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With the European Championships just one game away from being over we thought it would be a good time to look back at the Euro 2021/Euro 2020 revelations.
Before we delve into the who, let us outline the factors we’ll be considering. Some names will be those who already play at the very top level and are household names, others will be players that have burst to life after flying under the radar and the others will be those who have truly turned heads from nowhere. Let’s get to the names.
So, who have been the best players at Euro 2020?
The honourable mentions
Throughout this tournament we’ve seen plenty of impressive displays. Not everyone can make our the list of Euro 2020 revelations but there are a few names that are worthy of a gentle nod in their direction. For us those players are: Cristiano Ronaldo for becoming the leading scorer in the history of the European Championships as well as levelling with Ali Daei as the all time international goal scorer, Thorgan Hazard for the two vital goals he netted for Belgium and Joel Pohjanpalo of Finland; he might not be a player remembered long in the memory but his goal against Denmark in the Group B opener allowed an entire nation to dream.
Number 5. Patrik Schick, Czech Republic
At the time of writing, it’s highly plausible that Czech Republic man Patrik Schick ends the tournament as the joint leading scorer. That’s truly remarkable for a man who only scored nine goals in 29 Bundesliga games last year. The Bayer Leverkusen attacker lit the group stage up with a wonder strike against Scotland; that in itself would have seen him spoken about for decades to come. The fact he’d scored a header before that and then fired the Czech’s to an unlikely quarter-final is just something else. Schick’s most notable output has been his goals for sure; his presence and ability to lead the line shouldn’t be overlooked though.
Number 4. Mikkel Damsgaard, Denmark
Denmark are certainly the most emotional story of Euro 2021 with the whole Christian Eriksen cardiac arrest trauma; out of that adversity though came the introduction of a Euro 2020 revelation; Mikkel Damsgaard. The Sampdoria youngster only turned 21-years-old a few days ago but his performances looked mature beyond his years. He was able to offer creativity, dictate the tempo of Denmark’s attacks and offered up an end product. His tournament was capped off with two goals; the second was a stupendous free kick in the semi-final whilst the first – another very good goal – saw him become the Dane’s youngest scorer at a major tournament. Welcome to the history books.
Number 3. Jorginho, Italy
It wasn’t too long ago that Jorginho was lifting a Champions League trophy with Chelsea. Now he’s in the Euro 2021 showpiece game with his country; he’s been a big part of their success too. Italy have reached the final by being solid defensively and offensively efficient. The role Jorginho plays in front of the defence is critical to their system being effective and boy has it been. He’s not in the mould of his club teammate N’Golo Kante and doesn’t go hunting to win the ball back. His quality in possession though is unrivalled with a 93% pass completion proof of how he keeps the Roberto Mancini machine ticking over smoothly.
Number 2. Leonardo Spinazzola, Italy
Here comes another Italian; when Euro 2021 was approaching nobody – and we mean nobody – would have been tipping Spinazzola as one of the best players at the tournament. He was absolute quality for Italy before his cruel achilles injury saw him ruled out of the remainder of the competition though; his team are significantly weaker for his absence. The Roma left back has looked assured in an Italy back line that have conceded just two goals inside the opening 90 minutes but it was his attacking endeavours that really put him on the map. His tireless engine and marauding runs caused mayhem whilst his ability to pick the right pass wasn’t bad either.
Number 1. Raheem Sterling, England
Alright, alright. Manchester City winger come forward Sterling is one of those that fall into the ‘already a star’ category. He still deserves to be seen as one of the Euro 2020 revelations though; you simply cannot deny the impact he’s had on the England team. Not only has he popped up with three goals and an assist but his all round game has been sensational. Sterling was under big pressure arriving in the tournament with most England fans wanting him to be left out the starting XI. His ability to stretch teams and beat a man though has not only been an attacking threat but a great pressure relief for the defence. If England lift the trophy, there is every chance Sterling is named player of the tournament.
There you have it, our look at the Euro 2020 revelations.
