Euro 2020 - Team of the Group Stage

The Group Stage of the Euros was as enthralling as we suspected. The so called ‘Group of Death’ lived up to its expectations with a few shock results, there were 5 goal thrillers and some impressive performances from unexpected sources. There are many teams who could be classed as favourites as we go into the latter stages of the tournament however the focus today will be on the group stage and in particular the players who grabbed the headlines. 

The formation will be a standard 4-4-2 with no specifics about holding midfielders, wingers etc. Let’s get cracking!

Goalkeeper 

Starting us off in goal is Danny Ward. The Welshman has been crucial in helping his nation reach the last 16 of Euro 2020 making some spectacular saves. He may have only kept one clean sheet throughout the group stage, against Turkey, but the Leicester back up keeper has averaged 4.6 saves per match, the third most of any keeper in the tournament so far. His performance against Switzerland on match day one in particular was vastly impressive. As mentioned, Ward is only No. 2 to Kasper Schmeichel at Leicester however his lack of first team football recently hasn’t affected his performances in the Euros whatsoever. Wales take on Denmark in the last 16 so Ward will more than likely be crucial if Wales are to progress once more. 

Right Back

Coming in at right back, we have Denzel Dumfries. I’m sure you’ll be in agreement that no other right back really came close to the Dutchman in the group stage. Yes, Dumfries may have a slight advantage as he features at right back in a back 5, giving him the license to roam forward but there’s no getting away from his top drawer performances. The 25 year old has been a pivotal part of the Netherlands controversial 5-3-2 system and has scored 2 goals. He netted the winner in the his nation’s opener against Ukraine, rising above his man to head home at the back post. His second of the tournament so far was as simple as they come; he made a marauding run from full back to finish into an open goal from Donyell Malen’s pass to ensure the Dutch got all 3 points against Austria. Although Dumfries’ defensive attributes might not be required as much at international level as they are at his club, he still managed to help his side get 2 clean sheets, against Austria and North Macedonia respectively. It will be intriguing to see whether Dumfries can keep up his excellent form going into the knockout stages against arguably more challenging opposition. 

Centre Backs

The first of our two centre backs is Leonardo Bonucci. The Juventus man played in all of Italy’s group games, helping them to 3 clean sheets. His long term centre back partner, Giorgio Chiellini was injured on match day 2 against Switzerland but that didn’t deter Bonucci. His calmness, positional awareness and experience were key in helping Italy keep it tight at the back. The 34 year old was subbed off at half time in the final group game against Wales to ensure no further damage to Italy’s salient men at the back was caused. Even before the tournament, Italy had only conceded 2 goals in their last 13 matches therefore we can see how fine their defence is. The backline must be doing a good job when the goalkeeper has only had to make 2 saves in 3 games. Italy’s defence is definitely their strong point, going forward, many will be pondering if they can keep up this stellar record against tougher opposition. 

Partnering Bonucci at the back, we have John Stones. The Englishman helped his country to 3 clean sheets in the group stage and remained solid with whoever he partnered. Whether it be Tyrone Mings or Harry Maguire, Stones complimented them with ease. In his club career for Man City, Stones really brought his game up a level this season as the Citizens won the Premier League, Carabao Cup and reached the Champions League Final. Evidently, Stones was able to transfer this on to the international stage; the 27 year old is probably the most nailed on defender in Gareth Southgate’s team. He nearly even scored against Scotland in the goalless draw at Wembley, hitting the post. Germany travel to London for the last 16, so will Stones be able make England’s defence tick against a side that has scored 6 goals in their last 2 games? Let’s wait and see. 

Left Back

The left back in our team of the group stage is Jordi Alba. The experienced Barcelona full back played 90 minutes in all of Spain’s group games and was a reliable performer in the defence. Alba was able to get up and down the left hand side proficiently but he didn’t forget about his defensive duties as well as he helped Spain to two clean sheets in the group stage. The Spaniard was star of the match in Spain’s 1-1 draw with Poland after captaining the side in the opening two group stage encounters. Luis Enrique’s side drew their opening two matches but they turned on the style when they hosted Slovakia in Seville. Spain ran out 5-0 winners and Jordi Alba helped himself to an assist. Spain have begun to hit form at the right time, the 3 time winners of the Euros take on Switzerland in the last 16. 

