Half-time at Euros: The best and worst from the group stage

An intriguing tournament has already thrown up some standout performers and memorable moments
Half-time at Euros: The best and worst from the group stage

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo speaks with France's Kylian Mbappe of France in the tunnel after their Euro 2020 Group F match in Budapest, Hungary, this week. Picture: Angel Martinez/Uefa/via Getty Images)

Best team: Italy

 If trophies were handed out for performances in the group stage, then Italy would have one hand on silverware already.

Two faultless 3-0 victories against Switzerland and Turkey, plus a 1-0 win against Wales with their reserve team saw them win Group A with maximum points and without conceding a goal.

Roberto Mancini has created an Italian side which defends as well as ever - but has a totally different attitude to attack and risk. They may have opened their campaign in Rome with a rousing rendition of Nessan Dorma, but nobody is sleeping watching this team, that’s for sure.

Best player: Cristiano Ronaldo 

 It’s a predictable choice, but what can you do when a football GOAT, at the age of 36, scores five goals in the group stage and becomes the greatest goalscorer of all time at the Euros? Eleven attempts on goal, six on target, five of them in the net tells the story. The Portuguese legend now has 109 goals for his country, equalling Ali Daei’s world record total for Iran between 1993 and 2006.

Best goal: Patrik Schick (Czech Republic) v Scotland 

 There’s no real debate about this one. It’s Schick from the half-way line.

Forget David Beckham for Manchester United against Wimbledon in 1996, Schick’s high and beautifully curling chip, which moved in the air like a golf shot, was made even more entertaining by the comic and desperate run by Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall to try and keep it out. Needless to say, ball and man both ended up in the net.

Best match: Denmark 4 Russia 1 

 There were games, including Germany 4 Portugal 2, that had more goals or higher quality football, but Denmark’s victory over Russia was like watching a fairy tale unfold in Copenhagen.

The sheer outpouring of emotion at the Parken Stadium was incredible on a day when home fans celebrated Christian Eriksen, who had suffered a cardiac arrest on the same pitch just nine days earlier.

Thankfully Eriksen is still with us, and so are the Danes. They rode the wave of emotion to demolish Russia with goals from Mikkel Damsgaard, Andreas Christensen, Yussuf Poulsen and Joakim Maehle.

Thankfully Eriksen is still with us, and so are the Danes. They rode the wave of emotion to demolish Russia with goals from Mikkel Damsgaard, Andreas Christensen, Yussuf Poulsen, and Joakim Maehle.

Best surprise package: Sweden

 When the Swedes reached 0-0 at half-time against Spain in their opening game despite having only 15 per cent possession you thought their days were numbered. But they have really grown since holding out for 90 minutes in that game.

Emil Forsberg began the revival with a winner against Slovakia – before scoring twice in a dramatic 3-2 victory over Poland in the final fixture.

Best striker after Ronaldo: Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) 

 Ronaldo leads the goalscoring charts but in many ways Lukaku, on three goals, is a better story.

It’s incredible how much he has improved since Chelsea decided he wasn’t good enough and Manchester United opted to sell in search of something better. His pace, power and finishing mark him out as something special, even in a team full of global superstars.

The BBC lists his shot accuracy as 100 per cent in Euro 2020 so far, which is a remarkable stat, and he now has 63 international goals, 45 behind Ronaldo’s 108 but eight years younger.

Best midfielder: Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands) 

 Liverpool fans will be watching the Netherlands play and wondering why on earth their club has allowed Wijnaldum to leave for PSG on a free transfer.

Jurgen Klopp always used the Dutchman in a defensive role but his talent for scoring goals is embraced by Frank de Boer, and he has delivered three already this tournament (including two against North Macedonia).

Best defender: Raphael Varane (France)

 The man who Manchester United are desperate to sign has impressed, even in a French side which has let in goals.

The four-time Champions League winner is one of the calmest defenders in football and should shine in the knockout stages. Jose Mourinho once named him as the best defender in the world, and he's capable of living up to it.

Best goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford (England) 

 The Everton man gets a lot of stick for his performances at Goodison and there are often calls for him to be replaced in the England team. But when he pulls on an international shirt it transforms him.

England made the last 16 without conceding a single goal, only Italy can match that, and Pickford has made some outstanding saves.

Best atmosphere: Hungary v France

 Just when everyone was naming France as favourites following an early win over Germany, they were undone by the sheer volume of a Hungarian crowd in Budapest.

The Puskas Arena was the only stadium with a full capacity crowd in the group stages, and the Magyars made the most of it as 60,000 crammed in to watch a game against the world champions.

