How did the 2019 Ballon d'Or nominees fare in the Euro 2020 qualifiers?

Modified Nov 21, 2019 12:33 GMT

#6 Kevin de Bruyne (Belgium)

Kevin de Bruyne missed Belgium's first two Euro 2020 qualifying games against Russia and Cyprus owing to a thigh injury, and was not in the Red Devils squad for the games against San Marino and Kazakhstan.

Out of the six Euro 2020 qualifying games he featured in, De Bruyne scored against Scotland home and away, and also in the last qualifying game where Belgium thumped Cyprus 6-1 to end Euro 2020 as the highest-scoring team.

When not scoring goals, the Belgian midfielder was heavily involved in build-up play as was evident in his seven assists, which included a hat-trick of assists in the 4-0 away win over Scotland where he also scored a goal.

#5 Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands)

The Liverpool midfielder played in seven of Netherlands' eight Euro 2020 qualifying games.

Wijnaldum scored in the 4-0 home win over Belarus, 4-2 away win over Germany, 4-0 away win over Estonia and both goals in Netherlands' 2-1 away win over Belarus. He saved his best performance for the last qualifying game as he scored a hat-trick in the Oranje's 5-0 home win over Estonia.

The midfielder also provided assists in the home win over Belarus and in both games against group winners Germany, as Netherlands qualified for their first European Championships since Euro 2012.

#4 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

The Portugal captain led from the front, featuring in all eight qualifying games and scoring in a sixth consecutive qualifying game. The defending champions sealed their qualification for Euro 2020 following a 2-0 away win over Luxembourg on the last matchday of qualifiers.

Ronaldo's 11 goals in the qualifying campaign was bettered only by England's Harry Kane.

The Juventus marksman scored hat-tricks against Lithuania away and home as he overtook Ireland's Robbie Keane for the most goals in Euro qualifying history. Ronaldo's goal against Luxembourg on matchday-10 took his international goal tally for Portugal to 99.

#3 Antoine Griezmann (France)

The Barcelona striker featured in all 10 Euro 2020 qualifying games for France. The reigning world champions qualified as group winners for the continental tournament next summer.

Except for the 2-0 loss in Turkey and a 2-1 home win over Moldova, Antoine Greizmann had a hand in goal in all of the other eight games. Greizmann scored goals in the away win over Moldova, home win over Iceland and the away win over Albania on the last matchday of qualifying action, besides providing nine assists to teammates.

#2 Eden Hazard (Belgium)

Despite his slow start to life at his new club Real Madrid, Eden Hazard remains a force to be reckoned with in international football, as was evident in his eight outings for Belgium in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Hazard scored a goal or provided an assist in each of the games he played during the Red Devils' successful qualification campaign.

The Belgian midfielder scored braces in the away and home wins over Russia. He scored a goal in Belgium's 2-0 away win over Cyprus, while he also provided seven assists in his last six games.

#1 Raheem Sterling (England)

Raheem Sterling was the pick of the 2019 Ballon d'Or nominees to have featured during the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Out of the seven qualifying games that the Kingston-born England international featured in, Sterling provided assists in each game, which included a hat-trick of assists in the 5-3 home win over Kosovo.

The Manchester City player also scored a hat-trick in the 5-0 home win over Czech Republic, a brace in the 6-0 away win over Bulgaria, and a goal apiece against Montenegro (away), Bulgaria (home) and Kosovo (home).

Edited by Musab Abid