The Stars of the Show: Euro 2020 Top Players

As the dates when the UEFA football EURO will finally take place are fast approaching, it’s good to know what the competition looks like. This also includes knowing who the Euro 2020 top players that are participating in the competition are. 

Punters who are looking to enjoy some bets on the Euro 2020 this year would do well to know who these top players are. The presence (or possible absence) of these players can turn the tide of the championship.

Kylian Mbappé – France

The 22-year-old French forward has become somewhat of a legend as of late. Mbappé has achieved what many a football player would only dream of. This undeniably makes him quite the force to be reckoned with. This is despite being hardly older than 20 years old.

So far, he has won 3 Ligue 1 titles, 3 Coupe de France titles, has finished at the Ligue 1 top scorer 3 times in a row, and has been named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year twice. Moreover, as of the last World Cup, he’s the youngest player to ever score in the World Cup.

At the same time, he became the second teenager to score in a World Cup Final. Moreover, he was awarded the Best Young Player and the French Player of the Year awards for his performance. All in all, Mbappé is currently one of the greatest players in the world and definitely one of the Euro 2020 top players.

Kevin De Bruyne – Belgium

One of the finest players to ever come out of Belgium, De Bruyne is one of the pivotal players in his Premier League club: Manchester City. In fact, the Belgian player is one of the many reasons that Manchester City are absolutely dominating at the moment.

Ever since joining Manchester City, De Bruyne has been part of numerous victories. These include 3 Premier League titles, 5 EFL Cups, and an FA Cup. Other than that, De Bruyne was named Player of the Season in the 2019-2020 Premier League season.

Moreover, De Bruyne had established himself as one of the best players in the Bundesliga as well as being an important part of the Belgian national team in the 2018 World Cup. Other than this, De Bruyne has won many other awards. This makes him a worthy addition to our list of Euro 2020 top players.

Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo is a player that hardly needs any introductions due to his legendary status in the world of football. However, Ronaldo has become a celebrity even outside of football. But what has made him so famous that even people who don’t know anything about football have heard of him?

If you’re unfamiliar with Ronaldo’s many achievements, you might be surprised to know that he has been awarded the prestigious Ballon d’Or 5 times and the European Golden Shoe 4 times. Moreover, he’s been part and parcel of a number of notable victories in his career.

In fact, he’s been a part of 4 Champions League wins, one European Championship win, and a Nations League win. Moreover, he’s the second ever male player to score 100 international goals. All in all, Ronaldo is generally considered one of the greatest players to ever live, so he had to feature in our listicle of Euro 2020 top players.

Robert Lewandowski – Poland

One of the finest strikers of modern history and a star player for the German giants Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowski is as consistent and great a goalscorer as they come. In fact, he’s Poland’s all-time top goal scorer, with 66 goals for the country.

Other than that, he’s been awarded the Polish Player of the Year a total of 9 times. Moreover, he has scored 203 goals for Bayern Munich in 219 appearances. This means that he has scored 92.6% of the time he has appeared for the team.

With Munich, he has won the Bundesliga for as long as he has been playing with the team and was pivotal in their 2020 Champions League victory. Finally, he’s also been the subject of numerous awards, like the Best FIFA Men’s Player Award.

Jack Grealish – England

It’s a bit of a well-known fact in football that strikers and forwards tend to steal the spotlight. but we’re shining it on a different sort of player this time round. Jack Grealish’s forte is setting up goals rather than being the one to score them.

The Aston Villa captain has plenty of experience playing for the team, having joined when he was only 6 years old. However, his experience with the English national team is considerably less, considering that he joined in 2016.

In spite of that, he has proven himself to be a valuable asset nonetheless, and the English are well aware of his worth. In fact, his skills on the field have translated to commentators drawing comparisons between Grealish and legendary players like Paul Gascoigne.

Memphis Depay – Netherlands

Back to our regularly scheduled programming of discussing forwards, we have Memphis Depay up next. The Dutch forward forged his beginnings in the Eredivisie, the top flight of football in the Netherlands, playing for PSV Eindhoven.

His time with Eindhoven was fruitful. In fact, had has scored 50 goals in 124 appearances as well as being integral in their 2015 win of the Eredivisie. Moreover, he was named the Dutch Footballer of the Year that season and scored 22 goals in 30 matches.

Since 2017, however, he’s been playing in the Ligue 1 under Lyon. However, he has been a part of the Dutch national team since 2013, where he has also proven himself to be a vital player. In fact, his performances in the World Cup have been noteworthy, to say the least. Depay definitely earns his spot on our Euro 2020 top players list.

