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Another international tournament has finished and England have, somewhat unsurprisingly, underperformed. Following in the footsteps of the seniors at last summer's World Cup, Gareth Southgate’s men crashed out at the group stages, although some pride can be taken from the fact they were the only team to beat eventual winners Sweden.
Not that that stands for much. Perhaps it makes their visit to the Czech Republic even more frustrating; flashes of potential, but another underwhelming disappointment on the whole.
But rather than focus on Southgate’s regretful squad selection and the absence of Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, the spotlight should in fact be on the two finalists – Sweden and Portugal.
It was certainly not the make up of the final anyone had anticipated before the tournament started over a week ago. Only the Czech Republic had longer odds than Sweden at the start of the competition, yet Hâkan Ericson’s side still managed to reach the business end of the competition despite having to navigate past Italy, England, Portugal (twice) and Denmark en route.
As for Portugal they were arguably the best side in the tournament and could be considered unfortunate not to have beaten Sweden, having edged proceedings up until the penalty shoot-out. Rui Jorge’s men had nearly 60 per cent of the possession; made more dribbles (22), forced more corners (9) and took more shots (20) in the goalless 90-minute stalemate.
Four of Portugal’s players made up the top five rated players on the night, with Sweden’s goalkeeper Patrick Carigren breaking up the Portuguese dominance – read into that what you will.
Perhaps that actually gives you an indication as to Sweden’s performance over the course of the tournament. Not to take anything away from their achievement or to suggest they were unworthy of their first European Under-21 Championship, but the statistics reveal they certainly did not blow away their competition.
No side averaged less possession than the Swede’s (38.%), no nation had a worse pass success rate (73.2%) and only three other countries received an overall team rating worse than Ericson’s men (6.86). Sweden also averaged more long balls per game (84) than any other participating country and averaged the fewest short passes per game (292). Portugal, on the other hand, ranked considerably nearer the top for those respective stats.
Jorge’s side may have been losing finalists, but in the grander scheme of things, these are exciting times for Portugal. Their dominance in the tournament was reflected immensely in WhoScored.com’s statistically calculated team of the tournament with an incredible seven players making up the XI – José Sá, Paulo Oliveira, Raphael Guerreiro, Sergio Oliveira, João Mário, Bernardo Silva and Ricardo Pereira.
Portugal’s captain Sergio finished the tournament as the best rated player (7.96) of those that made more than two appearances. No player made more key passes (13) than the 22-year-old and while he may not have found the back of the net - hitting the woodwork twice - or registered an assist, he was an immense presence in the middle of the park and Porto look to have a real talent on their hands.
There should also be notable mentions for his midfield teammates. Bernardo Silva and Joao Mário were also stand out performers for Portugal. No player completed more dribbles than the former (27), whereas only two players that made more than two appearances finished with a better pass completion rate than Mário (90.4%).
Elsewhere in the XI, Czech Republic striker and tournament top goalscorer Jan Kliment (3) partners Portugal forward Pereira up front, with his international teammates Pavel Kaderábek and Ondrej Petrak breaking up Portugal’s dominance at right-back and defensive midfield, respectively. Denmark’s Jannik Vestergaard completes the XI alongside Paulo Oliveria at the heart of the defence.
For those unbeknown to the events of the entire tournament, this might seem like a staunch, biased defence in favour of Portugal, but they really were a cut above the rest, even demolishing pre-tournament favourites Germany 5-0 in the semi-finals - undoubtedly the tournament’s standout performance.
This piece cannot go without really delving into England’s underwhelming campaign. So much had been expected, particularly with Harry Kane leading the line, but they ended up crashing out of the group stages for the second tournament in succession – although at least they managed to get some points on the board (3) on this occasion.
Despite only playing three matches, no player came close to having more shots than Kane’s 17 and to make matters worse for the Tottenham striker, he failed to score with any of them. In fact, no country averaged more shots per game than England (17.3) and with only two goals to show for it, Southgate’s men finished the tournament with the worst conversion rate (3.8%) by a distance.
But enough of England, we will wait for that formal review to take place before dissecting their chances at future tournaments. For now, the praise should be for the two finalists; for Portugal’s verve and Sweden’s combative resilience.
