Denmark is home to Europe's Under-21 Championships. The competition that has introduced and showcased some of Europe's finest talents. In the last championships, it was most notably Mesut Özil and the rest of the German national team that grabbed the rest of the world's attention in Sweden.
Let's briefly take a look at a few players to watch out for as we get set for this tournament.
Thiago Alcântara, 20 (Spain)
He's another La Masia academy product from Barcelona and he has slowly started making his way into Barcelona's senior squad. Since his first appearance in the 08-09 season for the senior Barcelona team, Alcântara has made a total of 20 appearances, scoring 4 goals. He is regarded as Xavi's eventual successor by most. He operates in the center of midfield, is a great dribbler and like all Barcelona players - has great vision. Alcântara is also composed when playing further up the pitch and he does have an eye for a pass when necessary.
Phil Jones, 19 (England)
Phil Jones has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame, putting in excellent performances for Blackburn Rovers. His big injury in December meant that Blackburn fought for relegation throughout the season, but upon his return, the team looked much more secure in defence.
Jones plays center back naturally, and is composed on the ball. He can also tackle and play as a defensive midfielder - which he usually did under former manager, Sam Allardyce. He looks set to join Manchester United after the Champions agreed to match his £16 million buyout clause. Sir Alex Ferguson had to move quickly as interest was shown by Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. Recently, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp described him possibly as England's future captain. He will pair up with Manchester United's Chris Smalling at the heart of defence.
Here is a recent display he put in against Manchester United.
Christian Eriksen, 19 (Denmark)
Ajax's attacking midfielder delivers a great ball consistently, is technically gifted and his movement with and off the ball is fantastic.
Eriksen caught a lot of people's attention when he lined up against England earlier in the year. Most football pundits were expecting Jack Wilshere to shine, but it was actually Eriksen who stole all the headlines - putting in a great performance. He was influential for Ajax in winning their first Eredivisie in seven years. He has attracted attention from all the top sides around Europe but will make his debut for the U-21's for Denmark.
Andriy Yarmolenko, 21 (Ukraine)
Ukraine's left-winger, Yarmolenko, had a very impressive domestic season for Dynamo Kyiv. He set his personal best record for Kyiv - scoring 15 goals in 41 appearances. He played his part in Kyiv's Europa league run, with 11 appearances and 3 goals. He is tall (6'1) and can play upfront as well.
Yarmolenko is seen as Ukraine's biggest threat, and his record for his national side is respectable - having scored 3 times in just 8 caps.
Gylfi Sigurðsson, 21 (Iceland)
Sigurðsson is becoming a dead-ball specialist and his long-range shooting is not that bad either. After having trials at Arsenal, spending some time at Reading, he has slowly started to settle at Hoffenheim. He has enjoyed his football in Germany - being named fans' player of the year and scoring ten goals, assisting two, in just 12 starts this season.
Naturally, Sigurðsson is a midfielder, but can play in the hole in a more advanced position. Iceland will be hoping Sigurðsson can make a big impact.
Other players to keep an eye out for: Javi Martinez (Spain), Jordan Henderson (England), David De Gea (Spain), Tomas Pekhart (Czech Republic), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Adam Hloušek (Czech Republic), Danny Welbeck (England), Juan Mata (Spain)
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