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Gabriele Marcotti
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Julien laurens
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ESPN writers Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens delve into the thankless job of putting together our best XI of the Euro 2020 group stage.
It seemed logical to limit oneself to players who had played at least two games and employ a 4-3-3 formation, because that’s what a lot of the top teams have played. Of course, that meant putting square pegs in round holes, but we tried to avoid doing that. The former Best XI stand-by of packing the midfielder with No.10s and playing three center-forwards up front is not for us. And, yes, sentiment may have played a role in one or two of them – we’re just humans – although we’ve tried to use impact as the primary yardstick.
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Other goalkeepers like England Jordan Pickford and Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma have yet to concede, but we picked Olsen because he made big saves and few mistakes to help his side dominate Group E ahead. Spain and reach the round of 16.
He hasn’t really played right-back as much as he played right-back, but he deserves a spot and that’s where he fits into a 4-3-3. Scored the winning goal against Ukraine and then found his way back in the next game against Austria. Many thanks to Vladimir Coufal from the Czech Republic here too.
Italy didn’t concede, with Bonucci starting all three games and barely putting a foot awry. In fact, he exceeded Gab’s expectations after a delicate end to the season at Juventus. We were also unanimous on Kjaer. While not for his leadership and reaction in Game 1 when teammate Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch, he was a constant and calming influence throughout the other group matches. Presnel Kimpembe also gets an honorable mention as the best French defender to date.
An easy unanimous choice here. Spinazzola has been devastating in both of his games for Italy, but also recovered very well defensively when called up. Gab also liked Sweden’s Ludwig Augustinsson and we also had to thank German Robin Gosens for his performance against Portugal. However, considering our criteria, this was Spinazzola.
Three places to fill here and Wijnaldum must be an obvious choice for his three goals alone, even without considering his efforts and leadership in a Dutch side which seemed full of holes ahead of the tournament.
Pogba was a slightly more difficult choice, given his relatively lackluster display against Hungary, but he really made a difference in the other two games and that pass for Karim Benzema to score against Portugal was a highlight.
The third midfielder chatted more and we might have been swayed a bit by the backstory (and Juls, who loves his whimsical passes, was definitely swayed by that goal against Turkey). It is the Italian Manuel Locatelli, who was not even supposed to start the tournament and yet he marked his authority in his two appearances and played with personality and fearlessness, while scoring two goals. Honorable mentions go to Spaniard Koke, Wales Aaron Ramsey, Italy’s Jorginho, for Scotland’s performance and overall effort, and, because we have a soft spot for him, Luka Modric of Croatia.
Yes, Memphis plays in a two-forwards formation, but he often starts out wide. And his electricity, unpredictability and absolute class in the first three games as the Netherlands managed to win Group C perfectly got him into the squad.
De Bruyne missed the first game, but he reversed the second game against Denmark with a goal and an assist and continued with a stellar performance in the third game also for Group B winners Belgium. Like Juls says, you know he’s gonna be good from now on, too.
Having witnessed his goal against the Czechs in person, Gab also had to say hello to Croatian Ivan Perisic, while we both loved Mikkel Damsgaard’s goal and performance for Denmark. Raheem Sterling’s two goals – without which England would have zero – also deserve a mention.
Ronaldo and Belgian Romelu Lukaku both deserved to be here in our opinion, but we only have room for one player up front. And, frankly, since it’s about impact, you can’t really ignore Ronaldo’s five goals, even if three were from the penalty spot. The header and the race against Germany were special, as was the one-two with Rafa Silva for the third against Hungary. (Yes, that was in garbage time, but you try to do it in the 90th minute).
Lukaku was not only a leveler, he was also a leader and selfless to boot. But there is only one place here and that is also why Czech Patrik Schick – with your goals and a goal from the tournament candidate – has to settle for an honorable mention.
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