Cher Ndour, Fresneda and six more players to watch at Under-19 Euros

Neel Shelat

• 5 Jul 2023 16:00 BST
• 6 min read

We have a summer packed with youth football across the world, so those looking for games to watch have a lot to pick from. The U20 Men’s World Cup, U17 Women’s Euros and U17 Men’s Asian Cup have already concluded, while the U21 Men’s Euros and U23 Men’s AFCON are currently underway.

Joining those two, we have the U19 Men’s Euros having just kicked off. Due to its slightly senior counterpart also in action in Romania and Georgia, some of the eight participants are missing some of their best players. Nevertheless, there will be some very talented players on show in Malta, so here is a list of one to watch from each team.

Adolf Dadi Birgisson - Iceland

Birth Year: 2004

Club: Stjarnan

Position: RW

ETV: €1.5M

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Iceland are making their U19 Euro debut this year having advanced from a tough qualification group ahead of England and Turkey, so they have already been making waves. Unfortunately, they are without some of their key players from the qualifying stage in Malta, including top scorer Orri Oskarsson.

They’ll have to look elsewhere for goals then, and one potential source might be right winger Adolf Birgisson. The 19-year-old is already a regular player at the senior level for Stjarnan in the Icelandic top flight, where he has already played 1,000 minutes this year. He has only found the back of the net once so far but does also have three assists, so his nation will hope to see him on the scoresheet in the U19 Euros in some way.

Ivan Fresneda - Spain

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Birth Year: 2004

Club: Real Valladolid

Position: RB

ETV: €12.9M – €21.5M

One of the best players in this tournament by far is Spanish right-back Ivan Fresneda, who has already impressed at a level as high as La Liga.

Playing for unsuccessful relegation-battlers Real Valladolid, Fresneda caught the eye with his intense all-action defending. He averaged close to 2.5 tackles and 1.65 blocks per 90, but at the same time, he was no passenger in possession. The youngster was adept both as an overlapping full-back and when asked to invert into midfield, so he has already shown good versatility.

With the likes of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Milan said to be interested in signing him, all eyes will be on him when he is on the pitch at the U19 Euros.

Nikolai Hopland - Norway

Birth Year: 2004

Club: Aalesund

Position: CB/DM

ETV: €300K – €500K

We have another defender experienced at the senior level to watch for Norway in Nikolai Hopland.

The centre-back made his debut for Aalesund aged just 16 when they had dropped to the second-tier, and has gone on to establish himself as a regular starter after their return to Eliteserien. He has looked good as a ball-winning defender, while also being able to circulate it nicely and posing a set-piece threat in the opposition box.

So, Hopland could prove useful for Norway at both ends.

Alexios Kalogeropoulos - Greece

Birth Year: 2004

Club: Olympiacos

Position: CB

ETV: €1.3M

Staying on the theme of centre-backs, our pick from Greece is captain Alexios Kalogeropoulos.

He was snapped up by Olympiacos at 16 years old and has since progressed from their U19s to the B team. He played close to 900 minutes in the second tier of Greek football last season, showing signs of being a tidy ball-player and also posing a set-piece threat like Hopland.

Keep an eye on him at the heart of the Greek defence.

Cher Ndour - Italy

Birth Year: 2004

Club: SL Benfica

Position: CM

ETV: €0.8M – €1.3M

The only player who can rival Fresneda in terms of talent and potential at this tournament is Italian midfielder Cher Ndour.

At the moment, though, he does not have the same experience as the Spanish right-back. Ndour spent most of the 2022/23 season with Benfica’s B team in the Portuguese second tier, but his performances were impressive enough for the likes of Manchester United, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain to come looking for his signature. (hyperlink: https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/transfer-news/uk-premier-league/2023/05/cher-ndour-next-paul-pogba-man-utd-free-transfer) . Indeed, PSG already have a deal wrapped up for him.

For now, Ndour will be focused on doing his best for Italy at the U19 Euros. His on-ball ability and attacking qualities will surely be important to their campaign.

Rodrigo Ribeiro - Portugal

Birth Year: 2005

Club: Sporting CP

Position: ST/RW

ETV: €600K – €900K

Another standout performer from the lower tiers of Portuguese football who should be watched closely in Malta is Rodrigo Ribeiro.

In fairness, the Sporting forward also made a few appearances for the first team in the top-flight league and UEFA Champions League, as well as standing out with six goals in the UEFA Youth League. His profile is quite interesting, as he is a free-roaming forward who can start down the middle but likes to drift around and make an impact out wide.

Ribeiro will undoubtedly be a key figure in Portugal’s attack in Malta.

Basil Tuma - Malta

Birth Year: 2005

Club: Reading

Position: RW

ETV: €130K

Malta are also making their tournament debut this year, qualifying by virtue of being the hosts.

They almost certainly would not have made it through via the qualification route, so the player quality in their squad is the lowest by some margin. Nevertheless, they still have some players plying their trade away from the island, so we have picked out one of them.

Forward Basil Tuma currently plays for Reading’s academy in England, having moved to the country with his family. He is also eligible to play for Uganda, whom he represented at a regional youth tournament in Africa.

Malta’s objectives at this tournament might have to be as small as getting a goal or registering a point, so Tuma could prove helpful in at least that.

Oliwier Zych - Poland

Birth Year: 2004

Club: Aston Villa

Position: GK

ETV: €2.5M

The last player we’ve picked out is a goalkeeper, Oliwier Zych.

The Polish captain is also based in England as he is on the books of Aston Villa’s youth teams. He grew up in Poland and came through Zagliebe Lubin’s youth academy, before being scouted and signed by the villains. He has regularly featured for them in Premier League 2 and was also named in the senior matchday squads on a couple of occasions, so he certainly seems to be well-rated.

Poland are the underdogs in their group, so they will need Zych to put in some great shifts if they are to have any chance of making the knockouts.