The 2016 European Championships in France saw some outstanding individual displays from players such as Antoine Griezmann, Dimitri Payet, Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard. But there has also been some rather terrible performances, and below is Outside90’s combined XI of the worst players at the tournament.
Goalkeeper – Joe Hart
The English shot-stopper entered Euro 2016 regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers in the continent. That certainly did not seem like the case after a dismal campaign from the 29-year-old, which included a horrendous error against Iceland that lead to the goal that eliminated England.
Centre-back – Lorik Cana
The Albanian centre-back experienced a much shorter tournament than he would of planned. In the opener against Switzerland, the 32-year-old was sent off in the 36th minute after acquiring a second yellow card. Following a one match ban, he was not selected to face Romania.
Centre-back – Sergey Ignashevich
Was part of a Russian defence that conceded the most goals in the group stage (six). He lost most of his defensive duels and always looked uncomfortable, in what was a helpless back four largely responsible for their failure.
Centre-back – Alexander Dragovic
The Austrian was pivotal to his nation’s early exit in the group stages. He was sent-off in the 2-0 defeat to Hungary, and after the one match ban he returned with a costly penalty miss in the 2-1 defeat to Iceland.
Right-midfield – Thomas Muller
Played well at times and presented himself as an attacking option, but it was not enough. By his standards it was a shocking tournament and the 26-year-old still has not scored a goal at the Euros. After the Mario Gomez injury Muller needed to step up, but he failed to do so.
Central-midfield – Mario Gotze
Started all the group matches, but did not make any sort of impact to warrant a place in the elimination stages and was dropped by Loew. His display against Poland in particular was woeful and he also came off the bench against France for the last 23 minutes, but failed to change the game.
Central-midfield – Arda Turan
After a successful qualifying campaign and a crop of young talent, a lot was expected of Turkey. Turan was the side’s key man, but was unable to inspire his teammates to any form of success and all of his attempts on goal were off-target. Did not live up to the expectations.
Left-midfield – Raheem Sterling
Carried the majority of the English fans’ blame on his back. He was not the only one at fault, but his performances were shambolic. Attempted a measly four crosses in the three matches he played and managed just 15 touches in the first-half against Wales.
Striker – Harry Kane
The Premier League golden boot winner failed to project his domestic form onto the international stage. His missed chances in France, coupled with his dreadful set-pieces, left observers wondering how he scored 25 goals in the top flight. A tournament the Tottenham striker will try to forget.
Striker – Zlatan Ibrahimovic
He may not have the best supporting cast around him, but despite this he was still poor in his own right. An open goal miss capped-off a disappointing way to end his international career. Given Zlatan’s ego, he was expected to produce at least something special in France.
Striker – Robert Lewandowski
After netting a whopping 40 goals in all competitions in the 2015-16 season, the Pole managed just one in five Euro matches. In the group stages he failed to register a single shot on target, and was even missing sitters.
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