After picking his playing XI, the manager is permitted to make only three substitutions. This results in players who had a decent run with their respective clubs spend most of the time on the bench.
Although it kills the fans to see their favourite club player on the sidelines, it must be understood that it takes some experience to excel at the international level and the managers cannot take risks at a major tournament.
This slideshow consists of players from various teams who failed to make an appearance or could only manage a playing time of less than 90 minutes. So let us take a look at the Unused XI at Euro 2016.
Goalkeeper: Fraser Forster
Fraser Forster (England) takes the spot ahead of Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany), owing to Joe Hart’s dismal performances between the sticks. Although failing to keep Gareth Bale’s free kick away didn’t prove costly, Hart’s blunder against Iceland did and led to England’s elimination.
Fraser Forster missed the first half of Premier League action owing to a knee injury. The Southampton shot-stopper made a dream return, recording six consecutive clean sheets and was rightly awarded Premier League Player of the Month for February.
Despite being a good goalkeeper, Forster failed to make an appearance ahead of the experienced Joe Hart as his sudden dip in form came as a surprise.
Defenders:
The central defence will be paired by Mikel San Jose (Spain) and John Stones (England). The Athletic Bilbao centre-back, San Jose, had an impressive season with his club and played himself into contention for the national team. Known for his tough tackling and aerial strength, the presence of the experienced duo of Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique kept him on the bench the entire tournament.
On the other hand, John Stones has been impressive at the back for Everton. Like San Jose, the presence of the experienced Gary Cahill and aggressive Chris Smalling kept him on the sidelines throughout the tournament.
At right back is Spain’s Hector Bellerin. The Arsenal right-back was called up to replace injured Dani Carvajal. Despite impressive performances in the warm-up matches, the speedster failed to make the playing XI given the lack of experience at the international stage.
The left back spot is taken by Lucas Digne (France). The Paris Saint-Germain left-back spent the 2015-16 season on loan at Roma, where he made a total of 39 appearances and also had 3 goals to his name. Didier Deschamps preferred the experienced Evra over Digne and Euro 2016 must have been an excellent learning experience for the young defender.
Midfielders:
With both full-backs being attack minded, Mousa Dembele (Belgium) will play as the central defensive midfielder screening the defence and distributing the ball with his excellent passing abilities. Although he played a crucial role in Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League campaign, he was not a part of Marc Wilmots’s plans at Euro 2016 and managed to get a playing time of just 57 minutes.
In front of Dembele will be the duo of Ross Barkley (England) and Koke (Spain), adding energy to the midfield. Ross Barkley, a definite starter for Everton failed to make a single appearance at Euro 2016 despite entering the tournament with his best season tally of 12 goals and 8 assists.
Koke is an integral cog in the Atletico Madrid team and is known for his playmaking abilities. He made the second most number of assists (14) in La Liga 2015-16. However, Koke made just one appearance as a substitute in the 73rd minute, as Vincente del Bosque preferred playing Cesc Fabregas who came in from a sticky spell at Chelsea.
His presence in the midfield against Italy could have possibly turned tables for Spain.
Forwards:
The forward line-up comprises of Lucas Vazquez (Spain), Stephan El Shaarawy (Italy) and Leroy Sane (Germany). Lucas Vazquez had an amazing first season with Spanish giants Real Madrid, scoring 4 goals and providing 6 assists in just 25 appearances.
A pacy winger with good dribbling abilities, he would have been a handful to deal with for the defenders. However, he made his only appearance at Euro 2016 against Italy, Spain being 1-0 down and eventually eliminated from the tournament.
Stephan El Shaarawy spent the 2015-16 season on loan with Monaco and subsequently Roma. Following an injury-stricken season, he made his return at Monaco but did not make an impact, failing to score in 15 appearances.
He then went to Roma on loan where he rediscovered himself with 8 goals and 2 assists in 16 appearances. He earned the national team call-up with a successful return at Roma, but made just one appearance as a substitute at the tournament.
The Schalke winger, Leroy Sane, made his only appearance in the 2-0 defeat to hosts France in the semi-final. In a squad boasting of superstars like Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller and Julian Draxler, it was unlikely for the winger to make it into the playing XI. Having made 8 goals and 6 assists in 2015-16 and aged just 20, he is definitely one for the future.
Now that the team is done, let us look at how they line up.
Formation:
The side will play in a 4-3-3 formation. With two attack-minded full-backs, the defensive midfielder will sit deep and screen the defence while the other two midfielders will add energy and maintain the game flow. With three forwards blessed with immense pace and trickery, they just have to keep the midfield ticking and occasionally find the right ball.
Forster takes his place in between the sticks while the defenders possess tactical positioning and aerial strength to keep the opposition at bay.
Special Mentions: Ante Coric (Croatia), Christophe Jallet (France), Julian Weigl (Germany), Morgan Schneiderlin (France), Marc-Ander ter Stegen (Germany)
