So the Euros is officially in the books. In truth, it’s been a disappointing tournament, one that started promisingly but ultimately lacked in star power and, Spain very much aside, any exceptional teams. Now we’ve had a couple of iterations of the 24-team Euros, its become clear that the new format is heavily flawed and doesn’t exactly encourage consistent attacking football or facilitate the kind of seesaw drama we saw at the last World Cup. Teams drawing their way to their knockout stage and the later groups having such a huge advantage over the earlier ones are major weaknesses that could be repeated as long as this format continues.
Having said all of that, the strongest case for UEFA expanding the tournament and for them letting in at least one of the continent’s lesser nations was emphatically provided by Georgia’s performances, who were one of the highlights of the tournament. Other highlights included Christian Eriksen’s goal almost three years to the day of his collapse, Bellingham’s bicycle kick, Ronaldo taking free-kicks from everywhere on the pitch despite not having scored one in ten years and Lamine Yamal being sixteen/seventeen. Had you heard?
So, after a month of own goals, early goals, plenty of old-fashioned screamers and England continually putting us through at least ninety minutes of torture and then giving us about ten seconds of pure elation, these are my picks for the best players of the tournament, with a deliberate push for variety, because quite frankly Spain were so much better than everyone else I could have just written out their entire team.
Goalkeeper- Georgi Mamardashvili (Georgia )
Honourable Mentions: Jan Oblak (Slovakia); Mert Gunok (Turkey)
It says a lot about the way the tournament went that there were actually a number of contenders for this position. Diogo Costa, Jordan Pickford and Unai Simon were all impressive, but they played for the leading sides, whereas it was the less-heralded nations where the goalkeepers really stood out. I nearly went with Gunok for the last-minute save against Austria alone, but for the sheer volume of saves he made (including 11 in one game against the Czechs) it has to be Mamardishvili, who looks like the continent’s next superstar between the sticks.
Right-Back- Stefan Posch (Austria)
Honourable Mentions: Jules Kounde (France); Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands)
In contrast, there were a lack of outstanding candidates at right-back, so I’m going for a player who went out in the last sixteen. Austria lit up the group stage, topping their group above France and Netherlands, and their full-backs were a major part in their full-throttle football. Posch was tireless in his runs up and down the right-flank and looked a big threat around the box as well. He plays his club football with Bologna, who have just finished third in Italy, so his time on the big stage may not be over yet.
Centre-Backs- Manuel Akanji (Switzerland); William Saliba (France)
Honourable Mentions: Jaka Bijol (Slovenia); Marc Guehi (England)
The cruel nature of top-level football is that one unfortunate moment can define your tournament, in spite of your consistent efforts throughout. That was certainly the case for Manuel Akanji, who was imperious for an impressive Switzerland in every game (especially in a heroic rearguard effort against Germany) and whose decisive penalty miss against England wasn’t enough to deprive him of a spot here. Amidst stiff competition from unheralded Bijol, who won every header against both Kane and Ronaldo, and Guehi, who was arguably England’s player of the tournament, the other slot goes to Saliba, who has entered “so good it looks effortless” territory and was the cornerstone of the best defence in the tournament.
Left-Back- Marc Cucurella (Spain)
Honourable Mentions: Ferdi Kadioglou (Turkey); Nuno Mendes (Portugal)
For anyone calling any Chelsea bias here, I was honestly going to pick Kadioglou until the final, as he had been the most dynamic, fun-to-watch player in the tournament in my view. But Cucurella’s perfect assist for the winning goal was the culmination of a remarkable comeback story. Him going from a joke figure and being openly identified as Spain’s weakness by Gary Neville to becoming a key cog in the Spanish winning machine was one of the tournament’s best narrative subplots.
Centre-Midfield- Rodri (Spain); Fabian Ruiz (Spain); Jamal Musiala (Germany)
Honourable Mentions: Granit Xhaka (Switzerland); Vitinha (Portugal); Christoph Baumgartner (Austria)
I’m playing a 4-3-3 (in case you were wondering) and that meant I was spoilt for choice when it came to selecting elegant midfielders who specialise in dictating the game. None however do it better than Rodri, the official player of the tournament, and surely now recognised as the best player in the world full stop.
His partner in crime was Fabian Ruiz, who was unlucky not to win the best player award himself such was his contribution to the Spanish side, with two goals and two assists and plenty of stylish footwork to boot.
The third spot was harder to pick, but I went with Jamal Musiala, who was incredibly unlucky to go out at the quarter-final stage, as the best player of a German team who probably would’ve beaten everyone but Spain. Musiala scored three times and continued to slalom through defenders like they were training cones. Like a lot of others, this tournament seemed to be the moment he elevated himself to a new level, from exciting talent to team talisman.
Right-Wing- Lamine Yamal (Spain)
Honourable Mentions: Arda Guler (Turkey); Bukayo Saka (England)
Let’s be honest, it was always going to be Yamal here. Guler and Saka had impressive tournaments of their own, but all the hype around this (just) seventeen-year-old is justified. It’s his decision-making that sets him apart, along with his consistency in delivery, clocking up a tournament-high four assists. His goal against France has probably already become a little overrated, but that’s because everyone recognised it as the moment the starter pistol was fired on what will surely be a storied and extraordinary career.
Left-Wing- Nico Williams (Spain)
Honourable Mentions: Dan Ndoye (Switzerland); Kvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)
On the other wing is the true ‘breakout’ star of the tournament. I say that because, unlike the likes of Yamal and Guler, I had never seen Williams play before the Euros started. And now he’s probably the hottest property in European football. Him and Yamal join an esteemed list of iconic pairs of wingers, that includes the likes of Salah and Mane and Robben and Ribery. As England and basically everyone else discovered, if one doesn’t get you, the other one will.
Centre-Forward- Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)
Honourable Mentions: Ivan Schranz (Slovakia); Georges Mikautadze (Georgia)
And we reach the hardest position of them all to pick. Was this tournament the last dance of the traditional number nine? Kane, Lukaku, Lewandowski and Ronaldo all massively disappointed. Even for the irrefutable champions Spain, everyone knew that their weak spot was Morata upfront, even if he did selflessly work his socks off for the team.
With six players sharing the golden boot, I couldn’t even pick it off stats alone, and I genuinely considered putting in the astonishingly underrated Dani Olmo here as a false-nine, as the player with the most goal contributions overall. To avoid picking yet another Spain player, I’ve gone for Gakpo instead, as he is ‘technically’ a striker, even though all of his goals came from playing off the left… Beyond him, I was left with the choice of two strikers who play in the Czech and French second leagues respectively.
Actually, maybe I’ll just play with ten.
George F Brown 