We do not envy the voters for the EURO 2024’s Best XI of the tournament.
For one thing, there were so many standout performers whose teams did not make deep runs in the tournament.
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For another, it would be difficult to argue against Spain having five or even six members of the XI, as La Furia Roja have defeated Italy, Croatia, France, hosts Germany and England to win it all.
And those aforementioned Three Lions have not had consistent top performances from their attackers but have shut down most attacks along the way.
So let’s start there.
EURO 2024 honorable mentions
Ivan Schranz, Slovakia — Scored three times in four games, including one-goal wins over Belgium and Romania.
Toni Kroos, Germany — He wanted to go out on top with Germany. He didn’t, but certainly went out on top of his game.
Christian Eriksen, Denmark — What a return to major international competition, as Eriksen created 16 chances to lead the tournament going into the final (despite the fact that his team was dumped out at the Round of 16!).
Ruben Dias, Portugal — Didn’t play the final game of the group stage — which Portugal lost. Portugal allowed one goal in the other four games before losing in penalties versus France.
Ferdi Kadioglu, Turkiye — The fullback went the distance in all over Turkiye’s matches and was a huge reason they reached the quarterfinal.
EURO 2024 Best XI of tournament
GK - Mike Maignan, France
DF - Kyle Walker, England
DF - William Saliba, France
DF - John Stones, England
MF - Declan Rice, England
MF - Fabian Ruiz, Spain
MF - Rodri, Spain
MF - Jamal Musiala, Germany
MF - Dani Olmo, Spain
FW - Lamine Yamal, Spain
FW - Cody Gakpo, Netherlands