Euro 2024: Liam Cooper, Okay Yokuslu among Sky Bet EFL players in Germany this summer | Football News

Euro 2024 gets under way on Friday night, when hosts Germany face Scotland in the tournament’s opener at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.

The 17th edition of the tournament takes place between Friday June 14 and Sunday July 14, and will end where it begins – at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.

All 24 qualified nations were required to submit their final squad lists by the deadline on Friday June 7, with the Sky Bet EFL represented by 13 players from six countries.

Here, we take a look at who they are…

Belgium

Thomas Kaminski – Luton Town

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Belgium’s Thomas Kaminski

Thomas Kaminski has been in and out of the senior Belgium squad for more than a decade now and even went to Euro 2020 after an injury to Simon Mignolet.

However, it was not until March 23 that he finally made his international debut – albeit as an 83rd-minute replacement for Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels in a goalless draw with the Republic of Ireland.

The 31-year-old is joined by Sels and Wolfsburg ‘keeper Koen Casteels in Domenico Tedesco’s 25-man squad.

Georgia

Giorgi Chakvetadze – Watford

Georgia's Giorgi Chakvetadze
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Georgia’s Giorgi Chakvetadze

Giorgi Chakvetadze joined Watford permanently in February, after an initial loan from Gent, though struggled to make an impact in an admittedly disappointing season for the Hornets.

He is a key player for Georgia, though, and has scored three goals and provided five assists across his last 11 caps, which included qualification play-off wins over Luxembourg and Greece in March.

Chakvetadze, 24, is seemingly a guaranteed starter under head coach Willy Sagnol, as he takes the nation into their first international tournament.

Hungary

Callum Styles – Barnsley

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Hungary’s Callum Styles

Although born in Bury, Callum Styles qualified to play for Hungary through his late grandmother and has earned 22 caps since his debut in March 2022.

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports in October, the midfielder – who spent the second half of last season on loan at Sunderland – spoke about what qualification for the tournament would mean.

“It’s something I dreamed of as a kid,” he said. “I’ll have my family all coming out to watch and hopefully we can achieve something that the country is destined to achieve. It will just be crazy – I can’t wait.”

Scotland

Tommy Conway and Ross McCrorie – Bristol City; Angus Gunn, Grant Hanley, Kenny McLean – Norwich City; Liam Cooper – Leeds United; Ryan Porteous – Watford

More often than not, home nations’ squads are mostly made up of players who play in the EFL or the Premier League and the Scotland squad is a prime example of that.

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Andy Halliday has his say on Steve Clarke’s selection decisions ahead of Scotland’s Euros campaign

Tommy Conway is the first of two Bristol City players in the squad. The 21-year-old Robins’ young player of the year was born in Somerset, but qualifies through his grandfather and made his debut in the 2-2 draw with Finland earlier this month. Club team-mate Ross McCrorie also made his debut earlier this month, against Gibraltar, having already featured at every age level from U15 to U21.

Angus Gunn opted to switch his allegiance from England to Scotland last March, having previously been called up by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate. The 28-year-old has started three of the Scots’ last four friendlies and has 10 caps in total.

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The Scotland squad received a special send-off at Glasgow airport, as they departed for Euro 2024 in Germany

Norwich team-mate Grant Hanley has 50 caps for his country and started the friendlies against Gibraltar and Finland, having missed the last 10 international fixtures through injury. Fellow Canary Kenny McLean – an ever-present in the Championship in 2023/24 – is closing in on 40 caps, but has played more of a bit-part role over the last couple of years.

Ryan Porteous has established himself as a regular starter under Steve Clarke since making his debut away at Ukraine in September 2022 and has earned 11 caps to date. Liam Cooper makes the cut, too, despite featuring just once in Leeds’ last 17 league games in 2023/24. He has earned 19 caps in all and his leadership skills make him a valuable part of the squad.

Switzerland

Zeki Amdouni – Burnley

Switzerland's Zeki Amdouni
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Switzerland’s Zeki Amdouni

In spite of his Turkish and Tunisian heritage, Zeki Amdouni opted to play for the country of his birth at senior level and made his debut against the Czech Republic on September 27, 2022.

Since then, the 23-year-old has earned 15 caps and scored seven goals, the most recent of which came in the 4-0 friendly win over Estonia on June 4.

Amdouni signed a five-year deal at Burnley last summer and finished as the Clarets’ second top scorer with six goals in a season that ended with relegation back to the Sky Bet Championship.

Turkey

Okay Yokuslu – West Brom

Turkey's Okay Yokuslu
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Turkey’s Okay Yokuslu

Okay Yokuslu will earn his first cap for Turkey in almost three years if he plays at the tournament in Germany.

The 30-year-old featured in all three of the nation’s Euro 2020 group games, but played in only two more qualifiers in September 2021 thereafter.

Yokuslu has been linked with a move away from West Brom – for whom he made 48 appearances in 2023/24 – this summer.

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