The best squad from the EURO 2012's eliminated

KIEV, UKRAINE – JUNE 19: Sebastian Larsson (R) of Sweden celebrates his goal with Zlatan Ibrahimovic during the UEFA EURO 2012 group D match between Sweden and France at The Olympic Stadium on June 19, 2012 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

With all qualified teams having been allotted their quarter-final fixtures, eight teams bowed out of the competitions of elites in Europe. While it includes giants in Netherlands and Russia, it also includes hardworking sides in Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Denmark and Ukraine amongst others.

Here is the author’s compilation of the starting XI and substitutes of the best from the teams that had to go home post the group stages.

P.S. This compilation is purely on performance and form, giving very little importance to star power of a footballer.

The Starting XI

Goalkeeper: Stephan Andersen - Promoted ahead of Anders Lindegaard and Kasper Schmeichel, he showed great character in between the posts and was on top of his form in arranging his defence for set pieces. From fisting away dangerous crosses to closing down angles on strikers, he is indeed the first choice.

Right Back: ?ukasz Piszczek - Has been a very hard working and attacking full back, providing constant channels of attack on the right. The Dortmund RB has been linked with a move to Real Madrid.

Center back: Daniel Agger - Liverpool‘s rock at the back has lived up to his hype this season. Exhibiting superb timing with last ditch tackles and clean dispossessing of opponents has been Agger’s trademark this Euro.

Centre back :John Heitinga- Besides being solid in defence, powerful headers on target from corners and having some talent with his feet, Heitinga has been the Oranje’s only hope at the back. His ability to stay active for 90 minutes is another added advantage.

Left back: Martin Olsson - He struggled to keep up with the pace of his first outing. However the Blackburn defender had Karim Benzema in his pocket and his slide tackles saved several goalbound attempts.

Left wing: Yeven Konoplyanka - The Gunners’ target this summer, the ‘Ukrainian Messi’ lived up to his hype. From giving defence-splitting passes to taking accurate long-rangers, he reminds one of Samir Nasri‘s performances. He is very swift and therefore difficult to mark.

Right wing: Andrey Arshavin (Captain) - Despite having a disastrous season at the Emirates, he was on top for Russia, providing crosses and destructive through balls. His experience at international level certainly helps the team.

Defensive Midfielder: Keith Andrews - The only player worth watching in the Republic of Ireland’s disastrous outing. Both his attacking and defensive work rate are astonishingly high and he is actually the boulder in attackers’ paths in midfield.

Attacking Midfielder: Rafael Van der Vaart – He has continued his form at Tottenham with the national team and has been deadly both from long range and within the box. He also set up his forwards beautifully and is the perfect-goal scoring midfielder that a team needs

Centre Forward: Zlatan Ibrahimovic – His inclusion in the squad is no surprise. He is one of the most feared and coveted forwards in the world. He also utilises his height effectively at set pieces. This dynamite can actually blast through the defense line to bulge the oppositon’s net.

Striker: Mario Mandzukic- He has been terrific this Euro. He does not have much in terms of movement, but is difficult to mark and and has an uncanny ability to score from the most unexpected areas. One to watch out for.

The Bench

Vyacheslav Malafeev, Richard Dunne, Gregory van der Weil, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Andriy Yarmolenko, Michael Krohn-Dehli

Do suggest your choices. Looking forward to your comments.