Midfielders

The first of our 4 midfielders is Emil Forsberg. The attack minded midfielder wasn’t really able to express himself in match day one as a resolute Sweden side practically sat in and played for a draw against Spain however he certainly came to the fore on match days two and three. He scored the winner for Sweden against Slovakia from the spot on match day two and the 29 year old bagged himself two goals on match day 3 to help Sweden to a 3-2 over Poland. His first goal against Poland was the second quickest goal in Euros history as he finished off from Alexander Isak’s knock down. His second ended a lovely break away move as Juventus youngster Dejan Kulusevski laid off Forsberg at the edge of the box and the RB Leipzig man scored into the bottom right corner past Wojciech Szczęsny. Forsberg has become Sweden’s talisman lately and with a favourable last 16 tie against Ukraine, Sweden have a real chance of progressing to the quarter finals. 

Kevin De Bruyne is the second midfielder in the team. The Man City man may only have played half of Belgium’s group stage matches but he done more in this time then many other players have done that have played the whole group stage. De Bruyne came on at half time when Belgium needed a response against Denmark. The Danes were superb in the first half however they couldn’t do much to prevent the quality of De Bruyne coming through in the end. The 29 year old played an immense pass across goal to set up Thorgan Hazard for a tap in to draw Belgium level in Copenhagen and he scored what turned out to be the winner with 20 minutes to go. A left footed De Bruyne strike from the edge of the box won it for Belgium. On match day 3, Belgium ended Finland’s hopes of progression, defeating them by two goals to nil in St. Petersburg. De Bruyne played a part in both goals. His corner was headed goal wards by Thomas Vermaelen; the ball then hit the post and bounced of Lukas Hradecky over the line. Kevin De Bruyne then assisted Romelu Lukaku for Belgium’s second. The Inter striker spinned his man and fired home. Dr Bruyne was awarded star of the match for his exploits on this match day. Belgium take part in one of the big games of the last 16 against Portugal and they will be hoping their golden generation can help fire them to their first major honour. 

Frenchman Paul Pogba gets a place in our midfield. Pogba has been criticised in the past for looking a different player in a France shirt compared to Manchester United but there’s no getting away from his great performances so far this summer. The 28 year old played a lovely ball over the top to pick out Lucas Hernandez for France’s opening goal of the tournament. He got star of the match for his contribution in this game. France didn’t live up to expectations on match day two against Hungary as they drew 1-1 however their 2-2 draw with Portugal on match day three was enough to seal top spot in Group F. Against Portugal, Pogba had another outstanding performance. Some of his passing was incredible. He put Kylian Mbappe in behind for the PSG forward only to be denied by a good Rui Patricio save. France went a goal down half an hour in but they drew level just before half time when Pogba played a lovely ball over the top for Mbappe, once again, to run on to, the youngster was brought down and Karim Benzema scored the resulting penalty. In the second half, Pogba finally got his first goal contribution of the tournament and you can’t say it wasn’t coming. He found Benzema in behind the Portuguese defence and the experienced Real Madrid striker was clinical. France then conceded 13 minutes later and the score was 2-2. Pogba nearly won it for France later on, his long range effort was palmed on to the woodwork by Patricio. Paul Pogba has taken up a sort of deep lying playmaker role for France, letting N’golo Kante do the dirty work. It is a role Pogba has excelled in and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping he can convey this form at club level in the 21/22 season but in the short term, Didier Deschamps’ aspirations will be for him just to keep it up for France in the knockout stages. The 2016 finalists and possibly favourites will be hoping to make it to their 7th quarter finals when they take on Switzerland on the 28th of June. 

