Euros Team of the Tournament (and why more defenders should get nominated for goal-scoring awards)

The Euros are over and Italy are the Champions of Europe, meaning Emerson and Jorginho are Champions of Europe with both club and country! So now that this tournament is over, let's look at (in my eyes) the team of the tournament. I have tried to place in the best eleven, which meant that I had to play a back 5, or a 3-4-3, because it best accommodated for the players at hand. Let me also warn you that there wasn't one player who wasn't in the quarterfinals, so there won't be any Lukáš Hrádecký or Cristiano Ronaldo. So without further ado then, let's get into it. 

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma 

While Jordan Pickford and Kasper Schmeichel both had good tournaments, I simply could not leave the Euros Player of the Tournament out. PSG have a huge dilemma on their hands, with arguably the two best Ligue Un keepers both contracted to them, and I think it will be interesting to see who they'll start. Even if Donnarumma is only an understudy for a season or two, I'm sure that he will keep his place in the Italy starting eleven.

Left Center-Back: Leonardo Bonucci 

I narrowed center-back down to six candidates, namely Bonucci and Chiellini from Italy, Kjær and Christensen from Denmark and Maguire and Stones from England. Bonucci is the first of three to be picked for my starting eleven, as he played all of Italy's matches, scoring the goal that tied it up in the final.

Central Center-Back: Simon Kjær (cpt.) 

One of Denmark's (in my eyes at least) four captains, Simon Kjaer has had a brilliant tournament with Denmark and, especially with a back three, he was an obvious inclusion. I'm a bit annoyed because I already wrote his section but accidently deleted him during editing, so I'll leave it as this.

Right Center-Back: Andreas Christensen 

I wouldn't argue with anyone who chose Chiellini or Maguire here, but I think Christensen had a better campaign. I assumed that he would be in top-three contention for goal of the tournament, but was surprised to find that he wasn't even nominated. I just want to talk on it, because I think goals scored by defensive players are often overlooked for these awards, examples being certain goals by Fabinho and Vincent Kompany. 

For example, watch his goal here compared to his teammate Damsgaard's here. Damsgaard's goal was a free kick, where he had a wall 10 yards away and it should actually have been saved, Pickford just misjudged its flight. Christensen had to shoot through a crowd of about 6 players, at least three of which were within ten metres from him, and the keeper, he didn't have time to plan the shot and he was striking a moving ball. Not only this, but he struck the ball faster and harder and generally better. 

Left Wing-Back: Luke Shaw 

I don't really like Luke Shaw, being a Liverpool fan and all, but I cannot argue with the fact that he has had a spectacular tournament. While the likes of Spinazzola and Maehle have also had brilliant tournaments, Shaw has been the best of the lot, and he becomes the first of three England players to make my starting eleven.

Central Midfielder: Declan Rice 

The two midfield spots are probably the most highly contented, with Barella, Jorginho, Verratti, Pedri, Koké, Busquets and Højbjerg all in contention with Rice. In the end I went with Rice as one of the two, with his performance against Italy sealing the deal as he bossed the midfield and was England's most creative player for the first ten-or-so minutes.

Central Midfielder: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg 

Denmark have an abundance of leadership, with Schmeichel and Kjær in charge at the back, Erikson usually bossing the attack, and Højbjerg bossing central and defensive midfield. He has played brilliantly throughout the tournament and just beats out the Italian and Spanish midfielders to take this spot alongside Rice.

Right Wing-Back: Giovanni Di Lorenzo 

I haven't seen a lot of people talking about his performances, but another really impressive Italian was Giovanni Di Lorenzo. He beats Kyle Walker and a few others to take this spot on the right, and I think he could really excell with a license to attack.

Left Wing: Lorenzo Insigne 

I have watched most of Italy's games, and not once did Insigne fail to impress me. Insigne is one of the only genuine flair players left, with Messi and Neymar being two of the others. Historically you would find one or two flair players in every team, but right now it would be hard to name more than that in the entirety of Serie A, and this means that defenders often crumble in front of a true flair player like Insigne even more than before.

Center Forward: Patrick Schick 

Here is the only player who wasn't in the semis to make it. Just as much as I cannot include Lukáš Hrádecký or Cristiano Ronaldo because of underwhelming or non-existent group stages, I cannot include Harry Kane because of his pretty bad (by his standards) group stage.

Right Wing: Raheem Sterling 

While he has played predominantly on the left flank, Sterling will score no matter which side he's on. Sterling was probably the easiest pick of the bunch, as England may not even have gotten through the group stage without him. So yeah, Sterling takes spot number 11. Also, I've just noticed that all of the front three wear number 10, so that's a funny coincidence.

That is my Euros Team of the Tournament, but please feel free to comment on any mistakes you think I've made. I only have four players in my team in common with the one picked on the Euros website, namely Donnarumma, Bonucci, Højbjerg and Sterling. Please remember to follow me on social media and comment your team down below. I hope you enjoyed and I will see you when next I post. Noah (ᕗ ͠° ਊ ͠° )ᕗ