Kickoff chronicles

Goalkeeper: Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia)

There were multiple great shot stoppers that featured in the 2024 edition of the Euros, some honourable mentions include Jordan Pickford (England), Mert Gunok (Turkiye), and Mike Maignan (France), but the one keeper that stood out for me was Georgia’s Giorgi Mamadashvili. Everybody wrote the Georgians off right from the get go given they were the lowest ranked country going to Germany, but against all odds in a tough group, they managed to grab 4 points and qualify for the last 16 as the 2nd best 3rd placed team. They had some stand out players, Georges Mikautadze who was one of 6 players to finish with the most goals as well as Kvicha Kvaratskhelia who scored in their famous win against Portugal, but their most crucial player who flew under the radar, was shot stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili. The Valencia keeper made a whopping 30 saves across the whole tournament which is equal to 7.5 per match. He also conjured up a man of the match performance against Portugal to keep a clean sheet and help them make the knockout rounds. It was definitely a tournament to remember for the Georgian keeper.

Left Back: Marc Cucurella (Spain)

The left back I chose for my team of the tournament had a controversial season for his club, Chelsea in the English Premier League, which is why many Spanish fans were a little perplexed when coach Luis de la Fuente started him in 6 out of 7 games. His choice paid off as Cucurella was definitely one of the surprises of the tournament. Against teams such as Italy and Croatia, the Chelsea left back contributed as Spain picked up 6 points from those 2 games and registered back to back clean sheets. Cucurella was rarely beaten as well, being dribbled past only 3 times all tournament against some of Europe’s most dangerous players including the likes of Jamal Musiala, Ousmane Dembele, and Bukayo Saka who he kept quiet for the most part of the final against England. Cucurella also registered an assist in the final, playing a lovely ball into the English penalty area for Mikel Oyarzabal to slide on to and win the tournament for Spain. He was a crucial component in the Spanish team that were the eventual winners and every match Cucurella played he was solid meaning he deserves my left back position.

Centre Back #1: William Saliba (France)

Despite France being one of the most disappointing teams of the competition, scoring a drab 4 goals with only one coming from open play, William Saliba was definitely their stand out player, coming off the back of a superb season in the Premier League for Arsenal. France were lacking in attack, but were solid in defence, conceding just 3 goals all tournament with Saliba playing the major role in that feat. He was able to keep out some of the best strikers across Europe, Coady Gakpo, Romelu Lukaku, and Cristiano Ronaldo among them as France managed to scrape their way into the semi finals. It’s also worth mentioning that this was Saliba’s first major international tournament for France after he was only just noticed by coach Didier Deshcamps after 2 very impressive seasons under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal. Saliba was rarely beaten and was a stalwart in the French backline meaning he takes my 1st centre back position.

Centre Back #2: Marc Guehi (England)

Much like France, England’s highlight of the competition was their defence, despite having some of the biggest attacking names on the planet. With Manchester United defender Harry Maguire unable to travel with the English squad to Germany due to injury, it meant Gareth Southgate had to break up his usual centre back partnership of Maguire and John Stones and find someone else. Marc Guehi was the man to fill this role, coming off the back of a stellar season at Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Guehi contributed to 2 clean sheets in the group stage helping England finish top of Group C. The Palace centre back also assisted Jude Bellignham’s famous bicycle kick goal against Slovakia that rescued England’s campaign. Guehi was rarely beaten in defence and always looked confident on the ball. Given it was his first major international tournament for England and he had only played 9 games for the Three Lions prior to the European Championships, he just pips John Stones to my 2nd centre back position.

Right Back: Jules Konde (France)

Barcelona and French right back Jules Konde was one of the players that stood out from their average Euro 2024 campaign. After playing much more attractive football at the last 2 World Cups, and making back to back finals, it was a shock to see the favourites go out in the manner they did. Fortunately, there were some positives to take away from Germany with Kounde being one of them, alongside defensive teammate William Saliba as well as goalkeeper Mike Maignan. Despite losing to Spain in the semi finals, Kounde more than played his part, keeping potentially the most dangerous and tricky player of the tournament quiet in Nico Williams. He also contributed to keeping 4 clean sheets coming up against some of the best wingers in Europe including Xavi Simmons, Jeremy Doku, and Rafael Leo. In my opinion, Kounde just pips Dani Carvajal to the right back position, with Carvajal’s red card in the quarter final souring his brilliant performances in the tournament.

Defensive Midfielder #1: Rodri (Spain)

The first midfielder in my team of the tournament is the player of the competition, Rodri. Rodri was by far the best player in the 2024 edition of the Euros and also the most influential, pulling all the strings in the middle of the pitch and coming up with big performances when his country needed him most. He was monumental in every game he played, putting in a huge performance against Georgia in the knockouts, scoring the goal to tie them level as they went onto smash the debutants 4-1. We saw multiple players who had come of the back of brilliant club campaigns in the 23/24 season and have a disappointing Euro tournament, names like Kylian Mbappe and Phil Foden will be fresh in most people’s minds, but Rodri was a mirror image of his Manchester City self, contributing the most and winning his 8th trophy since the start of 2023. His position in the team is clearly validated and I doubt many people would argue otherwise.

