UEFA has decided on its team in the Euro 2020 tournament, with five representatives from the winners Italy making the cut.
With goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma winning the award for the tournament’s best player, his inclusion in the squad was always secure, and there were a handful of other Italians who most expected to make the cut.
?? We present the official tournament team for # EURO2020
Who would be your captain? ? pic.twitter.com/goGLi6qQzj
– UEFA EURO 2020 (@ EURO2020) 13 July 2021
In defense, Leonardo Bonucci earns a place in midfield together with Harry Maguire, and the pair is flanked by some international teammates in fullback. Kyle Walker is on the right, with Leonardo Spinazzola doing enough to seal a spot on the left despite tearing his ACL in the quarterfinals.
Spinazzola was many supporters in the tournament before going down in the dying stages of victory over Belgium. He had dominated until that time and was cruelly denied a place in the final that he had worked so hard to get to.
In midfield, Chelsea’s Jorginho was another clear choice, and the UEFA panel voted to pair him with Denmark’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Spain’s prodigy Pedri, who was named the tournament’s best young player – and 90 minutes Our 21 Player of Euro 2020.
At the top there is no place for the tournament’s top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo or even the man who left him, the Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick. Instead, it is Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku who makes the cut.
Outdoors, Raheem Sterling is England’s third feature after pulling three lions on their own through the group stage and impressing in the knockout rounds, and the team is finished by Italy’s Federico Chiesa.
Chiesa ended the summer in top form / Claudio Villa / Getty Images
Chiesa was not even a start when the competition started but soon won Roberto Mancini and scored two goals in the knockout phase and ran up to England in the semifinals.
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy); Kyle Walker (England), Leonardo Bonucci (Italy), Harry Maguire (England), Leonardo Spinazzola (Italy); Jorginho (Italy), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Denmark), Pedri (Spain); Federico Chiesa (Italy), Romelu Lukaku (Belgium), Raheem Sterling (England)
