 appearances for Ajax, scoring 15 goals and totaling 33 assists.

Eriksen has been a regular in his national team since 2010, and although he is only 20 years old he has been a constant squad member for a total of 21 appearances and two goals scored in June and August of 2011.

The young Dane is one of the top five young players at this tournament to watch without any doubt.

England: Joe Hart

There is little that you need to say about England's newest fixture between the pipes in Manchester City keeper Joe Hart.

England can rest assured that for the first time in years since the height of David James' career, they have a solid figure to rely on in the goal.

Hart is one of the brightest the English Premier League has seen in years and perhaps has a chance to become the greatest English keeper in history if he continues to get better each season as he has done since breaking into the Citizens' and Three Lions' first teams.

At 24 years old he is the oldest player included in this list and despite not being the youngest on the England roster (Manchester United defender Phil Jones is only 20), Hart is in the best position to make a huge impact as goalkeeping has haunted England in recent major tournaments.

France: Yann M'Vila

Yann M'Vila leads the youthful infusion of the French national team at only 21 years of age.

The Rennes defensive midfielder has made 18 appearances for his country so far with one goal to his name.

He is likely to be a permanent fixture in the tournament as the Tri-Colors' squad is full of midfield playmakers like Samir Nasri and Franck Ribery, but are lacking in the defensive midfield department.

Germany: Mario Goetze

Another top-five player to watch in the tournament is Borussia Dortmund's other promising midfielder in the competition by the name of Mario Goetze.

The German international is only 19 but has the footballing world in a frenzy over just how good he could possibly be.

Goetze is expected to be one of the youngest players in the tournament (if not the youngest) and already has 12 senior appearances for Die Mannschaft while having already notched two goals for his nation.

Greece: Kostas Fortounis

FC Kaiserslautern's 19-year-old Grecian midfielder Kostas Fortounis is yet to make his first-team debut for Greece but should do so in a friendly at some point.

With the ability to play as a central attacking midfielder or as a right winger, his diversity of ability makes him all the more valuable to the Galanolefki.

Fortunis has made 19 appearances for Kaiserslautern this season without a goal but has managed one assist.

Italy: Fabio Borini

AS Roma forward and Italian international Fabio Borini looks primed to be a hugely influential youngster this summer.

Borini leads his club with eight goals so far during his loan spell from Parma and is likely to end up making the move permanent in the summer.

Previously he was on the books with Chelsea but was allowed to leave over the summer for his native land.

Last season he scored six goals for Swansea City while on loan in the Championship from the Blues.

At the age of 20 he is by far the youngest on his national team and is sure to be a major part of their hopes.

Netherlands: Jeffrey Bruma

It is not often when discussing the Netherlands you see a defender mentioned over the next up-and-coming Dutch attacker.

However, that is just what we are doing with Chelsea defender Jeffrey Bruma.

Bruma is on route to establish himself as the next generation of Clockwork Orange's defense and is likely to be drafted into the first XI on several occasions this summer.

The young defender is also known for his ability to strike a vicious shot from 30 yards out and can also double as a defensive midfielder.

Poland: Wojciech Szczęsny

Another young EPL goalkeeper makes the list in Arsenal starter and Poland international Wojciech Szczesny.

The Białe Orły enjoy the services of both Szczesny and Gunners teammate Lukasz Fabianski as two of their nation's best compete for the top job on two fronts.

Szczesny is the most likely to maintain the first spot and his current form in England could go a long way into establishing him as the permanent No. 1 for the future of Poland.

Portugal: Fábio Coentrão

Portuguese and Real Madrid defensive star Fabio Coentrao will turn 24 on March 11. However, despite nearly being 24 years old, he is still one of the youngest players in the squad.

His ability to maraud down the left side from the back has a tendency to help create excitement, but also cause his back line to be caught at times.

Most likely Coentrao will be playing on the same flank as Cristiano Ronaldo and should help provide some highlight-reel action.

Ireland: James McCarthy

Wigan Athletic's James McCarthy is one of three young EPL midfielders who are looking to make an impact for Ireland this summer.

Everton's Seamus Coleman and Sunderland's James McClean are the others, but the out-and-out skill that McCarthy continues to show is of a slightly higher quality.

McCarthy has 74 appearances for Wigan in the last three seasons, having scored five goals and helped to create even more.

Ireland have a young midfield, with McCarthy the primary candidate to make a jump to the starting 11 for the tournament and not just the bench.

Russia: Alan Dzagoev

Russian youngster Alan Dzagoev will hope to make this tournament his coming-out party as the 21-year-old attacking midfielder has already made a name for himself in the Russian Premier League with CSKA Moscow.

He has scored 36 goals in 148 appearances for the capital club in a four-year senior career.

His first call-up to the Russian national team was in 2008 during their failed run to the 2010 World Cup, and he has since made another 17 appearances, scoring four goals for his country.

Spain: Iker Muniain

Picking a young player to shine through for Spain is perhaps the hardest of any nation.

The defending European and World champions have one of the richest talent pools in the world and continue to pump top young talent through their national side.

Although he only has one senior cap, Athletic Bilbao's 19-year-old attacking midfielder, Iker Muniain, continues to impress at club level and merit a call-up to go to the European Championships.

He recently scored in Thursday night’s UEFA Europa League clash against Manchester United, which was won by Bilbao, and the youngster continues to carve out a name for himself.

In three seasons in Bilbao's first team, he has 115 appearances with 19 goals and looks destined to be one of Spain's next great midfielders.

If Muniain is not called up, then his teammate Javi Martinez is another that should make a huge splash at the tournament.

Sweden: Rasmus Elm

AZ Alkmaar midfielder Rasmus Elm is another Eredivisie player that has had English eyes on him this season.

So far he has 12 goals and one assist for the Dutch club this season on the back of last year's three-goal and three-assist haul.

Elm will turn 24 years old on St. Partick's Day and will still be the second youngest on the Swedish national team.

So far he has 22 caps for his nation, with his only goal coming in 2009, but if there is ever a tournament where he needs to make a push up the pecking order and assert himself as a dominant new face of Sweden, it is the 2012 European Championship.

Ukraine: Andriy Yarmolenko

Ukrainian attacking midfielder Andriy Yarmolenko is expected to have an excellent showing this summer for Poland's fellow host nation.

Yarmolenko has been a first-team fixture with Dynamo Kyiv for the last three-and-a-half seasons out of his five in the Ukrainian capital, where he has made 129 appearances scoring 41 goals.

The 22-year-old forward has already earned 18 caps for his country, scoring seven goals and is thought to be the future of the national team's attack starting this summer.

Conclusion

This summer's 2012 European Championship tournament is destined to see some amazing action.

The group of young talent on display is one of the greatest in the history of the competition and is believed to truly once again prove the debut of many of Europe's next greatest stars.

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