Forwards
Centre Forward- Gareth Bale, Wales
The most expensive player in the world has certainly lived up to his price tag as of now with some mesmerizing performances for Wales in Euro 2016, their first appearance at the European Championships. In Wales’ opening match against Slovakia, it took only ten minutes for the Real Madrid man to make his presence as he scored via a thunderous free-kick to score the opening goal of the match in an eventual 2-1 win.
Wales lost their second encounter against England but Bale did make an impact in the match by again scoring from a free kick, this time from 35 yards. In Wales’ all-important group game against Russia, he assisted Wales’ second goal scored by Neil Taylor and scored the third goal himself.
Bale’s performances have helped Wales top their group ahead of England and he is currently the tournament’s top scorer with three goals in as many matches. If Bale can maintain his consistency then Wales can make a bigger impact on the tournament than what was expected from them.
Centre Forward- Alvaro Morata, Spain
Morata had a pretty decent game in Spain’s tournament opener against Czech Republic but couldn’t find the net. Against Turkey, Morata had a couple of early chances before heading in Spain’s opening goal thanks to Nolito’s assist. He netted a second in the match thanks to Jordi Alba’s assist. Spain’s win helped them advance to the knockout stages and Morata was awarded the Man of the Match.
Morata continued his goal scoring prowess as he scored the opening goal in Spain’s final group game against Croatia in the seventh minute. He took a number of shots at goal but couldn’t find the net as Croatia came from behind to win the match 2-1. Morata is currently tied with Gareth Bale as the tournament’s top scorer with three goals and his goal scoring prowess will be crucial for Spain as they now face their 2012 final opponents Italy in the round of 16.