Euro 2016 is just a few days away and there is a lot of pressure on some of the favourites to go out and win the coveted crown. Beating the defending champions Spain will not be an easy task and with an extended list of 24 countries taking part in the competition, there are going to be a few surprise results where a player or two will shine.
Speaking of shining for the national team, there are quite a number of stars who need to perform well in this championship. The club season normally gives us an idea of which player will make a huge impact in any international tournament in the summer but some of these stars have had a horrendous campaign for their respective league sides and will want to prove the critics wrong.
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There are other stars who want to carry their exceptional club form to their national teams and lead them to glory. Being a quadrennial event, there aren’t many chances for a player to showcase his ability on the international stage but this competition would be a perfect stage.
Here are five players who need to perform in the upcoming Euros.
5) Raheem Sterling – England
One of the most expensive transfers of all time, Raheem Sterling joined Manchester City from Liverpool for a fee of £49 million, which could rise based on his performances for the Citizens. Sterling, however, didn’t have the greatest season for the Premier League side and only made 23 starts in a stuttering league campaign for his new club.
The 21-year-old failed to cement a starting place in Manuel Pellegrini’s side and with Pep Guardiola set to take over next season, the onus to perform firmly falls on the shoulders of the youngster. Sterling was expected to go on to bigger and better things since his move from Merseyside but nothing of that sort has been achieved.
England have a couple of tough games in their group, especially the one against Wales and Sterling will be looking to do well. The former Liverpool star was also part of the England team in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and also played in the losing cause against Italy, though he was adjudged as the man-of-the-match.
The Manchester City star is confident of a good showing, due to England’s performances in the pre-tournament friendlies and will hope for a better performance from the English side which didn’t make it out from the World Cup group in 2014.
4) Eden Hazard – Belgium
How quickly does the stock of a player fall? That question was answered by Eden Hazard this season as the Player of the season from 2014-15 campaign barely got his act together for Chelsea and only scored his first league goal of the league campaign in April 2016.
He also endured a run of 30 games without scoring and only got his first goal of the season in a 5-1 win against MK Dons in the FA Cup. The Belgian though would like to put all that behind him as he tries to live up to the billing of being the best player after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, though the 25-year-old is now below Luis Suarez also in that list.
Belgium have an incredible team in the Euros and are considered as one of the favourites for the crown. Eden Hazard might not have done all that well with his club team but under Marc Wilmots, he could turn the competition around with the national team.
Messi and Ronaldo haven’t been able to achieve a lot of success with their respective national teams but Hazard could do better than the pair, only if he decides to play like the star from Lille, who won Ligue 1 with the French club and not the confused soul that was running about at Stamford Bridge last season.
3) Mario Gotze – Germany
Mario Gotze is another star whose stock has sharply fallen down after his heroics in the 2014 World Cup which saw Germany lift the crown. The 24-year-old failed to seal a starting place under Pep Guardiola last season due to poor performances and a number of injuries.
Starting only 11 games in the Bundesliga campaign, there were a number of rumours doing the rounds that he was on his way out from the club with Liverpool leading the chase. Gotze however, did a turnaround as he stated he would be willing to stay and fight for his place under incoming manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Gotze has been pretty good for Germany over the years and it is no wonder that the World Cup winners are also one of the favourites for the title. The international stage is where Gotze has been able to shine more recently and it would not be a surprise if he does repeat his heroics from the 2014 World Cup.
A fantastic performance for Die Mannschaft would also catapult Gotze back to the top where he belongs and hopefully will resurrect his club career.
2) Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Sweden
Probably the greatest Swedish footballer ever to have graced the game, Henrik Larsson does come a close second, Zlatan has never lifted any major trophy with the national side despite his achievements in club football.
The multiple league winner, Zlatan picked up yet another Ligue 1 title with PSG as he bid farewell to Paris. For all his talk about being one of the best ever to play the game, his team have often let him down and the pressure to perform for the national side will weigh more on the shoulders of the 34-year-old striker.
Euro 2016 could be the swansong for Zlatan on the international stage and Sweden will have to play out of their socks if they are to qualify from a group which contains Belgium, Italy and Ireland. Zlatan would have to be firing goals left, right and centre if the side are to do better than the semi-finals which they achieved in 1992.
In a tournament which has been known for shock results, Zlatan would be the main man for Sweden as he looks to end his international career on a high.
1) Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal
Everyone knows how close Portugal came to winning Euro 2004 on their home turf and Cristiano Ronaldo’s team will be looking to go one better in France this time around. Greece wrecked the fairy-tale ending for Ronaldo 12 years ago, however, the Seleccao do have an easy group to navigate in 2016.
Hungary, Austria and Iceland aren’t the toughest in the world but these sides can spring a surprise against the favourites from the group. International football has not been as fruitful for Ronaldo as club football has been and the UEFA Champions League winner with Real Madrid would want to correct that.
Portugal have done pretty well in recent Euro competitions with a quarterfinal exit in 2008 and a semifinal loss to eventual winners Spain in 2012. In the last international competition, though, the Portuguese were knocked out in the group stage and that will sting the side more than ever.
The side do have a few players who could be surprise stars in Renato Sanches, Joao Mario and William Carvalho but all eyes will be on the 31-year-old who would want to take Portugal all the way to the final and cap off an incredible season with the Euro crown.
