Youri Tielemans #8

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This year Tielemans celebrates his 10th anniversary as a Red Devil. Belgium fans still remember him as an 18-year old at his squad initiation ceremony singing Cheerleader by Omi in front of his teammates. And now, in his fifth major tournament, he wants to play a key role for the first time. And he should, because Rudi Garcia has named him captain, which is quite some honour with Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku also in the squad. Tielemans was the least controversial choice, though: not only does he speak Dutch and French fluidly, he is loved by nearly everyone. Besides his great feet – he scores screamers with both, such as his unforgettable winner for Leicester in the FA Cup final in 2022 against Chelsea – he always puts the team first. Negative stories? You won’t find any. He also never talks about his private life, so it took a while to double check that he now has three daughters rather than two.

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