At the end of each UEFA European Championship tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game.
Awards
There are currently five post-tournament awards, and one given during the tournament:[1]
the Player of the Tournament for best player, first awarded in 1996;
the Top Scorer Award (currently commercially termed Alipay Top Scorer Award) for most prolific goal scorer;[a]
the Young Player of the Tournament (currently commercially termed as SOCAR Young Player of the Tournament) for best under 21 years of age at the start of the calendar year, first awarded in 2016;
the Man of the Match Award for outstanding performance during each game of the tournament, first awarded in 1996;
the Team of the Tournament for best combined team of players at the tournament.
Player of the Tournament
The Player of the Tournament award is presented to the best player at each edition of the UEFA European Championship since 1996.
The Young Player of the Tournament award is presented to the best player in the tournament who is at most 22 years old. For the UEFA Euro 2016, this meant that the player had to have been born on or after 1 January 1994. The award was first given out in 2016.
Between the years 1960 and 2008, and since 2024, the Golden Boot has been awarded to the top goalscorer(s) of each edition of the UEFA European Championship.[16]
From 2012 to 2020, the number of assists contributed by players was used as a tie-breaker if more than one player scored the same number of goals, with fewest minutes played used as a further tie-breaker if required.[17]
The Team of the Tournament is a team of the best performers at each respective UEFA European Championship edition, as chosen by the UEFA Technical Study Group since 1996.[25] UEFA also retroactively named teams of the best 11 players from the 1960 to 1992 tournaments. The number of players in these squads has changed, from 18 players in 1996, 22 players in 2000, and 23 players from 2004 until 2012. Since 2016, a team of 11 players has been named.[26]
In June 2016, ahead of UEFA Euro 2016 in France, UEFA published an All-time Euro XI; the winning team was chosen based on votes cast on EURO2016.com and Twitter. The application featured the 11 players who have made the greatest impact at EURO final tournaments. Nominees had to meet at least two of the following four criteria:[42]
^"UEFA Euro 2008 Information"(PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. p. 88. Archived(PDF) from the original on 27 November 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
^"UEFA Euro 2008 Information"(PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. p. 89. Archived(PDF) from the original on 27 November 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
^"UEFA Euro 2008 Information"(PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. p. 90. Archived(PDF) from the original on 27 November 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
