3) Juanfran
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After having a few good seasons as a vital player for Atletico Madrid, Juanfran has established himself as first-choice right back over Hector Bellerin and Cesar Azpilicueta. He has earned the spot mainly due to his defensive stability and for widening the play on the right-hand side but he failed miserably on both fronts.
Juanfran to begin with, was poor in possession throughout the tournament. He kept on losing the ball and failed to win it back as a result of which there was no proper link-up with either Cesc or Silva. Therefore, he couldn’t do much on the attacking front, when he got the opportunity, crosses weren’t up to the mark and he created 3 chances, none of which were real goal threats.
Coming to the defence, his performance worsened as the opposition’s attack got better and pacier. On an average, Juanfran took 3 defensive actions per game and much lower in the clashes against Croatia and Italy where more was required.
His performances were a mere shadow of his Atletico games and Del Bosque needs to ponder whether he can fit in his system the way he does in Simeone’s.
