The group stage in UEFA Euro 2016 came to an end in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night with the final 16 teams confirmed for the knockout stages. While many teams confirmed qualification on matchday 2, many third-placed teams still had to wait even after having played all three games as the new tournament format required all teams to finish their games to see which four third-placed teams would go through.
Although the usual suspects such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain confirmed progress on matchday 2, there were many twists on the final day that saw the final tables turned upside down. Croatia beat Spain to top spot while Iceland relegated Portugal to third place and hand them a tougher draw. On the other hand, many teams with potential failed to deliver, such as Austria and Turkey.
With two days of rest before the Round of 16, also a blessing in disguise for the fans who have had non-stop football since 11 June, we take a look at the star players at Euro 2016 so far.
Top Goalscorers
The Golden Boot race at Euro 2016 sees Spain’s Alvaro Morata and Wales’ Gareth Bale lead the charts with three goals each. While Morata scored three in two games, Bale scored one goal each in every game he played – including two from free-kicks.
It hasn’t been the best tournament for forwards as a whole but a number of midfielders are in the running for the Golden Boot. Dimitri Payet was in sensational form in the first two games, scoring the winner in the tournament opener against Romania before finishing off Albania in the second. He was used as a substitute for the third match and almost made an impact if not for his teammate who stood in the way of a potentially lethal free-kick.
The highest-scoring game was between Portugal and Hungary who played out a thrilling 3-3 draw and it saw Cristiano Ronaldo finally join the party and become the first player to score in four different editions of Euro.
| # | Player | Team | Goals | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alvaro Morata | Spain | 3 | 219 |
| 2 | Gareth Bale | Wales | 3 | 263 |
| 3 | Dimitri Payet | France | 2 | 207 |
| 4 | Romelu Lukaku | Belgium | 2 | 242 |
| 5 | Nani | Portugal | 2 | 260 |
| 6 | Bogdan Stancu | Romania | 2 | 264 |
| 7 | Ivan Perisic | Croatia | 2 | 267 |
| 8 | Balazs Dzsudzsak | Hungary | 2 | 270 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 2 | 270 |
Top Passers
Unsurprisingly, central midfielders lead the way in passing stats at Euro 2016. The two teams with the best passers are from teams who dominate possession – Spain and Germany.
Sergio Busquets remains a constant presence in the Spanish midfield in spite of changes in personnel around him and leads the passing stats with 94.5% passing accuracy. The Barcelona midfielder keeps the game ticking with his passes by linking defence with attack and allows his teammates to play the riskier passes.
However, his teammate for club and country, Andres Iniesta still makes the top five with a 92.3% pass in spite of his advanced role. The Spaniard won the Man of the Match twice for the way he conducted the game and dominated midfield and was a key member of the move that saw Spain score after making 21 passes.
But the best performance in a single game arguably belongs to Germany’s Mesut Ozil. The Arsenal midfielder completed 99.5% of his passes in the final game against Northern Ireland, a game Die Mannschaft won 1-0.
| # | Player | Team | Pass Success % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Busquets | Spain | 94.5% |
| 2 | Toni Kroos | Germany | 92.8% |
| 3 | Sergio Ramos | Spain | 92.5% |
| 4 | Axel Witsel | Belgium | 92.4% |
| 5 | Andres Iniesta | Spain | 92.3% |
| 6 | Ricardo Carvalho | Portugal | 92.2% |
| 7 | Jordi Alba | Spain | 92.2% |
| 8 | Mehmet Topal | Turkey | 91.9% |
| 9 | Mesut Ozil | Germany | 91.6% |
| 10 | Jonas Hector | Germany | 91.3% |
Most assists
Only two players have recorded more than one assist at Euro 2016 so far – Wales’ Aaron Ramsey and Belgium’s Eden Hazard (two each). Ramsey provided a valuable assist in Wales’ first game that saw Hal Robson-Kanu score the winner against Slovakia while he also created the chance for Bale to score his third goal of the tournament in the 3-0 win over Russia.
Hazard, on the other hand, set up Romelu Lukaku with a blistering counter-attack in the 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland while also setting up the winner for Radja Nainggolan in the 1-0 win over Sweden.
Most saves in the Group Stage
Iceland’s progress to the knockout stages in their first ever major tournament is nothing short of a fairy tale. And one of the key members who ensured progress to the round of 16 was goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson.
The 32-year-old goalkeeper made a total of 17 saves over the three games – including eight saves in the 1-1 draw with Portugal which saw him deny Ronaldo time and again much to the frustration of the Real Madrid forward who, at the time, was still looking to score his first goal in the tournament.
| # | Player | Team | Total Saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hannes Halldorsson | Iceland | 17 |
| 2 | Michael McGovern | N Ireland | 15 |
| 3 | Andriy Pyatov | Ukraine | 14 |
| Igor Akinfeev | Russia | 14 | |
| 5 | Volkan Babacan | Turkey | 13 |
| 6 | Andreas Isaksson | Sweden | 12 |
| Ciprian Tatarusanu | Romania | 12 | |
| Robert Almer | Austria | 12 | |
| 9 | Matus Kozacik | Slovakia | 11 |
| 10 | Etrit Berisha | Albania | 9 |
Most Tackles per Game
Nobody has made more tackles per game than Croatia’s Ivan Strinic. He is the only player to average 5 tackles per game while the next best is three different players on 4 per game. The left-back played in two games and kept one clean sheet.
Romania’s Cristian Sapunaru, France’s N’Golo Kante and Northern Ireland’s Oliver Norwood have averaged 4 tackles per game at Euro 2016. Kante has played only two games but had been instrumental in the hosts’ two wins.
| # | Player | Team | Tackles per game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Strinic | Croatia | 5 |
| 2 | Cristian Sapunaru | Romania | 4 |
| N'Golo Kante | France | 4 | |
| Oliver Norwood | N Ireland | 4 | |
| 5 | Aaron Ramsey | Wales | 3.7 |
| Darijo Srna | Croatia | 3.7 | |
| Florian Klein | Austria | 3.7 | |
| Ricardo Rodriguez | Switzerland | 3.7 | |
| Zoltan Gera | Hungary | 3.7 | |
| 10 | Adam Nagy | Hungary | 3.5 |
All stats courtesy of WhoScored
