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After an enticing 30 days of action-packed football, Euro 2020 is down to its last two teams - England and Italy. Following a tour through 11 different cities, the final of Euro 2020 will be held at the Wembley in London.
England started their campaign with an impressive five consecutive clean sheets and beat Denmark in extra time to reach their first European Championship final. Meanwhile, Italy, the other unbeaten team in the tournament, kicked off their Euro 2020 campaign against a lacklustre Turkish side. The Azzurri then beat Spain on penalties to reach the final of the 16th European Championship, their fourth in competition history.
From the unfortunate incident of Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest to the 'Group of death' featuring three former champions, Euro 2020 has seen it all both on and off the pitch. From an epic Round-of-16 clash between Croatia and Spain to Italy's 33-match unbeaten streak, from France's shock early exit to Ukraine and Denmark's spirited performances, Euro 2020 has produced much thrill and excitement.
But for some players, Euro 2020 was nothing but a forgettable campaign. On that note, let's have a look at a hypothetical XI (in a 4-3-3 formation) of players from various teams who underwhelmed at Euro 2020. Without further ado, let's get started.
Goalkeeper - Wojciech Szczęsny (Poland)
Poland suffered a forgettable Euro 2020 campaign, as they finished bottom of Group E.
Polish stopper Wojciech Szczesny had a tournament to forget, as he leaked six goals in three Euro 2020 games. He also set an unwanted record when he became the first goalkeeper to score an own goal in European Championships history.
In the group game against Slovakia, Szczesny failed to stop Robert Mak's effort that ricocheted off his shoulder and into the net.
With that own goal, Szczesny's rotten luck at the Euros continued. He was shown a red card on the opening day of Euro 2012 and was ruled out of the 2016 edition of the tournament due to injury after playing a single game.
Right-back - Benjamin Pavard (France)
Benjamin Pavard hit the ground running at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He scored an absolutely outrageous volley against Argentina in what was one of the best goals of the tournament.
But France had a poor outing at Euro 2020, with Pavard's performance at the tournament being no different. Especially against Hungary, the Bayern Munich defender repeatedly offered himself as an outlet for attack but could not create much.
He was found out of position when Hungary scored an amazing counter-attacking goal. At Euro 2020, his clearances dropped from 3.7 at the 2018 World Cup to 1.3 per 90 minutes. Moreover, on the offensive side, Pavard only managed to create one chance in three games in the tournament.
Centre-back - Ruben Dias (Portugal)
After a magnificent debut in the Premier League, which saw him win the FWA Footballer of the Year and the Premier League Player of the Season awards, big things were expected from Ruben Dias at Euro 2020. But despite pecking in at the centre of Portugal's defence alongside the 38-year-old Pepe, Dias looked uncharacteristically shaky throughout.
He fared reasonably solidly on the ground, winning 72% of his tackles compared to Pepe's 54%. But it was in the aerial duels that he struggled, coming on top just 46% times.
Bullied by Mainz's Adam Szalai in Portugal's Euro 2020 opener, Dias scored an own goal against Germany and was outpaced by Karim Benzema. Dias also failed to close down Thorgan Hazard as the defending champions crashed out of Euro 2020 in the last 16. It was quite simply a tournament to forget for Dias.
Centre-back - Caglar Soyuncu (Turkey)
ls conceded and just one scored. Turkey had a catastrophic campaign at Euro 2020.
Dubbed by many as the dark horses before the tournament began because of the quality of their starting XI, Turkey failed to live up to that hype. The main reason for their downfall was their poor defence. Only North Macedonia conceded as many goals as Turkey in the Euro 2020 group stage.
Caglar Soyuncu, the main face of Turkey's defence, had a tournament to forget at Euro 2020. His tackling rate was just 40% in the tournament, and he made zero interceptions with his feet.
Compared to his Premier League numbers last season, Soyuncu's ground duel success rate dipped from 54% to 38% per 90 minutes. There is no doubt that the 25-year old is a great talent to reckon with, but Euro 2020 was a campaign he would like to forget in a hurry.
Left-back - Ezgjan Alioski (North Macedonia)
Not much was expected from North Macedonia at Euro 2020, even when they qualified for a major tournament as an independent nation for the first time. They had a few star players to ruffle the feathers of the big boys at Euro 2020. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Led by veteran striker Goran Pandev, North Macedonia finished last in their group and won none of their games.
One of their star players was Ezgjan Alioski, who plays for Leeds United in the Premier League. The 29-year-old left-back was expected to provide width to the team on both sides of the pitch. But despite coming off a decent league campaign, he failed to replicate that form at Euro 2020.
Alioski did score a goal in the tournament against Ukraine, but that was a rebound off his missed penalty. His Premier League defensive actions per 90 minutes dropped from 2.7 to 0.8 at Euro 2020. His aerial duel success rate also dropped by half, from 50% to 25%.
Though the likes of Luke Shaw, Leonardo Spinazzola, Joakim Maehle, Robin Gosens and a few other left-backs have had excellent Euro 2020 campaigns, Alioski was certainly not among them.
Central Midfielder - Marten De Roon (Netherlands)
Not a household name like his compatriots Memphis Depay or Frenkie De Jong who featured at Euro 2020, Marten De Roon is certainly a prominent talent.
