Tribal Football

Kees Smit named Euro U19 Player of the Tournament

Paul Winters
Kees Smit with his Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament trophy
Kees Smit with his Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament trophyČTK / imago sportfotodienst / IMAGO
The Netherlands star Kees Smit has been named Player of the Tournament at the Under-19 European Championships.

The AZ talent scored in all four games leading up to Thursday's final, in which the Netherlands beat defending champions Spain 1-0 after an own goal from goalkeeper Raul Jimenez.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Across the tournament, Smit scored four goals and gave an assist. With four goals, Smit shared the top scorer's title with Spain's Pablo Garcia, who scored all his four goals in the 6-5 semi-final win over Germany, and Germany's Said El Mala and Max Moerstedt.

Smit's goal during the Netherlands' 4-2 win over England stood out most: after Smit passed the ball short from a corner kick, the attacking midfielder got the ball back and curled the ball from the side of the box into the far corner.

By being named Player of the Tournament, Smit joins an impressive list of former winners, which includes Fernando Torres, Marco Asensio, and Mason Mount.

The 19-year-old Smit, a reported target of Dutch record champions Ajax, is expected to cost "at least" €25 million, according to several Dutch reports.