Best goal…
THERE have been so many wonder-strikes at these Euros: Mattia Zaccagni’s late, late goal for Italy against Croatia was a thing of beauty. Arder Guler’s work of art for Turkey to see off Georgia in Dortmund was special. Nicolae Stanciu’s pile-driver to get Romania off the mark against Ukraine was memorable. But Lamine Yamal’s perfect curling effort for Spain against France in the semi-finals trumped them all.
Best save…
A DEAD heat between Diogo Costa’s crucial extra-time foot save to deny Benjamin Sesko in the Portugal and Slovenia knock-out game in Leipzig - and Mert Gunok’s Gordon Banks-like lunge to deny Christoph Baumgartner in the dying seconds of the Turkey versus Austria clash.
Best XI…
1 Diogo Costa (Portugal)
2 Jules Kounde (France)
3 Marc Cucurella (Spain)
4 William Saliba (France)
5 Aymeric Lapaorte (Spain)
6 Fabian Ruiz (Spain)
7 Rodri (Spain)
8 Dani Olmo (Spain)
9 Lamine Yamal (Spain)
10 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)
11 Nico Williams (Spain)
Tournament flops…
1 Jindrich Stanek (Czech Republic)
2 Kieran Trippier (England)
3 Philip Mwene (Austria)
4 Yukhym Konoplya (Ukraine)
5 Ryan Porteous (Scotland)
6 Callum McGregor (Scotland)
7 Ronaldo (Portugal)
8 Federico Chiesa (Italy)
9 Harry Kane (England)
10 Mateo Retegui (Italy)
11 Dusan Vlahovic (Serbia)
Player of the tournament…
Fabian Ruiz (Spain)
TOSS a coin between Spanish team-mates Fabian Ruiz and Lamine Yamal. Ruiz just shades it with his imperious midfield performances. All the pre-tournament conversation was about his team-mate Rodri being the best in the world. Ruiz has been even more dynamic than his midfield partner. Statistically at Euro 2024, Ruiz has scored two goals, claimed two assists, pass completion is northwards of 90 per cent, he’s clocked close to 10km per game. But he doesn’t need stats as supporting evidence. The PSG man has been a joy to watch as a central midfield playmaker.
Best manager…
ASIDE from substituting Lamine Yamal ridiculously early in their tense quarter-final with Germany, Spain’s head coach Luis De La Fuente has had a light-touch approach through these Euros. He’s allowed creativity to flourish, given youth its head, played with wingers that actually attack the full-backs and has generally used his bench very well.
Worst manager…
Scotland’s Steve Clarke generally for never truly gambling anything at Euro 2024 – until his team didn’t have to, and duly lost a late goal to Hungary. The former Chelsea defender didn’t get to grips with the differing dynamics between qualification football and tournament football. The Scots brought nothing to the party.
Best game…
NOT a hugely competitive field here. A lot of dramatic finishes to games but few classics. For sheer entertainment and technical merit, the Group F game between Turkey and Georgia in Dortmund was the best of the lot. Both sides played with unbelievable pace and attacked relentlessly and played a game that was more reminiscent of South America football with plenty of short, sharp passing. Spain and France produced the best half of football.
Best porkie…
WHEN Jude Bellingham gestured to the Slovakian bench about his testicular fortitude after his wonderful last-gasp equaliser, he later explained that it was directed to some friends in the stand and that it was their little in-joke. Pull the other one, Jude…
Instantly forgettable…
Czech Republic. They came to Germany and parked the bus. What was the point of them being at Euro 2024?
Best Tik-Tok video…
ANY video involving Gareth Southgate’s post-match interviews where his words have been cleverly substituted for something – let’s just say - entirely different...
Best pundit…
WITH RTE’s coverage blocked out in the north, the BBC and ITV’s choice of pundits for Euro 2024 was thoroughly uninspiring. There were a lot of jobs-for-the-boys, the familiar ex-pros who didn’t do any research and thought churning out a few clichés about the opposition would get them by.
The punditry, as a result, has been generally tired and too much about England – even when they weren’t playing.
Cesc Fabregas rose to the challenge a couple of times on the BBC and offered strong opinions and insight, especially on Phil Foden in the early stages of the tournament when his English colleagues were dancing around his poor displays.
Ally McCoist’s affability and informative co-commentary have also been one of the few glowing features of these Euros.
Worst pundit…
MICAH Richards, on the basis that he thinks this whole punditry business is about forced belly laughter than sharing knowledge and insights.
Words to the wise...
JAMES McClean got hammered by the English press for opining on RTE that Declan Rice wasn’t world class. The Derryman may have been a fair judge.
Final musings…
IT’S hard to find fault with this Spanish team. They keep possession so well but they also have a cutting edge in attack. Losing a class player like Pedri in the quarter-final was soon forgotten when Dani Olmo came in and ripped it up and made their attack better. England have come through the soft side of the draw and can still hurt Spain on the counter-attack with 35 per cent of the ball. But if Spain turn up in Berlin on Sunday, where they’ve already played in the tournament, Spain win.
Best celebration…
NICOLAE Stanciu’s wonderful finish that gave Romania an early lead against Ukraine in Munich. It was Romania’s first appearance at a major tournament in 24 years. Stanciu’s goal was one of the most memorable moments at these Euros.
Crocodile tears…
CRISTIANO Ronaldo tearing up when he missed a spot-kick against Slovenia. Always the narcissist, he at least had the talent and goals to nullify his out-of-control ego throughout his prolific career. But when the goals dried up and Father Time caught up with him, what was left was merely the narcissist - much to Portugal’s chagrin.
Best marketing manager…
A CLEAR winner here: Roberto Martinez. Absolutely brilliant in the press room but lacks courage on the sideline. The 50-year-old can waffle around the subject but it’s hard to escape the conclusion that he was simply afraid – intimidated, even - to substitute Cristiano Ronaldo for fear of the ageing star throwing a tantrum. The Portuguese attack was crying out for change against Slovenia and France. Martinez had the tools to reach the final but used the wrong ones and paid the cost.
When wingers play like wingers…
THERE has been a dearth of risk-takers at Euro 2024 but a few wide players did what it says on the tin: Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal of Spain have been fantastic up to now.
But there have been a couple of others. Rafael Leao of Portugal mightn’t be the most technically gifted, but he constantly ran at the opposition full-back in this tournament. Ousmane Dembele wasn’t always an automatic starter for France but when he’s been on the field, he’s been extremely direct. Frustrating at times but never afraid of losing the ball.
Get rid of…
VAR. It’s already outlived its usefulness and is a stain on the game.