The 30-year old midfielder plays for Atalanta in Serie A. De Roon had a superb season for Atlanta, who finished third in the league table last season. The box-to-box midfielder was expected to protect the backline for the Orange at Euro 2020, allowing the likes of De Jong and Wijnaldum more freedom.
But De Roon didn't continue his league form into Euro 2020. He failed to solidify the Netherlands' backline, as he made just one tackle during the entire campaign and failed to close down opponents entering dangerous areas.
Making 12 unsuccessful passes per game and having an 80% passing accuracy didn't help his team at Euro 2020. There is no denying that Marten De Roon often goes under the radar for whichever side he plays for, but his Euro 2020 campaign was certainly not what he would have hoped for.
Central Midfielder - Aleksandr Golovin (Russia)
Russia surprised many with their excellent run as hosts of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, beating a Spain featuring Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos and David Silva and narrowly losing out on a place in the semi-final to Croatia.
Aleksandr Golovin, then 22, provided Russia with a creative spark throughout the tournament, scoring a goal and providing two assists in the opening game. He also made eight tackles and interceptions in Russia's famous win against Spain. Golovin came into Euro 2020 in great form too, registering five goals and nine assists in just over 1000 minutes for Monaco last season.
But he wasn't able to inspire his country at Euro 2020. Russia finished bottom of the group, where they were trounced by both Belgium and Denmark.
Averaging almost three key passes per game in Ligue 1, Golovin saw his chance creation fell by two-thirds at Euro 2020, as he failed to adapt to different roles across three games in the tournament. That meant Russia looked well and truly blunted at Euro 2020.
Central Attacking Midfielder - Bruno Fernandes (Portugal)
Bearing in mind that Bruno Fernandes played over 4,500 minutes of football for Manchester United last season, it's not that surprising to see that he looked pretty fatigued at Euro 2020 for Portugal. However, a brace against Israel in his team's final friendly before the tournament had suggested that he was ready to play a key role for Fernando Santos at the tournament.
With the likes of Bernado Silva and Diego Jota to link up with, it looked like he could do damage in the Euro 2020 group stage. However, all three of them failed to impress at the tournament, with Bruno Fernandes looking particularly out of place.
Portugal looked like a far more balanced team with Renato Sanches on the pitch instead. The frequency of Fernandes' chance creation at Euro 2020 was nowhere near the level he has displayed in club football. Moreover, his tenacity off the ball was rarely seen in his starts against Hungary and Germany.
He was one of many players for whom a summer of rest would have done a world of good.
Left Winger - Kylian Mbappe (France)
Before Euro 2020 began, no one would've ever thought that Kylian Mbappe would get featured on this list.
He wasn't France's worst player at Euro 2020, but considering how brilliant he was at the World Cup three years ago, Mbappe's performances at Euro 2020 left a lot to be desired. He had won the Young Player of the Tournament at the 2018 World Cup, where only Harry Kane outscored Mbappe, who netted four goals.
The PSG man was expected to have another big tournament at Euro 2020, but he didn't, as the likes of Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante outshone him, Mbappe may have taken the most shots for Didier Deschamps's side at Euro 2020, but he didn't find the net even once. His link-up play was brilliant at times, but his ability to skin defenders and rip open backlines with his world-class movement, pace, and skill wasn't seen enough at Euro 2020.
And when it mattered the most, Mbappe failed to deliver, missing the decisive penalty in France's Round-of-16 penalty-shootout defeat against Switzerland. This failure will undoubtedly spur the youngster on to achieve even more greatness in his career, but Euro 2020 was a forgettable experience for him.
Right Winger - Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey)
There's no doubt Turkey has been the most disappointing team at Euro 2020. The excellent form shown by many of their players at club level has seen Turkey marked out as dark horses for the title, but they massively underwhelmed.
One such player was Hakan Calhanoglu, who had revived his career at AC Milan towards the back end of the 2019-20 season. With 13 goals and 18 assists across the last two Serie A campaigns, many responsibilities were on Calhanoglu's shoulders as the creative hub of Turkey at Euro 2020.
But in the tournament, he was often exposed by his lack of pace and technical prowess, something that plagued many of his teammates too. Creating 3.5 chances per game in Serie A, Calhanohlu's chance creation fell to 2.3 at Euro 2020. With his teammates missing a host of chances, Hakan Calhanoglu simply could not get going this summer.
Striker - Serge Gnabry (Germany)
Serge Gnabry entered Euro 2020 with one of the best records in international football. Before the tournament started, he had hit 16 goals in just 22 games for Die Mannschaft. But the winger looked a shadow of his illustrious self at Euro 2020.
Nowhere near as penetrative for his club and country, the Bayern Munich man averaged just 1.4 shots per 90 at Euro 2020 for Germany, a tally that was fewer than that of his defensive teammate Mats Hummels.
Gnabry also did not contribute in other areas for his team. He averaged just 0.4 key passes per 90 minutes and won possession less than once in a game. Germany's lack of an out-and-out striker has been an ongoing issue since Miroslav Klose's retirement in 2014, and Gnabry failed to address the same at Euro 2020.
