The Euros has the chance to change a footballer’s legacy forever. I prefer national team football over club football. I love how players become icons in their country based on a great month of football.
This summer’s Euros is taking place in Germany. It will begin on Friday, June 14th. There are six groups of four teams. The top two in each group advance, along with the four best third-place teams. Then it is classic knockout games, win or go home or in Germany’s case: stay home.
“Most important,” doesn’t mean that the list will be the best players in the tournament. Rather, it means the ten most important players who will decide how far their country goes. Only one player is allowed per team; since I chose ten, players and teams will be left out.
Koen Casteels: Belgium Goalie
The Belgium squad will be without the best goalie in the world, Thibaut Courtois. Courtois tore his ACL along with his meniscus as well this season. He still recovered in time to play in the Champions League final on June 1st. However, he did leave the Belgium squad in June 2023 after not being named captain. Courtois is being left out due to vibes.
Koen Casteels has made 275 appearances for German-side Wolfsburg. Yet, he’s always been the backup to Courtois in the Belgium squad. Now it is his turn.
Casteels is huge in goal at 6’5″. He’s only made eight appearances for Belgium, despite being first called up in 2012. Casteels is great on corners and commanding the six-yard box.
He is also an incredible penalty saver. Casteels has saved 14 in-game penalties in his career, compared to Courtois’ 12. This will come in handy if Belgium concede a penalty or reach a shootout.
Belgium has an easy group with Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine. The Red Devils have a fun mixture of young players who are coming off great seasons with their club, along with veterans from their recent “golden generation,”. Casteels will ultimately dictate how far Belgium goes. If he’s able to match Courtois’ big-game prowess, Belgium will go far.
Marcel Sabitzer: Austria Center-Midfield
Haven’t you heard that there’s an Austrian football revolution taking place? Under visionary manager Ralf Ragnick, Austria has won 62% of their games. Austria has qualified for just their fourth Euros. Borussia Dortmund and Champions League final runner-up, Marcel Sabitzer, is key to this revolution.
Sabitzer is a goal-scoring midfielder. He likes to play on the front foot and either shoot from range or pick out a pass. Sabitzer has a comfortability with his manager, having played under him during spells at RB Leipzig and Manchester United.
He has the keys to the engine in midfield and a lot of what Austria produces going forward comes from the play of Sabitzer. Over a third of Austria’s goals in qualifying were either scored or assisted by Sabitzer.
Austria has drawn the group of death, with France, the Netherlands, and Poland. Getting out of this group will be a huge achievement for Austria.
Artem Dobvyk: Ukraine Striker
The Pichichi Trophy is given to the top scorer in the Spanish league. The award was dominated by Messi and Ronaldo in the past decade. This season, it was won by a Ukrainian making his debut in a top-four league.
Artem Dobvyk’s 24 goals for Spanish side Girona saw them make a historic Champions League finish. Ukraine hasn’t had a great striker since the legendary Andriy Shevchenko. In a manageable group, Dobvyk will be the focal point of attack.
Dobvyk is six feet tall but plays much bigger. He is an aerial threat who also possesses a great first touch. He’s quick and light on his feet inside the penalty box. Dobvyk also combines with his teammates well, which will be crucial for Ukraine with quick wingers like Mykhaylo Mudryk and Viktor Tsygankov flying into the box.
At the Euros, passion, pride, and love for one’s country often trump talent. Look no further than Iceland’s run at Euro 2016, or Wales’s run to the semis that same year. Denmark were brought together by an on-field tragedy in 2021 and made a run to the semis. With the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine, this team will certainly be galvanized together to do their best. A deep run in this tournament will do wonders to lift a country that deserves a lift.
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia: Georgia Winger
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia is leading the Georgian national team into their first-ever major tournament. There would be more hype around Kvaratskhelia if the Euros took place a year ago. Kvaratskhelia was coming off a title win with Italian side Napoli, their first since Maradona led them to one.
Oh, how much of a difference a year can make. With three managers and an eighth-place finish in Serie A, Napoli are no longer the new hot thing. Yet, this hasn’t stopped teams from wanting the 23-year-old.
The Georgian trickster is incredible to watch. His tight ball control and ability to score and pass with both feet are reminiscent of Napoli’s great Maradona. Georgia will be up against it in a group where each team sees them as an easy out.
Yet, there is something always fun to watch when an incredible player is the face of his small football country. It can always go both ways, think the wonders of Gareth Bale and Wales in Euro 2016, or the disappointment of Erling Haaland in Euro qualifying for Norway.
Getting here is a miracle for Georgia, but I have a feeling that isn’t enough for Kvaratskhelia.
Luka Modric: Croatia Midfielder
Surely this will be the last dance for six-time Champions League winner, four-time La Liga winner, and 2018 Ballon’Dor winner Luka Modric. At 38 years old, Modric has just signed another one-year deal with Real Madrid. In the last two World Cups, Croatia finished as runners-up and third place. However, in the last two Euros, Croatia has gone out in the round of sixteen.
Modric is still incredible at football. His longevity is something to be admired. He has nine straight seasons of 40-plus appearances for Real Madrid. Modric has control over games at a level few have possessed in the entirety of football history.
