Defenders
France have had so many excellent defenders over the years and the Euros, that it took us a while to boil down to four. Two of the four were almost obvious choices but the other two needed debates and considerations.
At left-back, France's greatest Euro defender was Bixente Lizarazu. The former Bordeaux and Bayern Munich left-back was essentially one the best ever left-backs the game has seen. With him constantly running up and down the pitch, Lizarazu was so much of a threat, the left-winger had it easy.
The first of the two centre-backs is none other than Marcel Desailly. The Ghana-born centre-back was excellent for France in 2000 where he was then also playing for Chelsea with whom he had a huge impact. Desailly was also on the UEFA Team of the Tournament with his performances and leadership qualities.
The other centre-back was Laurent Blanc. The current Paris Saint-Germain manager is also one of the best centre-backs France have ever seen. He was 31 at the time and was playing for Inter Milan who was then having a decent season in Serie A. His strength and ability to read the game was irreplaceable for the French.
The other obvious choice on this team was the inclusion of Lilian Thuram. At Juventus and 28 at the time, Thuram was probably the best right-back of his time. He was quick, he was strong, he ran the whole match and contributed excellently to attack making him the perfect all-round defender; a manager's dream.
