Here is Generation Z, the best of youth

 There are the 'eternals' like

who at 43 is ready to wear boxing gloves for another two years with Parma. There are the old glories like

, who tries his hand at San Marino in the Conference League. At Euro 2020 there is

, who at the age of 38 scores the first goal in history for North Macedonia, or

i who at 36 is produced in a defensive recovery in the 92nd minute. But the continental competition is also the first showcase for generation Z, that is of those players born in the new millennium, some not only young hopefuls but already strong points in their clubs on an international level.

    A patrol of 37 players, born between 2000 and 2003, just under 6% of the 622 team members at the European Championship. And thanks to

, born in 2000,

at the last minute

, even the Azzurri see the average age of their

drop.

    It took just 8 minutes yesterday, towards the end of the match against Croatia, to make

, 17 years and 345 days old, the youngest player ever to play in European football. The British midfielder, under Borussia Dortmund, will however be overtaken by

, a Polish midfielder under the Pogon club, which market rumors give as a dispute between Juventus and Barcelona.

    Compared to Bellinghem, he is 109 days younger, having been born on October 16, 2003; today against Slovakia he did not enter the field, but Paulo Sousa could use him in the other two matches.

    On the numerical side, the national team with the youngest - four - is Wales, followed with three by the Netherlands, Turkey, Spain and Ukraine. Little time has been granted to them so far: in addition to Bellingham's 8 minutes, who took over from Harry Kane in the Inchraltar-Croatia final, there are two minutes granted to Dutchman

twenty-year-old Ajax defender, in the match against Ukraine, and only one to the Welsh

. Most used the Czech

(19 years), the Russian

(20); entire match for the Croatian defender

(19) and for the Ukrainian

(18).

    Many budding champions ready to take the legacy of the greats, such as

who reaches the fifth European Championship.

    Some already have a permanent place at club level, such as 18-year-old German

, who made a name for himself in the Champions League with Bayern.

There is also the Swede Dejan Kulusevski, who had a first season of lights and shadows at Juve.

Finally, it is Spain, as per the tradition of its 'cantere', to field the most promising players such as

and

,

permanent

holders of Manchester City, and the new jewel of Barcelona

.