Euro 2020 is finally upon us. It already feels like an eternity ago that the Premier League season concluded and Chelsea lifted the Champions League trophy above their heads, but the summer is now well and truly here.
Star quality at Euro 2020
And although world-class players hail from every continent on the globe, there’s good reason to think that Euro 2020 is playing host to some of the best footballers in the business right now.
Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo were arguably the standout defenders in Europe last season and N’Golo Kante was an unstoppable force of nature in the Champions League for Chelsea.
Combine that with some little-known players such as Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo – who are they? – to see the amazing stars on display at the tournament.
As such, it’s incredibly tough to predict who will be the standout performers this summer and who are the best of the best when it comes to the European game.
But that hasn’t stopped the team at Squawka from giving it a shot because they’ve taken on the unenviable task of ranking the top ten players at Euro 2020 across every major position.
So, yes, that’s ten goalkeepers and ten strikers, while the defence and midfield selections have been broken down into the leading five centre-backs, full-backs, central midfielders and widemen.
Top ten players in each position
Got it? In which case, be sure to check out their selections down below to see what changes you’d make amongst the standout players at the European Championships:
Goalkeepers
10. Lukáš Hrádecký (Finland)
9. Péter Gulácsi (Hungary)
8. David de Gea (Spain)
7. Unai Simon (Spain)
6. Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark)
5. Wojciech Szczęsny (Poland)
4. Hugo Lloris (France)
3. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)
2. Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
1. Manuel Neuer (Germany)
Defenders
Centre-backs
5. Raphael Varane (France)
4. Milan Škriniar (Slovakia)
3. Harry Maguire (England)
2. Aymeric Laporte (Spain)
1. Ruben Dias (Portugal)
Full-backs
5. Robin Gosens (Germany)
4. Jordi Alba (Spain)
3. Lucas Hernandez (France)
2. Luke Shaw (England)
1. Joao Cancelo (Portugal)
Midfielders
Central midfielders
5. İlkay Gündoğan (Germany)
4. Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)
3. Joshua Kimmich (Germany)
2. Bruno Fernandes (Portugal)
1. N’Golo Kante (France)
Wide midfielders
5. Jadon Sancho (England)
4. Jack Grealish (England)
3. Kingsley Coman (France)
2. Memphis Depay (Netherlands)
1. Serge Gnabry
Forwards
10. Burak Yilmaz (Turkey)
9. Andre Silva (Portugal)
8. Gerard Moreno (Spain)
7. Thomas Muller (Germany)
6. Harry Kane (England)
5. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
4. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)
3. Karim Benzema (France)
2. Kylian Mbappe (France)
1. Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
Cause for debate
Well then, there are certainly plenty of talking points to discuss there because no doubt more than a few Manchester City fans will be livid that De Bruyne finds himself behind Fernandes.
However, regardless of whether you think Lukaku should be above Ronaldo or Varane should be below Maguire, let the rankings go to show the remarkable amount of depth at Euro 2020.
It might not be the World Cup, but it’s certainly the next best thing and with so many world-class stars sharing the stage, we’re guaranteed a performance that will be remembered for generations.
