Real Madrid enjoyed another historic campaign in 2023/24 and the club spent the first half of Euro 2024 watching their players leave Germany.
While South American stars such as Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde continue to prepare for the Copa America, Los Blancos’ European aces stole the show at the start of the UEFA international competition.
While Madrid’s key players like Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Antonio Rudiger were all in action on the opening weekend, three other Santiago Bernabeu stars stole the headlines.
But which Madrid players performed best on the first day of the match at Euro 2024?
Spain started their Euro 2024 campaign in a convincing manner and grabbed the attention by beating Croatia 3-0 in Group B.
The game was a contest at the break after good strikes from Alvaro Morata and Fabian Ruiz before Dani Carvajal continued his goalscoring form after netting in the Champions League final.
The right-back beat Lamine Yamal’s ball when he swung and pushed it past Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. He was strong on defense, winning three of four ground duels.
To say that there is pressure riding on Jude Bellingham’s shoulders this summer would be a bit of an understatement.
However, the Madrid star showed no signs of composure in the first 30 minutes of the 1-0 win over Serbia, shrugging off challenge after challenge and putting England ahead with a header.
That goal helped England calm down and although things were more difficult in the second half as the Three Lions closed in on all three points, Gareth Southgate knows he has a star midfield in Bellingham who can do it all.
The former Borussia Dortmund and Birmingham City midfielder also became the youngest player in Europe to play in three major international tournaments, overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Owen.
Turkey are looking to improve on previous disappointing campaigns at the Euros but at least came through a tense and entertaining opening battle with Georgia to clinch all three points.
Kerem Akturkoglu may have made it 3-1 in the 97th minute, but it was Arda Guler who made the headlines with a long-range strike to put Vincenzo Montella’s side ahead after earlier goals from Mert Muldur and Georges Mikautadze.
The 19-year-old’s left-footed ping on the edge of the area looked perfect and Turkey will need more quality moments from him in the upcoming finals against Portugal and Czechia if they are to ensure a place in the knockout stages.
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