The quarter-finals stage at UEFA Euro 2016 was action-packed and full of twists and turns. The quarter-finals saw some pulsating clashes and dramatic finishes. Portugal secured a place in the last 4 thanks to a hard-fought victory over Poland while Germany overcame old foes Italy in a tense penalty shootout.
France completely outclassed minnows Iceland while Wales arguably put in the performance of the tournament when they beat Belgium 3-1. There were a number of standout performers from each team and now that the dust has settled, let us pick the best XI from the Euro 2016 quarter-final stage.
Formation: 4-3-1-2
Goalkeeper
The Germany vs Italy quarter-final was arguably the most high-profile match of this stage. The game featured the two best goalkeepers in the world right now – Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon. Although Buffon ended up on the losing side, he showed more than glimpses of his class throughout the game and was a major reason for Italy restricting Germany to only 1 goal.
Buffon commanded his box with authority and pulled off a couple of stunning saves to deny Mario Gomez. He did his best in the penalties as well, but some woeful penalty shooting by the Italians meant that the former World Cup winner had to head home.
With this performance however, Buffon proved that he has just got better with age and the Azzurri fans will be hoping that Buffon comes back for one last tournament in 2018.
Defenders
Wales captain Ashley Williams was immense in his side’s historic 3-1 victory against Belgium. Not only did Williams defend solidly throughout the match, he also scored a vital equaliser and played a crucial part in cutting out the threat posed by Hazard, De Bruyne and Lukaku. Williams was calm and composed throughout the match and his positioning and tackles were spot on most of the times.
Partnering him at the heart of defence is Italy’s Bonucci. The Italian might have missed his penalty in the shoot-out, but he did convert his penalty in normal time and he managed to stifle the threat posed by Gomez and Muller pretty effectively throughout the match.
At the right-back and left-back positions, we have two talented German youngsters, Joshua Kimmich and Jonas Hector. The duo bombed up and down the flanks tirelessly and put in an accomplished performance against a very good Italy side.
Both Hector and Kimmich also scored their penalties like seasoned veterans, showing that they have the ability to keep calm under pressure.
Midfielders
France thumped Iceland 5-2 in the quarter-final putting an end to their miraculous run and the key to such a dominating performance was the excellent performance by midfield duo Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet.
Pogba had not been at his best in Euro 2016 so far, but the Juventus star showed just why he is so highly rated with a virtuoso performance against Iceland. Payet continued his good form and put in another sparkling display for France. Deschamps will be hoping that the duo continues their good form in the semi-final against Germany.
Completing the three man midfield is Portugal youngster Renato Sanches. The Bayern Munich star showed just why he is so highly rated and he put in a man of the match performance to drag Portugal over the line against Poland.
The second biggest star of Wales, Aaron Ramsey has arguably been their best player. The Arsenal star was integral to his side’s 3-1 win against Belgium grabbing an assist and creating a number of chances throughout the match.
Ramsey has been the main creative influence in the team and his presence will definitely be missed by the Dragons in their semi-final match against Portugal.
Forwards
Hal Robson-Kanu put Wales into a major tournament semi-final for the first time in their history with a superb goal on Friday.
He was man of the match on Friday for a performance that included a Cruyff-like shimmy with his back to goal that opened up the space for him to give Wales a 2-1 lead in the second half after they had gone behind in an early Belgian onslaught.
"The ball's coming to my feet," the matter-of-fact Londoner said of the cross he received from Aaron Ramsey. "I was able to turn in the box and put it in the back of the net." Robson-Kanu who is out of contract will now have plenty of suitors after the Euros.
Antoine Griezmann just edges out his team-mate Olivier Giroud to make the team. Both the France forwards had a wonderful match against Iceland with Griezmann grabbing one goal and two assists while Giroud grabbed two goals and one assist.
Griezmann has slowly found his best form as the tournament has progressed and France will be relying heavily on the Frenchman when they take on Germany in the semi-final.
Although the team has now been selected, we take a look at how the players line up and what formation they will play in in the next slide. We also pick the manager for this team.
Formation
The team lines up in a fluid 4-3-1-2 formation. The goalkeeper is Italy’s shot-stopper Gianluigi Bufoon. The centre-back pairing of Ashley Williams and Bonucci ensure that the defensive unit is solid while the German full-backs Hector and Kimmich provide energy and width on the flanks.
The star-studded midfield is packed with talent and creativity. We have Pogba, Payet and Sanches manning the three man-midfield followed by Wales’ Aaron Ramsey who plays in the hole, just behind th forwards.
The front two consists of Wales striker Hal Robson-Kanu and Frenchman Antoine Griezmann The manager for this team will be Chris Coleman. The Wales manager deserves a lot of credit for master-minding Wales’ stunning win over Belgium.
This is how the team lines up:
