France Football kicked off its big day by announcing the nominees for the 2024 Kopa Trophy.

This award recognizes the best young U-21 player in the world for the year 2024. And the nominees are as follows:

• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
• Arda Güler (Real Madrid)
• Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona)
• Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)
• Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)
• Karim Konaté (RB Salzburg)
• Joao Neves (Benfica and PSG)
• Savinho (Girona and Manchester City)
• Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich)
• Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG)

The winner who will succeed Jude Bellingham (the 2023 recipient) will be announced at the grand ceremony taking place on October 28 in Paris.

Kylian Mbappé was the first recipient of this award in 2018, followed by Matthijs de Ligt (2019), Pedri (2021), Gavi (2022), and Bellingham (2023).

Lamine Yamal is the leading contender, having already achieved significant success with Spain at the Euro and leading Barcelona, who started the current season with a perfect record at just 17 years old.

Arda Güler, with less prominence at Real Madrid, is also a strong candidate for the award. His undeniable quality impressed the world during the latter part of last season and the Euro with Turkey.