Gareth Bale – Wales

Whilst this next player doesn’t exactly play forward, his attacking skills are nothing to scoff at. Gareth Bale’s rise to prominence came in the 2010-2011 UEFA Champions League under Tottenham Hotspur. Though the club didn’t go on to win, Bale’s performance was noteworthy.

In fact, he was the recipient of the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2011, as well as in 2013. Moreover, he was also named the FWA Footballer of the Year, the Premier League Player of the Season, and the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2013.

He then moved on to Real Madrid, where he also proved vital in a number of wins for the club. Finally, he has also been successful with the Welsh national team, especially considering he has been named the Welsh Footballer of the Year 6 times.

Andy Robertson – Scotland

Next up is yet another footballer from the UK, this time round from Scotland. Robertson’s debut in professional football was in 2012, where he played a single season with Queen’s Park. During this season he was named the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year.

He moved through a handful of clubs before finally moving on to Liverpool in 2017. His time with Liverpool proved to be rather successful as well, being part of the teams’ UEFA Champions League victory in 2019.

In that same year, he was part of the PFA Team of the Year thanks to his performance in the 2018-2019 Premier League. Moreover, the captain for the Scottish national team played a pivotal part in Liverpool’s 2019-2020 Premier League win. 

Lorenzo Insigne – Italy

Another forward on this list, and it’s Lorenzo Insigne who plays for the Serie A club Napoli. Insigne’s professional career started in 2010 when he made his debut for Napoli. Only 2 years later, Insigne began playing for the Italian national team.

His initial years with Napoli were marked by a series of loans to lesser teams. Despite that, his performances with these teams were quite remarkable in themselves. His performance with his own team is definitely notable as well.

In fact, he was crucial in Napoli’s 2020 Coppa Italia win over Italian juggernauts Juventus. Finally, with the Italian national team, Insigne has represented his country at both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and at the 2016 UEFA European Championship. 

Tomáš Souček – Czech Republic

Another break from the slew of forwards we’ve been looking into so far, we have Tomáš Souček whose official position is that of a defensive midfielder. His professional career began in 2014 with his childhood team: Slavia Prague.

He was quite successful during his time with Slavia Prague, especially in 2018 where the team won the Czech Cup. Moreover, in the 2018-2019 seasons, Souček was the recipient of the Czech First League Player of the Year award for his performance.

The following year, he was awarded the Czech Golden Ball. In that same year, however, he moved to West Ham United, where he enjoys a considerable degree of success there too. In fact, he has so far scored 10 goals in 38 appearances.

Dominik Szoboszlai – Hungary

Our next player is the youngest footballer on this list. In fact, he’s just shy of 21 years old by a handful of months! Dominik Szoboszlai currently plays for the Bundesliga team RB Leipzig. However, he made his debut in 2017 with the Austrian FC Liefering.

Speaking of which, his international debut was actually at the EURO 2020 qualifiers. Szoboszlai’s last-minute goal against Iceland secured Hungary’s place in the EURO finals. Despite being a relatively fresh face, Hungary has high hopes for him.

In fact, his final season with Red Bull Salzburg (before his transfer to RB Leipzig) was quite fruitful, scoring 9 goals as well as landing 14 assists in 27 league games. Szoboszlai is full of potential, and Hungary are partially banking on this youthful player’s potential.

Cengiz Ünder – Turkey

This next player also has a pretty colourful portfolio as he’s currently on loan to Leicester City from Roma. His professional career truly began in 2014 with the Turkish club Altınordu. However, his time to shine came in 2016.

Ünder later moved to İstanbul Başakşehir, where he quickly demonstrated his superb skills in the Süper Lig. Scoring 7 goals in 32 games, he quickly caught the eyes of teams outside of Turkey. In fact, he then moved on to Roma in 2017.

His debut in international football was a year prior to his transfer to Roma, where he played against Kosovo. He has seen quite some success playing with the Turkish national team. In fact, he has so far scored 8 goals in 28 appearances.

Leroy Sané – Germany

Last but far from being least, we have Leroy Sané who also plays for Bayern Munich. However, prior to moving to Bayern Munich in 2020, Sané had a pretty successful handful of seasons playing for the great Manchester City.

In fact, in the 2017-2018 season, Sané was named the PFA Young Player of the Year after proving pivotal in Manchester City’s Premier League and EFL Cup wins in 2018. Moreover, the following year, the team went on to achieve a domestic treble.

Many consider the German player to be a fiery young talent in football. This is even despite his injury that saw him unable to play much of his final season with Manchester City. However, don’t rule out the fact that Sané can be the ace up Germany’s sleeve!