Here are UEFA's top players of the tournament so far.
The knock-out stages for Euro 2016, beckon and it has been a thrilling contest so far with some major upsets and some of the smaller teams showing that they are not here to fill up the numbers. While teams such as Wales, Croatia and Hungary upstaged more illustrious oppositions like England, Spain and Portugal respectively. So who’s been the top performers in France so far?
Here are the rankings according to UEFA’s player barometer:
Note: The barometer has been tracking official player stats through an algorithm to create rankings based on player performances with data considered for each position type (goals for strikers, dribbles for wingers, tackles and interceptions for defenders, etc.) The barometer acts as a form tracker and more recent the match, the greater the weight assigned to the data. Statistical events during the Euro 2016 tournament will be given higher weightage to give accurate rankings for those performing better in France.
10) Eden Hazard
The Belgium forward had a horrific season with Chelsea and was the butt of many ‘so-many-things-happened-since-Hazard-last-scored’ memes. He seems to have improved at the fag-end of the season and has been instrumental in Belgium’s two victories against Sweden and Ireland. Expect him to get better as the tournament progresses and spearhead an extremely talented Belgium side to further rounds.
In Euro 2016, only Gareth Bale has made more dribbles (13) than Hazard who has made 10 (along with Slovakia’s Vladimir Weiss) and has also racked up 2 assists (highest in Euros along with Wales’ Aaron Ramsey).
9) Mesut Ozil
The Arsenal man who loves to assist strangely hasn’t racked up one in Euro 2016 yet but he has been in inspired form and only his teammates’ profligacy is responsible for his 9th position. He was particularly inspired in the match against Northern Ireland as he boasted mind-boggling stats which included a pass accuracy of 99%, successfully crossed the balls 7 times, created 6 goal-scoring chances for his teammates and took 4 shots.
8) Gerard Pique
The only defender in the top 10 (which shows that we still don’t have a proper algorithm to measure the match-winning contributions of defenders), he was in top form as he scored Spain’s solitary goal in the win against an extremely resolute Czech Republic. He has been solid throughout the group stages and will hope to continue his fine form into the knockout stages where Spain face a stubborn Italy.
7) Alvaro Morata
The joint top-scorer at Euro 2016 along with Gareth Bale, Morata has completely justified his selection with three goals in as many games for Spain. Morata, a more old-fashioned ‘Italian’ forward in a talented Spanish side offers something different from his teammates with his talent in the air and ability to finish off their champagne-popping passing stuff. His form has inspired former club Real Madrid to activate a buy-back clause in his contract, while Chelsea are reportedly interested in his services.
6) Ivan Perisic
The former Borussia Dortmund and current Inter Milan man has been instrumental in Croatia’s performances as they leap-frogged Spain to finish top of their group. He laid on Croatia’s equaliser against Spain before scoring against the holding champions in the last group to send Croatia top. An old-fashioned winger in many ways, he loves to feint to the right before going left and crossing in, and while it’s a predictable move, it’s very hard to stop, as any defender up against a pacey winger will attest.
He was one of the few players former Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp couldn’t’ get the best out of, and he lost his place to Marco Reus.
5) Kevin De Bruyne
The Manchester City man has been instrumental in everything for Belgium and has looked a constant threat with clever play and was impressive against Sweden in particular. He has created several chances for his teammates and his link-up play has been excellent. De Bruyne has been extremely willing in this tournament and taken 10 shots with only Ronaldo, Bale, Ibrahimovic and Morata taking more shots.
4) Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo has been doing his best Le Sulk impression in this tournament and despite trying hard was coming up short. He was also in the news for throwing a reporter’s microphone in the lake but came good in the last match as he scored two and set up one goal to drag Portugal into the knockout stages.
In the tournament, he has taken more shots (30) than any other player and in fact has taken more shots than several counties including Albania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Italy, Iceland, Sweden and Northern Ireland.
This may well be Ronaldo’s last international tournament in peak form and he’d be desperate to prove his worth.
3) Toni Kroos
The German midfielder has been very impressive in the group stages so far, completing more passes (323) than any other player in the tournament. Kroos has been at the heart of everything Germany has created and will be the lynchpin in a team which hopes to emulate their World Cup heroics.
2) Gareth Bale
Despite the heart-breaking loss against England, Gareth Bale has been one of the players of the tournament so far and is in the running for the Golden Boot with 3 goals along with Alvaro Morata. The Real Madrid forward has been pushing Wales to new heights and inspiring a new generation who have always lived in England’s shadows.
1) Dimitri Payet
The standout player of the tournament so far has looked the best bet for hosts France as they look to continue their record of winning the tournament at home. Payet has carried his league form for West Ham into the tournament and major clubs including Real Madrid have started eyeing the late-bloomer who once folded clothes for a living.
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