UEFA Announce the Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament

Highlights

Spain dominate the official Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament with six players included.
Marc Cucurella, William Saliba, Manuel Akanji and Kyle Walker make up a Premier League defence in the team.
Only players predicted by GIVEMESPORT to make the Team of the Tournament were included.

Now that Euro 2024 has reached its conclusion, honours are being dished out to deserving players who had tournaments to remember. Be it top goalscorer or simply a nation’s standout performer, several individuals deserve to be recognised for an incredible month in Germany.

One of the most prestigious awards, however, is a place in the official Team of the Tournament. Reserved for the 11 best players in each position from across the competition, it takes a huge effort to best your peers to a spot in the team.

Like the Player of the Tournament and Young Player of the Tournament prize, UEFA’s team is selected by a team of technical observers, which included David Moyes and Fabio Capello. The 12 individuals all put their heads together in the days since the tournament and have announced their choices on Tuesday afternoon.

Euro 2024 Winners Spain Dominate Official Team

Only One England Player Makes the Team

After beating England 2-1 in the final of the tournament, it comes as no surprise that Spain have the most players included in the official team of the tournament. Several players enjoyed a phenomenal competition as they stormed to the final, so it might come as a slight surprise that there aren’t more than six.

Marc Cucurella is the first man from La Roja to make the team following his excellent showings at left-back throughout the competition. Having bounced back slightly at Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino last season, the Spaniard performed out of his skin at Euro 2024 and will be hoping to carry on that fine showing during the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Chelsea Ace Has Made Gary Neville Look Silly With Euro 2024 Performances

The pundit has been made to eat his words as Marc Cucurella eyes glory in this Sunday’s Euro 2024 final.

William Saliba and Manuel Akanji form a Premier League centre-back partnership in UEFA’s team, with both men vital to the nation’s efforts. The Arsenal man was a rock at the back for France, and with their frontline wasteful in front of goal, Saliba’s performances proved to be invaluable for Les Bleus’ semi-final run. Akanji, meanwhile, was calmness personified for Switzerland, leading from the back as they advanced to the quarter-finals. He was unfortunate to miss a penalty against England, but that should not sour what was otherwise an excellent tournament for the Manchester City defender.

Kyle Walker completes an English top flight back line, although there might be questions over his presence considering several of his performances throughout Euro 2024. Behind him is France’s Mike Maignan who, like Saliba, was integral to France’s deep run in the tournament as he kept more clean sheets than any other shot-stopper.

Midfield and attack are where Spain start to dominate though, taking up all but one position. Luis de la Fuente’s side lock out the midfield, going three for three with Fabian Ruiz, who Jamie Carragher thought should have won Player of the Tournament, Rodri, and Golden Boot winner Dani Olmo. In front of them are wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, whose dynamism caused teams problems throughout the competition.

Jamal Musiala is the man to break up a Spanish front six, a worthy inclusion considering he finished top of the scoring charts alongside Olmo and four others. The Bayern Munich magician was in fine form for Die Mannschaft this summer, tearing defences to shreds as he became his country’s shining light.

Our Predictions For the Team of the Tournament

Only two players from GIVEMESPORT’s predicted XI made it in

However, when GIVEMESPORT predicted who would be included in the Team of the Tournament before a ball was kicked, not many of the eventual inductees were included. In fact, only three out of our 11 selections proved to be correct.

In goal, Portugal’s Diogo Costa was predicted to be the best shot-stopper at the tournament and would have been in the running after saving three penalties against Slovenia in the round of 16. Unfortunately, the ‘keeper was then eliminated by France, with Maignan moving on and taking his place.

Despite Walker not having the best of tournaments, the Englishman was our right-back pick to make it in, having been excellent for Manchester City throughout the 2023/24 Premier League season. He was, however, the only player in defence to make it in. Centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and Virgil van Dijk, despite their runs in the knockout stages of the competition, were judged not to be as impressive as either Saliba or Akanji. And left-back Theo Hernandez failed to shine for France like he has done so frequently for AC Milan. Interestingly, our honorable mention behind him was Alejandro Grimaldo, but Cucurella’s fine performances for Spain ensured he kept the Bayer Leverkusen man on the bench.

Once again, only one of our picks made it into the Team of the Tournament’s midfield – Player of the Tournament Rodri. He was joined by Toni Kroos and Jude Bellingham, two players who did have decent competitions. The former bowed out of football without a trophy, but kept Germany ticking over and seemed as if he could have kept playing at the highest level for a few more years. The latter, meanwhile, scored two vital goals for England, including a last-minute bicycle kick against Slovakia. However, with Ruiz superb throughout and with Olmo scoring more goals, it would have been hard to include anyone else.

Had someone said before the tournament that the only inductee into the Team of the Tournament’s attack out of Yamal, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane would be the former, nobody would have believed you. But that turned out to be exactly the case. Mbappe and Kane both failed to perform at the world-class level many have been used to, even though Kane was a joint-top scorer.

Yamal, meanwhile, shocked the world with his performances, despite only being a teenager. After cementing his place as one of the best wingers in the world, his presence in the Team of the Tournament should come as no surprise and could be the beginning of a legendary career.