Before England’s European Championship final with Spain, the Crystal Palace squad recorded messages for their four team-mates in the squad. They spoke of how “proud” they were of the involvement of Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze, Dean Henderson and Adam Wharton.
Pride is the overriding feeling Palace can have for the contribution of their players at Euro 2024 but also for Colombia’s Jefferson Lerma and Daniel Munoz, both runners-up in the Copa America and significant contributors to their nation’s run to the final.
It is Guehi, though, whose influence has been most profound. As he entered the tournament, questions swirled around whether he was ready, capable and sufficiently experienced enough to play a major part in England’s campaign. He answered those questions emphatically. Any doubts have been extinguished and he ought to be considered now as a guaranteed starter at centre-back.
A yellow card in the last-16 win over Slovakia, which led him to miss the quarter-final through suspension, was unfortunate but perhaps the only blemish on an outstanding tournament. It was Guehi who Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal was able to get across to slide in the winning goal but to put too much responsibility on the 24-year-old for that goal would be exceedingly harsh. Minutes later, he came within inches of drawing England level with a header cleared off the line by Dani Olmo and he had proved a typically staunch defensive option throughout the match.
There are many factors in player development but Palace can feel that pride for having developed Guehi from an exciting young prospect who had excelled in the Championship into a world class centre-back who stepped up on the international stage at senior level to be possibly England’s most impressive performer across the tournament.
Guehi impressed for Euro 2024 runners-up England (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Taking the chance to sign him from Chelsea in 2021 despite his lack of Premier League football and his age was not a gamble as such, but did come with some risk attached. Instead, his partnership with Joachim Andersen — who was part of the Denmark side that drew 1-1 with England in the group stages — has thrived and the pair have helped each other. Guehi has matured with the captaincy on occasions, handed first to him by Patrick Vieira, while both Vieira and Roy Hodgson have been effusive in their praise for him.
Injury had limited his participation for Palace under Oliver Glasner, although that too says much about how impressive Guehi is, that despite a relative lack of domestic game time in the build-up to the Euros, he was still able to perform as capably as he did — performances which resulted in him being named in Opta’s team of Euro 2024.
𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 🏆
As the dust settles, we pick our team of the tournament with the help of Opta data.
Find out who makes the cut and why below ⬇️📊
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) July 15, 2024
Then there is Eze. The midfielder played just 99 minutes (including extra time) across three games for England but he too has developed sufficiently at Palace to be called upon at important moments by Gareth Southgate.
Not only that but he was placed in an unfamiliar position in the victory over Slovakia in the last 16. Left wing-back would not be his role of choice and is far from the one that best suits him, but he made an impact and performed well in his 36 minutes. Then, against Switzerland in the quarter-finals, Eze featured for 42 minutes including extra time. It can be difficult to come in cold in a position that is unnatural but he was versatile enough to handle it.
Eberechi Eze held his own while playing in unfamiliar positions for England (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
For January signing Wharton, the experience of the Euros will be an excellent opportunity for learning and maturing, even though he didn’t make it onto the pitch. The 20-year-old was outstanding in the Premier League with Palace and will return better for the experience. Henderson, too, made no appearances but it was his return to form after injury that led to an England call-up.
Palace can point to the work done with those players and demonstrate that coming to south London will help develop careers.
In the Copa America, Munoz scored twice and also claimed an assist for Colombia. His performances were crucial in taking his side to the final but a red card for an elbow thrown at Manuel Ugarte in the semi-final victory over Uruguay took the shine off.
His team-mate Lerma had a similarly important role, scoring twice, including in that semi-final. The 29-year-old started every game except for his side’s quarter-final win over Panama, in which he was not involved at all. One of Palace’s best performers last season continued his form at international level.
Jefferson Lerma scored twice during Colombia’s run to the Copa America final (Logan Riely/Getty Images)
It has been a successful summer of international football for Palace’s players, even if they fell agonisingly short of winning a major tournament. With the Olympics still to come, Jean-Philippe Mateta will hope to continue his club form with the France men’s team.
Their growth speaks to the scouting undertaken to sign these players, the environment fostered at the club and the platform they have been given to thrive.
There will be some disruption when Palace’s globe-trotting stars return to pre-season later than they otherwise would have but the benefits far outweigh any negatives. Palace can be proud of their players’ achievements and use them when seeking to convince them to remain where they are or when negotiating for new arrivals.
GO DEEPER
The rise of Marc Guehi – England’s quiet man now making noise at the Euros
(Top photos: Getty Images)
