Euro 2020: Old figures outshine rising stars

Euro 2021 enters its second phase without great surprises. All the favorites have qualified, with greater or lesser difficulty due to their group, in this tournament in which up to 16 teams have entered the knockout phase. Among those eliminated are Lewandowski’s Poland, which leaves the tournament with three goals scored, a disappointing Russia in which neither Golovin, Miramchuk nor Dzyuba has lived up to expectations; and an anarchic Turkey that arrived with a lot of talent and left with eight conceded goals.

THE ‘OLD’ FIGURES

The list of stars of this European Championship continues to be led by established players who in many cases have already passed their thirties. Scorers like Cristiano Ronaldo, who leads the scorers’ table alongside Schick, Forsberg, Lukaku, Wijnaldum and Lewandowski. In the favorite teams, the usual names continue to shine. Thus, France boasts its hat-trick formed by Benzema (2 goals), Griezmann (one goal, but with a lot of hierarchy), and a Mbappé that, without being released, is a reference in attack. The Belgians hold on to goals from Lukaku while the Dutch hold on to those from Wijnaldum and Depay. England optimizes every so often from Sterling, with a very gray Kane. Modric is the quarterback for Croatia and Bale and Ramsey for Wales. And others like Spain or Germany arrive with a choral group in which there are no dazzling stars that attract attention at the moment.

FEW RISING STARS

Few names have emerged from anonymity at this European Championship. But among them appears the one with the right-handed cheekbone from the Netherlands, Denzel Dumfries. He made his debut with Koeman in the national team, but it is now, with the defense of three centrals imposed by De Boer, that this young man has become an offensive threat from his wing. He adds two goals and is the revelation of the tournament. Another side, in this case left, is attracting the attention of scouts. It’s about Italian Leonardo Spinazzola, right-handed despite playing in the left-handed lane, whose physical power is one of the great news of a blue which has sparked enthusiasm in your country. Another Italian Manuel Locatelli, He faces the midfield of Mancini’s Italy with a deep taste for touch and arrival in the area. Half Europe wants to sit down with Sassuolo to negotiate his signing, but it seems that Juventus has taken advantage. And in attack highlights the irruption of the Czech, Patrick Schick. His great goal against Scotland caused the applause of half the world, to which he added two more goals, one of them with a burst nose and bleeding after transforming a penalty against Croatia. At the age of 25, this tall 1.88-year-old attacker passed through Italy (Sampdoria and Monchi’s Roma), then moved to Leipzig and from there to Bayer Leverkusen. For the rest, the scoring appearance of the Swede Emil Forsberg, 29-year-old Leipzig player, is striking, although in Sweden the franchise player is the Real Sociedad striker, Alexander Isak, despite only being 21 years old.