Spain capped off the Euro 2024 tournament with a 2-1 win over England on Sunday. La Roja became the first team to ever win four Euros, while England became the first team to lose back-to-back European Championships.
Now that it’s all over, let’s look at the best players from Euro 2024. Here is our Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament.
Defense
GK: Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia)
As much as Georgia dazzled fans with their swashbuckling attacking play, their defense is why they made it to the Round of 16. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had an unbelievable 30 saves in just four matches. This was almost twice as many as the next-best player, Jordan Pickford.
Mamardashvili also allowed more goals than any keeper at the tournament, but it could have been much, much worse for Georgia without him.
RB: Jules Koundé (France)
Barcelona defender Jules Koundé was a rare bright spot for France at Euro 2024. The center back played out of position at right back and locked up every left winger in his path. Against Belgium, he neutralized Jérémy Doku. Versus Spain in the semi-final, Koundé did as good as any player can do against Nico Williams.
Joshua Kimmich (GER), Joao Cancelo (POR), and Andrei Rațiu (ROM) also could have taken our right back spot.
CB: John Stones (England)
England couldn’t bring football home this summer, but plenty of their players had very good tournaments. John Stones is probably among the best of them. The center back was the rock at the center of England’s tough defense. His ball-playing ability was also key to England getting out of touch spots when the opposition pressed.
When England needed something more, Stones would carry the ball forward through the center in a way no other England player was willing to do.
CB: Jaka Bijol (Slovenia)
Udinese’s Jaka Bijol was one of the breakout players of Euro 2024. The towering defender and his center back partner Vanja Drkušič were almost unbeatable. Slovenia allowed just two goals in four matches and did not lose a match in normal time. Bijol led the tournament in clearances and was in the top four for blocks.
LB: Marc Cucurella (Spain)
Marc Cucurella has not lived up to his £62m price tag at Chelsea so far. For Spain at this Euro 2024 though, the Barcelona academy graduate was the best left back in the tournament. He still did not look 100% confident in defense.
However, going forward, Cucurella was key to unlocking Nico Williams. He also delivered a perfectly-placed pass to Mikel Oyarzabal who scored the match-winning goal for Spain.
Midfield
DM: Rodri (Spain)
Manchester City midfielder Rodri won the player of the tournament, so of course he has to be on our Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament. As good as Spain’s attackers were, everything La Roja did went through Rodri.
In attack, his passes were key to breaking down low-blocks. When defending, he’s always in the right place. If he were still on the pitch in the second half, there’s a good chance he stops Cole Palmer from scoring the equalizer.
CM: Fabián Ruiz (Spain)
Everything that Rodri did for Spain in their own half is exactly what Fabián Ruiz did for them in their opposition’s half. His work rate allowed Spain to win the ball high up the pitch. His ability to always find a pass in tight spaces created many chances for La Roja. Ruiz finished the tournament with two goals and two assists.
CM: Jamal Musiala (Germany)
German manager Julian Nagelsmann gave Jamal Musiala complete freedom to drift out wide and centrally this tournament. It worked to devastating effect. Musiala won player of the match against Scotland and scored three goals in Germany’s five Euro 2024 matches.
Attack
RW: Lamine Yamal (Spain)
There aren’t enough words to describe how good Lamine Yamal was for Spain in this tournament. At just 16 years old, he dominated defenders old enough to be his father. The best thing about his performance was how easy he made everything look.
Yamal led Euro 2024 in assists and key passes. He had 4 assists in 7 matches, including one in the final, just one day after his 17th birthday. Yamal also scored in the tournament by lashing in a great goal against France in the semi-final. His five goal contributions led the tournament.
LW: Nico Williams (Spain)
We hate to put yet another Spain player on our list, but Nico Williams was just that good. His direct runs with and without the ball caused problems for defenders all tournament long. When he wasn’t driving at defenders himself, Williams was trying dangerous passes. No player at Euro 2024 had more Expected Assists than the Athletic Club winger.
Williams capped it all off by scoring the opening goal in the final against England.
ST: Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)
Euro 2024 was not a good tournament for attackers. Six players finished joint-top of the Golden Boot race with 3 goals each. 3 goals is the least goals scored by a top scorer since 2012. The top scorer has finished the tournament with less than 4 goals just twice since 1992. All this to say, that there are not many good forwards to choose from here.
Our pick is Cody Gakpo though. The Dutchman mostly played out wide on the left, but he was easily the most reliable goal scorer at Euro 2024, scoring three goals in six matches, including a screamer to open the match against Romania.