The noise when Hungary went ahead through Attila Fiola was off the scale - and only a late goal from Antoine Griezmann saved France from defeat.

Best piece of skill: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 

 Ronaldo’s no-look, back-heeled flick to a teammate behind him left Germany defender Antonio Rudiger flummoxed and has become a social media hit. He even seemed to look at the camera as he did it.

Former Liverpool and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamman didn’t like it, saying Ronaldo looked a fool after losing the match. But if anyone is entitled to showboat it’s Portugal's captain.

Best individual performance: Billy Gilmour (Scotland v England) 

 The Scots are already out and midfielder Gilmour is isolating with Covid-19, but the 20-year-old still left an indelible mark on the tournament.

Facing England at Wembley on his full debut he produced an astonishing performance to dominate midfield and frustrate the hosts, not only winning tackles and covering ground but also making Scotland tick in a way that N’Golo Kante would be proud of.

Best young talent: Mikkel Damsgaard (Denmark) 

 The Sampdoria winger is only 20 but has shown no nerves despite Denmark’s difficult and emotional tournament.

His performance against Belgium was impressive and his stunning goal against Russia sent them into the last 16. Not bad for a player who only moved into Serie A last season and who is now Denmark’s youngest ever goalscorer in the Euros.

Best referee: VAR 

 The standard of refereeing in almost every game has been high, with very few controversial moments and even fewer mistakes. That makes it hard to pick out an individual performance.

The real highlight has been the way that VAR has been used in a far less intrusive way than in the Premier League. Decisions have been taken quickly and only when an obvious mistake has been made.

Best captain: Simon Kjaer (Denmark) 

 The Danish captain has showed leadership on so many levels.

He is credited with helping to save the life of Christian Eriksen, after rushing to the midfielder’s aid when he collapsed in the match against Finland. Then he asked teammates to make a ring of solidarity around their teammate to provide him with privacy as medics arrived.

Kjaer admits he thought about pulling out of the next game against Belgium but stayed to lead his team and earned the ultimate reward when Denmark beat Russia to reach the last 16.

There was another circle formed by Danish players after that fixture, but this time for an emotional celebration, with Kjaer at the heart of it.

Best substitute: Ferran Torres (Spain)

 When you come onto the pitch and score within 44 seconds in a 5-0 victory you have to say it’s a job well done. The Manchester City man’s goal against Slovakia was the fastest by a sub at the Euros since Juan Carlos Valeron for Spain in 2004

 Best showbiz name: Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands) 

 What’s not to like about being named after acting legend Denzel Washington and a Scottish town? The wing-back, originally from Aruba, has already scored two goals and looks the real deal. And, of course, if the Dutch ever go behind you’d expect him to score The Equalizer… 

 Best national anthem rendition: Flower of Scotland 

 The Scots were outnumbered in London during a 0-0 draw against England, but their passionate rendition of Flower Of Scotland – whether it was inside Wembley or in Trafalgar Square – sent shivers down the spine. They certainly sent England ‘home tae think again’, even if the celebrations were short lived.

Best celebration: Atilla Fiola (Hungary) 

 Some of the greatest goal celebrations have been choreographed in advance – think Gazza’s ‘dentist chair’ of Euro 96. But there’s definitely a place in the top 10 for people who just simply ‘lose it’.

That’s exactly what happened to Fiola when he scored for Hungary against France, the full-back setting off on a mad, crazy run like a bucking horse let loose. During the process he managed to vault a barrier and almost destroy a pitch-side desk, narrowly avoiding landing on a female journalist. Total madness.

Best dressed man: Roberto Mancini (Italy) 

 It was all about Gareth Southgate’s M&S waistcoat at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but Roberto Mancini’s classic Italian style is on a different level. Mancini’s threads are as sharp as his tactics.

Team Of The Tournament So Far 

Jordan Pickford (England) Stefan Lainer (Austria) Raphael Varane (France) Simon Kjaer (Denmark) Leonardo Spinazzola (Italy) Kevin de Bruyne (Belgium) Manuel Locatelli (Italy) Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands) Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Patrik Schick (Czech Republic) 

Rest of the 26-man squad: Paul Pogba (France), Gareth Bale (Wales), Mikkel Damsgaard (Denmark), Luka Modric (Croatia), Raheem Sterling (England), Kylian Mbappe (France), Robin Gosens (Germany), N’Golo Kante (France), Emil Forsberg (Sweden), Pablo Sarabia (Spain), Kai Havertz (Germany), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Andriy Yarmolenko (Ukraine), Gianluigi Donarumma (Italy), Aymeric Laporte (Spain) 

 

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