To complete our midfield it was an extremely tough call between Gini Wijnaldum and Frenkie de Jong but the Liverpool midfielder just edges it due to his attacking prowess. Yes, de Jong was a pivotal part of the Dutch midfield and made them tick however the now PSG man’s attacking exploits have got him a place in the team of the group stage. Unlike how he played at Liverpool, Wijnaldum is able to get forward and given the license to roam freely and affect the game in a more attacking manner for the Netherlands. He captained Frank de Boer’s side to three consecutive victories in the group stage against Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia. Wijnaldum bagged himself 3 goals throughout the group stage so my theory that he is more attacking for the Netherlands is proved with this stat. His first was actually the opener for the Dutch against Ukraine on match day one, the 30 year old passed into an open net after Ukraine goalkeeper George Buschan was left stranded. Wijnaldum was once again key in midfield as the Netherlands defeated a very poor Austria side 3-2 in Amsterdam. On match day three, Wijnaldum got his other two goals. He had a tap in after Memphis Depay’s cut back for his first of the match and his second came only 6 minutes later. Wijnaldum finished off an excellent Dutch move, once again, tapping into an empty net. Wijnaldum is the second Netherlands player to feature on this list and looking at their possible run to the final, there may well still be here come the team of the tournament. 

Forwards

Up top, there may only be two players but it’s a case of quality over quantity. Cristiano Ronaldo starts us off. The Portuguese is the top scorer in the competition already with 5 and has brought his world class ability to the Euros. He’s scored in each of Portugal’s matches so far bagging two on match day one against Hungary. One was a penalty and the other was when he rounded Peter Gulacsi and tapped into an empty net. Portugal took on Germany on match day two in the first of their double header against possibly the two toughest teams they would face throughout the tournament. Ronaldo was involved in both Portugal goals. He scored their first 15 minutes in with yet another tap in and set up Liverpool man Diogo Jota for their second in the 4-2 loss. Against France, Ronaldo scored two penalties to ensure Portugal’s progression to the last 16. There’s absolutely no getting away from Cristiano Ronaldo’s talismanic effect on Portugal. He’s captain of the side and has took on responsibility when it matters, scoring 3 penalties. Bruno Fernandes has barely had a look in at Portugal and he’s star man at Manchester United. This goes to show how big Ronaldo is for Portugal. The holders have one of the toughest last 16 fixtures, they take on one of the favourites for the competition, Belgium. I wouldn’t put it past Ronaldo to come to the fore yet again for his nation. 

Another player who has a talismanic effect on his nation is Robert Lewandoski. The Bayern Munich man partners Cristiano Ronaldo up top in our team of the group stage. The Pole who recently broke Gerd Muller’s Bundesliga goal scoring record has been criticised in the past for not doing as well for his country as he does for his club but he undoubtedly proved those critics wrong this summer. The 32 year old scored all but one of Poland’s goals in the tournament but was unable to save them from elimination. His first goal came on match day two in Seville as Poland earned a point against Spain. He rose above Aymeric Laporte, dominating the Man City centre back, to head past Unai Simon, into the bottom corner. Match day three against Sweden was a must win for Poland. Paulo Sousa’s men found themselves two goals down an hour in but Robert Lewandoski scored two typical number nine goals two draw them level. His first was one of the goals of the tournament (I know nothing will top Patrick Schick’s effort but this could be a close second); he controlled a long ball over the top with excellence and cut inside on Victor Lindelof to fire into the top corner. His second which drew Poland level, was more simple. Lewandoski found himself free in the 18 yard box and easily slid it home. Unfortunately Poland then conceded at the death as they were pushing for a goal that would’ve seen them through to the last 16 and as a result Sweden ended up topping Group E. Therefore, we will not be seeing anymore of Robert Lewandoski for the rest of the Euros and he’s actually the only player on this list that we won’t be watching again this summer. 

That concludes my Euro 2020 Team of the Group Stage. It’s certain that a few of these players won’t be here come the knockout stages so it will be intriguing to see who will step up and perform throughout the rest of the tournament.