Defensive Midfielder #2: Fabian Ruiz (Spain)

It was hard to split up the Spanish midfield after already including Rodri, and I feel Fabian Ruiz was only just bettered by Manchester City man. Fabian Ruiz is the perfect example of a box-to-box midfielder, finding the back of the net twice in the competition while also contributing in a defensive sense as Spain kept 3 clean sheets all tournament. Ruiz scored quite a spectacular goal in their first game of the tournament against Croatia, helping them win 3-0 against a resilient Croatian side. He also scored a header against Georgia, converting the crucial goal that put Spain 2-1 up after previously trailing 0-1 in the Round of 16. No one was really expecting such a brilliant tournament from the PSG midfielder as he was fairly average in the domestic season. His position in my team is for me quite obvious, especially with his chemistry and partnership with teammate Rodri in the middle of the park for Spain.

Attacking Midfielder: Dani Olmo (Spain)

After already mentioning Rodri and Ruiz, it would be criminal not to complete the midfield without Dani Olmo. Olmo, who had a relatively disappointing group stage, proved he was the man for the big occasions, netting in each knockout game leading up to the final. The best of the bunch was his goal against France, turning out to be the goal that sent them to the final. That goal also meant he was one of 6 players to finish as top scorer with a total of 3 goals. As well as his presence in the opposition’s box, Olmo registered 2 assists in the competition demonstrating his playmaking ability. His best performance was against Germany in the quarter finals as he put in a stellar performance to help his nation knock the hosts out of the competition. Olmo caps off my midfield 3 playing alongside his Spanish teammates. There were many other players who had brilliant campaigns in midfield; honourable mentions include Toni Kroos (Germany), Tijjani Reijnders (Netherlands), and Arda Guller (Turkiye), but the way these 3 Spanish players were able to dominate the middle of the pitch in every game they played together will not easily be forgotten. 

Left Winger: Nico Williams (Spain)

The first player I have included in my front three is the 22 year old from Athletic Bilbao, Nico Williams. Williams had just come off the back of a brilliant season for Bilbao, registering 16 G/A as they finished 5th in La Liga as well as playing a big part in Bilbao’s triumph in the Copa del Rey, winning their first in 40 years. Like Olmo, Williams had an average start to the tournament but certainly fired up for the knockouts when Spain needed him most. He registered a goal and an assist as Spain came back to beat Georgia in the Round of 16. Williams also put in a world class performance in the final, scoring the first goal to give Spain the lead and for the majority of the game he was too hot to handle for England’s Kyle Walker, dribbling past him multiple times. Based on statistics, he was the highest rated player on the pitch in the final as Spain saw off England to win the trophy. It was a more than successful tournament for the young Bilbao man who has now got the likes of Barcelona enquiring about his signature. His position is definitely supported and he was one of Spain’s top performers as they won the competition with an 100% winning record.

Right Winger: Lamine Yamal (Spain)

Nobody was expecting Lamine Yamal to have as big an impact on the Spanish side as he did across the competition. At the youthful age of 16 (17 when the final was played) Yamal took out the young player of the tournament award, registering 4 assists and scoring 1 goal as Spain won their record breaking 4th Euros. His goal that drew Spain level against France in the semi finals will be talked about for generations, arguably the goal of the tournament in the manner he found the back of the net. He also played an intelligent pass to Nico Williams in the final against England for Williams to score. Yamal is quite an extraordinary talent, already being compared to players such as Lionel Messi who is regarded by some as the best to ever grace the beautiful game. It is alien like what he is doing at his age, with surely many more major international appearances for Spain to come. His position is most definitely justified as he also finished as the player with the most assists; 4.

Striker: Coady Gakpo (Netherlands)

Alongside Dani Olmo, Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, Ivan Schranz, and Geores Mikataudze, Coady Gakpo also scored 3 goals meaning he was an equal golden boot winner. He was most definitely the Netherlands best player putting in multiple influential performances to help the Dutch qualify for the final 4. He scored brilliant goals against Poland and Romania to help the Netherlands to win both those games and he also scored a superb goal against Austria which was unfortunately cancelled out by a late Marcel Sabitzer winner in their group stage fixture against Austria. The Liverpool striker was unable to fire up fully against England in the semi finals as they were knocked out thanks to a late Ollie Watkins goal that sent the Three Lions through to the final. He definitely backed up his excellent spell at the 2022 World Cup and will hopefully continue his form heading into the 2026 edition as the Dutch will hope to win their first trophy since 1988. Despite Harry Kane also matching Gakpo’s goal tally and managing to reach the final, most fans will agree Gakpo was much more dangerous in the opposition penalty area as well as covering much more of the pitch than England’s captain.

This was a very hard team to pick, with multiple players putting in stellar performances to help their respective nations in competition but I feel in each position this group of players stood out from everyone else.

Written by Ollie Wade