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Euro 2016: Team of the first round
Rabah Sherif looks back over the first round of matches and picks out the 11 players that have impressed him so far
Big teams have generally faltered, and smaller teams have punched above their weight. Similarly, some players lived up to their billing, and others failed to show up. With the third of the group stage round now concluded, we take a look at the players that have particularly stood out.
Below is my team of the first round, along with some honourable mentions:
Goalkeeper:
Yann Sommer (Switzerland): the Swiss custodian was a calming presence between the sticks as he made two vital saves; one of them at point blank range in the 87th minute to keep the Swiss in the game.
Honourable mentions: Etrit Berisha (Albania), Hannes Halldorsson (Iceland) and Petr Cech (Czech Republic)
Defence:
Jerome Boateng (Germany): the ball-playing defender’s 6 total clearances kept Germany’s record of having never losing a European championship opening game intact. His goal-line clearance image in particular, will forever remain etched in this tournament’s memory.
Leonardo Bonucci (Italy): the Juve defensive supremo was at the heart of Conte’s game-plan as the Italians thwarted the Belgians’ constant attacking raids. With his help, Italy have now kept more clean sheets at the European championships than any other team in the competition’s history (17). His sublime assist for Giaccherini’s opener was Pirlo-esque as well.
Fabian Schar (Switzerland): the towering defender’s header was the difference between the sides as the Swiss claimed a valuable 3 points against European debutants Albania.
Honourable mentions: Shkodran Mustafi (Germany), Vedran Corluka (Croatia) and Andrea Barzagli (Italy)
Midfield:
Darijo Srna (Croatia): the marauding right wing-back rolled back the years as he offered the width and the delivery during Croatia’s impressive dismantling of Turkey. His free-kick attempt that hit the woodwork, would’ve added the icing to the cake.
Luka Modric (Croatia): the midfield lynch-pin took ultra-command of proceedings and his volley from 25 yards out was the moment of brilliance that sealed the game. Undisputed man of the match with 3 chances created.
Toni Kroos (Germany): another Real Madrid player was in imperious form, laying on a pinpoint cross for Mustafi to head home. His 93% pass completion rate epitomized the manner in which he dictated play.
N’Golo Kante (France): the Premier League winner was an omnipresent in the middle of the park, and showed the world exactly what he is about.
Andres Iniesta (Spain): majestic performance by the tournament’s most decorated player. Gave us a treat of a masterclass with 92 passes, 5 chances created and a beauty of a curler to find Pique, who headed home. The Spanish are now unbeaten in 13 games at the European finals (the last being in 2004).
Honourable mentions: Granit Xhaka (Switzerland), Ivan Perisic (Croatia), Jakub Blaszczykowski (Poland), Wes Hoolahan (Republic of Ireland) and Emanuele Giaccherini (Italy)
Forwards:
Dimitri Payet (France): the French maestro dominated proceedings with 8 chances created (twice as many as the French team combined) and was a constant menace to the Romanian back-line. His goal and assist were beauty personified.
Arkadiusz Milik (Poland): perhaps should have scored more from the 5 shots attempted but his fine strike finally broke the deadlock. His direct running caused problems aplenty for the Northern Irish defense. He is now the youngest ever goal-scorer for Poland at a European Championship (22 years).
Honourable mention: Olivier Giroud
Team of the Round:
