Biggest stars in the Euro 2024

It is now only hours left before the kickoff between Germany and Scotland in the UEFA Euro 2024, and the excitement is slowly building up with many questions ready to be answered. Which team will take home the title? Which player will be the top scorer of the tournament? Will we see any new rising stars? A championship almost always includes a team that surprises and goes far; which one will it be this time?

Another question is which players will be included in the best eleven of the Euro when the tournament is over. It is, of course, impossible to know in advance, but we instead choose to list the absolute best eleven players that could be fielded if we combine players from all squads. We select the best team with a 3-4-3 formation and include some reserves for each position.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

Goalkeeper

Gianluigi Donnarumma
We choose to put Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma between the posts. PSG's star goalkeeper is considered by many to be the best goalkeeper in the world, and even though the reigning champions Italy do not seem to have a particularly strong team this tournament, there is at least no need to worry about the last line of defense faltering.

On the bench, we place Germany's Manuel Neuer. Many might have put the experienced German on the field instead, but as he missed large parts of the season due to injury, he is not yet in 100% form, even though he is undoubtedly the first-choice goalkeeper for the host nation.

Virgil van Dijk

Defenders

Virgil van Dijk - Ruben Días - Joshua Kimmich
The first defender we include is the Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool's defensive general is not only an excellent defender, but he is also a goal threat on corners and free kicks and will be very important for the Dutch in this championship.

Second, we include Portugal's and Manchester City's Ruben Días. The fact that he is Guardiola's first choice in City's defense says a lot about his qualities, and he is equally crucial for Portugal's defense to function at its best.

We conclude with Germany's Joshua Kimmich. Although he has not had his best season at Bayern Munich this year, his defensive and offensive qualities are very important for the German national team to perform well.

On the bench, we place France's Theo Hernandez and England's Kyle Walker.

Kevin De Bruyne

Midfielders

Kevin De Bruyne - Jude Bellingham - Rodri - Declan Rice
The biggest star on the midfield position in the tournament is undoubtedly Kevin De Bruyne. When the Belgian is fit he is clearly the best offensive midfielder in the world, and him staying injury-free throughout the tournament is a must for Belgium to succeed.

Next, we choose to include the football world's new darling - England's and Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham. He has had a magical first season with his Spanish team and was one of the main reasons Real could win both La Liga and the Champions League this season.

The next man in is Spain's and Manchester City's Rodri Hernandez. He probably has no equal in the world right now when we talk about midfielders with defensive qualities. If you look closer at City's statistics with and without Rodri on the field, you will understand how important he is.

The perhaps only midfielder who is close to matching Rodri in defensive skills at the moment is England's and Arsenal's Declan Rice. He has had an absolutely brilliant first season at Arsenal and has always felt like the missing piece that Arsenal needed, even though they still couldn't secure the Premier League title.

Since we have four midfielders, we put three players on the bench, all of whom play for teams from Manchester. We have Portugal's Bernardo Silva and England's Phil Foden from Manchester City, and we also place Manchester United's Portuguese Bruno Fernandes there. This means that four of our seven selected midfielders play for Manchester City, which almost feels ridiculous, but it is hard to deny these players' qualities.

Kylian Mbappé

Forwards

Kylian Mbappé - Harry Kane - Cristiano Ronaldo
Choosing the forwards was the easiest task. The obvious number one, albeit with a small margin, is France's Kylian Mbappé. He is probably the best football player in the world right now and one of the strongest candidates to win the Golden Boot award in Germany.

The second choice is just as obvious and it is with a very small margin that he comes after Mbappé, and we are, of course, talking about England's and Bayern Munich's Harry Kane. He scored goals in abundance for his new team this season and also won the European Golden Shoe.

The third forward we choose is Cristiano Ronaldo. A few years ago, he would have been the first choice in attack, but naturally, age is catching up with the 39-year-old Portuguese. He won the top scorer award in Saudi Arabia this season, and even if that might not mean much, he is always reliable in the national team and surely wants to prove that he still performs at the highest level.

On the bench, we place another veteran, the Pole Robert Lewandowski. Even if he may have seen his best days, the Barcelona forward is still a big name in football. The other bench spot goes to a much younger talent, England's Bukayo Saka. He is slowly but surely making his way into the top tier of the world's best forwards, and for the next championship, it is not unlikely that we will see him in the starting lineup.

Conclusion

Noteworthy in the list is that we only have one Frenchman, even though they are the favourites to win. This does not mean that France lacks stars, only that there are better players in their positions. England has three players, the most of any country, and Portugal has two.

Not all teams will go far, and when the best team of the Euro is chosen after the tournament, a strong factor for inclusion is how well the team has performed. Therefore, the final list will not look like the one above, but this is the eleven with the best players in the tournament according to us.