There are several headlines that have written Portugal’s story as one of underdogs, when in truth they are a much better team than they have been given credit for. But still, in the final, there was no doubt who the clear favorites were.
They were certainly underdogs for that particular game and as many around the world anticipated a French win, Portugal completely re-wrote the script and made a memorable night for their fans in Paris.
The tournament wasn’t a classic, with each game averaging two goals. But there were some intriguing player battles and several commendable individual performances. That said, there were some who just did not deliver on the big stage.
So here is the XI of the worst players of the tournament.
GK: Joe Hart
There aren’t too many contenders for this position and even if there are Joe Hart stood out from the crowd quite easily wth his shambolic performances for the Three Lions. There is some sort of curse that haunts England and their goalkeepers in major tournaments.
From David James to Scott Carson and most notably Robert Green, England GKs have had their disaster moments and for poor old Joe Hart it was more of Deja Vu than anything.
The error from Bale’s free-kick was excusable but how he let in the second gold from Iceland slip under his palms, only he knows. In any case, it was another disastrous international tournament for England and one they would like to forget soon.
Defence
LB: Jordi Alba
In defence, Jordi Alba takes the left back spot. This might be a bit of a surprise considering his impressive performances going forward but it was at the defence where they needed him the most and where he failed to deliver. When hit on the counter he failed to track back as much as he should which left Spain vulnerable and led to costly goals that knocked them out of the tournament.
CB: Jason Denayer
Jason Denayer was talked up a lot before the tournament after Belgium were without Vincent Kompany. But Wilmots preferred not to play him until he had to which was against Wales in the quarter-finals and we all know how that game turned out. Denayer’s poor showing might just have earned him another loan move from Manchester City for next season
CB: Martin Skrtel
Slovakia had one of the worst defences in the competition. They were second to probably only Russia. There was a reason Klopp didn't trust Skrtel last season and he showed exactly that during the Euros giving away a penalty during a 3-0 hammering by Germany.
RB: Stephan Lichtsteiner
Lichtsteiner had come off a very good season with Juventus but he could not quite replicate that form with Switzerland. Despite getting through the group stages he made a few mistakes including a handball against Romania.
Midfield
RM: Raheem Sterling
This should not come as any surprise at all. The Manchester City winger did not have the best of domestic seasons and he followed it up with a poor showing at the Euros as well. He failed to complete most of his take-ons and his decision making was average to say the least.
LM: Mario Goetze
Mario Goetze was a World Cup winner in 2014, the hero of his country after he came on to score the winning goal in that dramatic final in Brazil. But 2016 was definitely not the 23-year-old’s most memorable of years After spending most of the season on the bench for Bayern he was very ineffective for Germany which forced Loew to play Mario Gomez ahead of him.
CAM: David Alaba
Alaba was Austria’s big hope in this tournament. With a decent squad and a group in which they were definitely within a chance of qualifying for the latter stages a lot was expected of their main man. But Alaba had a very average tournament and was very ineffective in midfield, with his country ending up 4th in their group.
CM: Sergio Busquets
Busquets is usually not the type to lose possession but he was often left wanting at the Euros. He produced several uncharacteristic displays and also had a poor percentage of challenges won. Spain’s fluency was lost and a lot of that had to do with Busquets poor form.
Attack
ST: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
This was Zlatan’s last major international tournament. His last shot at inspiring his nation to some sort of epic finale. But it all went bust for the 34-year-old striker. Sweden failed to register a shot on target for most of their 270 minutes and Ibra just did not deliver.
ST: Harry Kane
Hurri-Kane took the Premier League by storm last season and proved that he wasn't a one-hit wonder. But something changes when players put on the English shirts. It was no different for Kane as he mesmerized and confused the crowds by taking free kicks and corners instead of being at the end of them.
Formation
Alaba was made to play as an attacking midfielder in for Austria. It’s a position he is unfamiliar with and understandably he wasn’t very good. Goetze did play on the wings in some matches but was ineffective there as well.
A defence of Skrtel and Denayer would have any striker salivating at the prospect of playing against those two. Kane and Zlatan will face each other in the Premier LEgaue next season but and will hopefully hit the ground running in an effort to erase the memories of the Euros.
