The Euro 2016 group stages are coming to an end this week and so far in the tournament their have been some outstanding performances. I’m going to now take a look at the top 3 performances of the tournament so far.
Dimitri Payet V Romania
First game of the tournament, the whole of Europe watching. France struggling against a resistant Romanian side, Until Payet inflicts his damage sending a shot flying into the top corner. Not only a fantastic goal, but a fantastic performance from a player who has had a fantastic season. Within the game Payet not only scored but grabbed the first assist of the championships. He also in total made 8 chance creating passes and showed elements of skill in the right areas to help build French attacks. A skill set that eventally led to Didier Deschamps commenting that he was the “only player capable of opening Romania up.” Payet was substituted and went off with tears in his eyes to a standing ovation, starting off his Euro 2016 campaign in fine fashion.
Kevin De Bruyne V Ireland
De Bruyne and Belgium struggled in their first game but came through in the second, beating Ireland comfortably 3-0. The stand out performer in this game was unquestionably Kevin De Bruyne. The headlines were taken away by Romelu Lukaku’s man of the match performance, however with one assist and involvement in each goal, De Bruyne was also a star. He looked calm and fearless on the ball and was given the room to work his magic. The Man City player now has involvement in 10 Belgium goals in his last 10 matches, with 5 goals and 5 assists, and his showing his capabilities at a top level.
Toni Kroos V Ukraine
Here is evidence of another dominating midfield display. Kroos absolutely controlled the game against Ukraine. acting as a holding midfielder, central midfielder and occasionally attacking midfield in game where he really showed off his strengths. His ability to pick out a pass has always been second to none, but I was surprised at just how high his work rate was. He dominated the midfield making interceptions and making challenges to put German back in possession and back in charge of this fixture. His football brain is incredible and he see’s things before they even happen, and he is doing a vital job in midfield in a strong German side, his game against Ukraine was dominating.
Overall these 3 players are just certain examples of good performances, not necessarily the top 3 but the 3 which caught my eye. Let me know in the comments or on twitter who would make your top 3, and we can also see how these players progress as the tournament continues.
Source: From The Sideline