Modric still has help, like he has in the past. Croatia has a tough group with Italy, Spain, and Albania. Modric will be 40 years old at the World Cup in 2026. This may well be one of the last times we get to see one of the best to ever perform at an international tournament.
Lamine Yamal: Spain Winger
Lamine Yamal is 16 years old. Any conversation about him begins with that piece of information. However, I feel like it is understating his impact on club and country to state his age first. People treat him like he’s glad to be here and all this is gravy for him.
Yamal has come out from the famed “La Masia,” academy in Barcelona. He’s scored five goals and laid on five assists this season in La Liga. According to Fotmob, he was their fifth-best player this season.
Yamal wants to take players on. He is a proactive player who looks to beat players off the dribble and get a cross in at the touchline. An unselfish player at heart, who is willing to play within a system that benefits the team. He makes 2.27 tackles, .84 interceptions, and 1.52 blocks per 90 according to FbRef. All these rank in at least the 93 percentile among attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s big five leagues.
Yamal may not begin the Euros in the starting 11(which is a mistake). However, his ability to affect the game in different ways means he will earn a starting spot before this tournament is over.
Alessandro Bastoni: Italy Center-Back
Italy enters this major tournament without Leonardo Bonucci or Giorgio Chiellini. These two were among the best center-back partnerships of all time. Alessandro Bastoni is the only elite center-back in the squad. Bastoni was part of an Inter Milan team that conceded 22 goals and kept 21 clean sheets (shutouts).
Bastoni only appeared in one game in the last Euros. Yet, he was a part of the Inter team that went to the Champions League final in 2022-2023. Bastoni will not be phased by this big occasion and the pressure that comes with replacing legends.
Bastoni’s nerd numbers according to Fbref are insane. He ranks in the 99th percentile among center-backs in Europe’s big five leagues in; progressive carries, progressive passes received, shot-creating actions, and expected assisted goals. Bastoni is essential to starting the attack. He’s an offensive-defensiveman. In Italian manager Luciano Speletti’s system, Bastoni will be crucial.
Bastoni will be able to carry the ball into the attack and create chances with his movement into unoccupied space. If Bastoni can get the Italians humming from the start of the Euros, they will be dangerous. Speletti’s system will only get better as the Euros go on. Italy has drawn a tricky group with Spain, Croatia, and Albania.
England Center-Backs
England brings some of the most talented attackers and midfielders to the Euros. In midfield, they possess Champions League winner Jude Bellingham and Premier League runner-up Declan Rice. In attack, they have Harry Kane’s 44 goals in all comps, England doesn’t lack elite talent in those departments. Center-back is a different story.
Take out John Stones’ 71 caps for England, the rest of England’s center-backs have a combined 33. The team is without Harry Maguire, who has made 17 appearances across the last three major tournaments. Although his club form has been a rollercoaster, he’s always been solid for England.
If I were England’s manager, which I’m not, I’d start Marc Guehi alongside John Stones and convert right-back Kyle Walker to center-back. Guehi has played in a back three for Crystal Palace. Walker played in a back three for England before so neither player would be out of their depth. The point of international football is to make the players as comfortable as possible and cultivate an environment that breeds that. England’s record in major tournaments since Southgate took charge shows that he’s done just that.
Jamal Musiala: Germany Attacking-Midfielder
I listed him mainly because I just wanted to watch his dribbling highlights on YouTube. It’s also because he’s an incredible footballer who represents something that not all Germans want to see. Musiala is a wizard on the field and has won three Bundesliga titles. He’s still only 21.
His ability to combine with fellow 21-year-old Florian Wirtz and not a striker, striker Kai Havertz will be crucial to the host nation.
Musiala glides across the pitch with ease and breezes by opposing defenders. He ranks in the 99th percentile of successful take-ons according to fbref. If Germany can find him open space he will be a headache for defenders. Musiala can change the game in an instant and play in tight spaces, something Germany has needed since the 2014 World Cup.
The host nation is always under a ton of pressure. They’ll be coached by Julian Nagglesmann who, despite his age (36), has a wealth of experience. This national team has a chance to regain a significant part of the German audience that has seen the team fall over themselves in recent tournaments.
They’ll bring a youthful squad with a vast amount of club football experience and Musiala is at the forefront of that.
Kylian Mbappe: France Forward
Honestly, if you know anything about international football, did you think I was going to choose anyone else? Kylian Mbappe has been lights out for France in World Cups. He has 12 goals and two assists in 14 World Cup appearances.
Despite nine goals and five assists in eight Euro qualifiers, Mbappe was a bit disappointing the last Euro go around. France, as a whole, never looked settled in that tournament and was bounced out in the round of 16.
Mbappe has recently been announced as a Real Madrid player. He’s finally achieved his lifelong dream of signing for Real Madrid. Mbappe will be settled enough with his club situation to go to this tournament and dominate.
Mbappe single-handily tilts the field. He draws a lot of attention in knockout games that often open up the field for all the other attackers to cook. Just like how Steph Curry draws tons of attention to give teammate favorable matchups.
France are the favorites to win the tournament. They are my pick to win it all. They have experience and just enough youth to push the experienced players. Diddier Deschamps knows how to win big games and Mbappe is a big game player when he puts on the France shirt.
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Featured Image: Getty Images/Kristian Skeie-UEFA
