It’s never been easier to get yourself through to the knockout rounds of the European championships than this year’s edition. With 4 of the best third-placed teams, as well as the top two from each group, moving on, it seemed many of the continent’s best stars would be able to strut their stuff in the do or die games of the Euro 2016 once the groups are over.
However, some of them failed to live up to their hype or fans’ expectations and will be watching the rest duel it out from home. Here are the top 6 players we all expected to help carry their team through, failed.
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#1 David Alaba
The Bayern Munich man is a very versatile player and although normally a bit more defensive minded for his club side, he finds himself in a more of a prominent playmaking midfield role with Austria. Within a group of Iceland, Hungary and Portugal, he was expected to help carry his side through what on paper looks a fairly easy group, where instead he along with his team slumped to a bottom-placed finish.
Alaba failed to score a single goal and only provided one assist in this year’s tournament and with an uninspiring passing accuracy of just 75% and only half of his shots on target, he can count this tournament as one to forget.
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Not quite the send-off from international football we would expect from the talismanic Swede. We all know the quality Ibrahimovic has, he’s shown it time and time again at the top level of football for the better part of over a decade. However, this tournament probably gave us a glimpse that father time is creeping up on the PSG man at the age of 34.
It’s not all Zlatan’s fault for his side going home early, the squad Sweden have is average. With only a deflected cross that resulted in a goal the only positive aspect of his tournament among him having failed to score a single goal and creating only two chances for him teammates, the buck does stop with him.
Zlatan will no doubt be disappointed that he couldn’t end his Sweden career with a bang.
#3 Arda Turan
When you’re actively booed by your own supporters, you know you’re having a stinker of a time on the pitch. But that is the reality for poor Turan when he pulls on a Turkey jersey at the minute. The Barcelona man failed to show up at all in the opening two games against Croatia and Spain and left his side with a small chance of qualifying.
He did, however, turn up and perform in the 2-0 win over the Czechs but it was too little too late from Turan and his side and it was a mere consolation win. Turan will have to take his 0% shot accuracy and one created chance home with him.
#4 Andriy Yarmolenko
Constantly linked with a big move to the Premier League, Yarmolenko is no doubt a player who must have had a lot of people keeping an eye on him to see what the fuss is about with the Dynamo Kyiv winger. Unfortunately for him, anyone watching probably forgot about him pretty soon after the final whistle.
Very rarely was he able to beat a man and like his teammate on the other side, Sevilla’s Konoplyanka, they failed to help their side register a single goal.
Ukraine went into the tournament pinning their hopes on the two wingers and neither was able to deliver at all, unable to create chances against a lacklustre Germany, and almost anonymous against the likes of Northern Ireland.
Unfortunately for Yarmolenko, the Premiership move may not be beckoning after this tournament.
#5 Lorik Cana
By far the most experienced member of the Albania squad and someone he needed to keep his head to guide them through what was uncharted territory. But a double yellow in the first half of the first game was sheer lunacy from the former Lazio player.
I couldn’t help feel that Albania were unlucky not go and get at least a point from Switzerland, and with 11 men on the park who knows. When he was on the park he created no chances and constantly looked out of position and couldn’t keep up with the opposition.
Passenger, villain, liability, whatever word you want to use for Cana, it can’t be positive.
#6 Kim Kallstrom
Ibra may carry most of the expectations but the midfield presence and experience of Kallstrom is usually something Sweden can rely on and they expected him to perform to a decent level, by his team’s standards at least, but the former Arsenal loanee was missing for majority of the 3 group games that saw them fail to beat an average Ireland and lose to a Belgium side that doesn’t even know their best line up yet.
His tackling was abysmal, winning the ball only once of his 9 attempts at tackling and giving away fouls constantly as well as missing out on more headers than he won. Kallstrom, much like Ibra, is starting to show his age on the big stage.
