Vicky Lopez, Michelle Agyemang and six women's NXGN wonderkids to watch at Euro 2025

Perhaps the most well-known name on this list is that of Vicky Lopez, who has been widely regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in the women's game for several years now and ranked top of the 2025 Women's NXGN list. That's owing to her incredible exploits at youth-team level for Spain, as well as the fact she debuted in the country's top-flight at just 15 years old. Now, having featured in the Barcelona first team on a regular basis since moving to Catalunya in 2022, she's starting to showcase those talents on the senior international stage.

Lopez's Spain debut came in February of last year, making her La Roja's youngest ever player at 17 years and six months old, and after helping them win the Nations League in that international break, she went to the Olympics in the summer. It's not easy for her to get tons of minutes right now, given the incredible competition for places in a World Cup-winning squad, but the 18-year-old can light up a game from the bench as well as from the start and could be an important impact player as Spain target a European title to go with their world triumph.

Chelsea fans already have one reason to keep an eye on the Netherlands' games this summer, as Wieke Kaptein, on the 2023 NXGN list, is likely to play an important role for Andries Jonker's side, despite still being just 19 years old. However, the arrival of Veerle Buurman last year gives them another reason to tune in, especially as she is yet to turn out in the club's famous blue colours.

The centre-back was a late addition in the summer window and was loaned back to PSV straight away. There, she was almost ever-present as the club narrowly missed out on the Eredivisie title by goal difference, at least securing Champions League football for their efforts.

Having shone for the Netherlands youth national teams as well, Jonker brought Buurman into the senior squad back in October and she has impressed so much that she looks set to start in the heart of defence in Switzerland. That should give Chelsea fans a real chance to see what she has to offer ahead of her reporting for pre-season duty in London in a few weeks' time.

While Alisha Lehmann, Lia Walti or Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic are the more established names who will be used to promote the Euros by host country Switzerland, Sydney Schertenleib looks like a player who could be the face of their national team for the next decade and more. After bursting onto the scene as a 15-year-old at FC Zurich, the versatile forward took further steps forward with Grasshoppers, so much so that she secured a huge move to Barcelona last summer.

Initially expected to be more involved with the Catalans' B team, Schertenleib was quickly accelerated into the first team on a regular basis when her ability to make an immediate impact became apparent. Unsurprisingly, she's assumed an important role with the Switzerland team at the same time. Whether as a midfielder, a winger or a central striker, Schertenleib is a game-changing talent who could make the difference for her nation in what will be a tight and competitive Group A.

It took Michelle Agyemang just 41 seconds to go from serious outsider to genuine contender when it came to competing for a spot in England’s Euro 2025 squad. A highly promising striker who has been extremely prolific in the youth national teams and then shown promise in loan spells with both Watford and Brighton, Agyemang was handed her first Lionesses call-up in April after injuries hampered the forward line, and she marked her debut with an outstanding goal less than a minute after entering the fray.

That made a serious impression on Sarina Wiegman, who brought her back in for England's May fixtures and, despite not giving her any minutes in games against Portugal and Spain, then kept her around for the Euros. Alessia Russo, her Arsenal team-mate, will lead the line for the Lionesses while Aggie Beever-Jones will get her opportunities from the bench, but Agyemang should certainly see minutes too, especially after missing out on the Under-19 Euros in order to be part of the senior tournament.

Another Barcelona representative, underlining the focus the club has put on not only the development of Catalan and Spanish talent but also global prospects, Emilia Szymczak isn't a name that has featured in the first team for the three-time European champions yet, but she's shown a lot of promise in a very top-quality B team.

Capable of playing in midfield or as a centre-back, it's in the latter role that the 19-year-old mainly operates in with Poland, for whom she made her senior debut in December 2023. She looks set to start there this summer, too, which is going to be quite a challenge given the nation's status as serious underdogs in a group alongside Denmark, Germany and Sweden.

But it'll also be a huge opportunity for Szymczak to show what she can do and, beyond that, a serious honour for her and all of her team-mates, who are set to make history by becoming the first players to represent the Poland women's national team at a major tournament.

While this list is mainly made up of names who have been involved with their senior national teams for a while now, Smilla Holmberg's route to Euro 2025 has been a little different. Called up by Peter Gerhardsson for the first time in May, she made her international debut at the end of the month and then, a few weeks later, was named to Sweden's squad for this tournament.

That whirlwind path undersells her experience, though, of which she has accumulated plenty since making her senior debut at club level back in 2022, aged 15. Still only 18, she's steadily become an important player with Hammarby, already playing more than 50 games in Sweden's top-flight and even enjoyed Champions League football last year.

As such, if thrown in at right-back at any point this summer, Holmberg looks more than capable of handling the occasion that she'll be exposed to, especially after impressing on her debut against Italy last month.