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Euro 2020 has delivered some thrilling encounters so far and Matchday 2 produced quite a few surprises. All teams involved in Euro 2020 have now finished their second set of matches.
We'll now kick off with Matchday 3. It will determine the fate of most of the teams in the tournament and as such, it promises to be an exciting week of games ahead. Matchday 2 didn't go exactly as predicted. Some of the big teams head into the last round of games in the group stage with all to play for.
Several top individuals delivered on Euro 2020 Matchday 2
The minnows of Euro 2020 will not go down without a fight and that's for certain from what we have witnessed so far. The top teams are desperate to make it to the knockout stages. Some of the biggest names at the tournament have truly stepped up and will need to kick on in the same vein now.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the five best players of Matchday 2.
#5 Andriy Yarmolenko (Ukraine)
After suffering a 3-2 defeat against the Netherlands in their opening encounter, Ukraine desperately needed a positive result against North Macedonia. However, Igor Angelovski's men came to Euro 2020 to give it their best shot and were not going to make it simple for the Ukrainians.
Yarmolenko inspired Ukraine to a 2-1 win over North Macedonia. He got the lead for Ukraine in the 29th minute from a corner kick. Yarmolenko latched onto a flick-on from Oleksandr Karavaev and sidefooted the ball home at the back post.
Five minutes later, he released Roman Yaremchuk with a lovely through ball and the striker calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to extend Ukraine's lead. Yarmolenko was the best player of the match and was a constant threat down the flanks. Ukraine's chances at Euro 2020 will greatly depend on Yarmolenko and against North Macedonia, he showed us why that's the case.
#4 Gareth Bale (Wales)
Gareth Bale had an extraordinary 90 minutes against Turkey. He went through a range of emotions but was able to end the day with a smile on his face. Bale played a ridiculously good lobbed ball into Aaron Ramsey's path towards the end of the first half. The Juventus midfielder applied the finishing touches to it to give Wales the lead in the 42nd minute.
Wales came out in the second half hunting for a second goal. They had the perfect opportunity to add some cushion to their lead when they were awarded a penalty after Bale was brought down inside the box. However, the 31-year-old skied the shot and it reeked of a lack of confidence.
However, Bale was determined to turn his evening around and took to driving Wales forward. He raced into the box from near the corner flag in the 95th minute of the match. Bale then beat a couple of defenders before setting up Conor Roberts for Wales' 2nd goal of the game.
He finished the game with two assists to his name and proved just how important he is to Wales' chances at Euro 2020.
#3 Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)
Belgium were not expected to be given a whole lot of trouble by Denmark. But that's far from what unfolded on the pitch. The Danes took the game to Belgium from the get-go and dominated them in the first half. Belgium struggled to keep hold of the ball and Denmark threatened to run away with it after taking the lead as early as the second minute of the game.
In all fairness though, Belgium started the game without the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard. Once they were introduced into the fray, the Red Devils were able to assert themselves.
In the 54th minute of the game, Romelu Lukaku charged into the box and laid the ball off to Kevin De Bruyne who was waiting on the edge of the area. The Manchester City man dropped his shoulder, took three defenders out of the game and then squared it for Thorgan Hazard to finish. Parity was restored.
About 15 minutes later, De Bruyne scored an absolute scorcher with his left foot to give Belgium the lead. The 29-year-old shifted the tides in Belgium's favour within the first 30 minutes of him being on the field.
#2 Manuel Locatelli (Italy)
Italy continued their great start to the tournament and picked up yet another 3-0 win. Switzerland were on the receiving end this time and the Sassuolo duo of Domenico Berardi and Manuel Locatelli were at the heart of it.
Although Locatelli has impressed for the Serie A outfit in recent times, he has now truly announced his arrival to the world with back-to-back quality performances. His versatility was on display once again as he bagged a brace and put on a masterclass of a midfield performance against Switzerland.
He made a brilliant late run into the box to tap home to open the scoring for the Azzurri in the 26th minute. Locatelli then extended their lead in the 52nd minute with a thumping left-footed strike from outside the box.
The 23-year-old has already given a good account of himself and his stock will have already risen after two brilliant performances at Euro 2020.
#1 Robin Gosens (Germany)
Left-back Robin Gosens had an excellent season at Atalanta in 2020-21. He scored 12 goals and provided eight assists in 44 appearances across all competitions for the Serie A outfit. The 26-year-old turned in a wonderful performance against Portugal as the Germans thrashed them 4-2.
Portugal picked up the lead against the run of play. But Die Mannschaft were playing with real intent and it always looked like they would claw their way back into the game. It didn't take them too long to take the lead and although the first two were own goals, Germany had outplayed Portugal in the first half.
Gosens was a great outlet for Joachim Low's men as he kept Nelson Semedo guessing throughout the night. His early acrobatic goal was chalked off after Muller was deemed to have handled the ball in the build-up to it.
But Gosens wasn't going to be dispirited by that. Germany's first goal came as Gosen's cross-cum-shot was deflected into his own net by Ruben Dias. The 26-year-old set up Kai Havertz for Germany's third with a lovely grounded cross from the left flank.
Gosens then gave Germany a 4-1 lead with a towering header in the 60th minute. He was taken off a couple of minutes later as Low wants him fresh for the decisive game against Hungary.
