Euro 2024: My Alternate Team of the Tournament

A UEFA Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament, exclusively made up of players not in the official UEFA Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament

Part of the dust-settling process at the end of any major tournament is checking who the powers-that-be have included in the official Team of the Tournament.

UEFA released theirs for Euro 2024 yesterday, after what must have been a painstaking process for the “UEFA Technical Observer team” who chose it. Finally, a football team that no one wants to be part of.

Since 2016, UEFA have actually picked a team for their Team of the Tournament, i.e. eleven players arranged in formation. From 1996 to 2012 they picked between 18 and 23, which no one bothered to point out to the Technical Observers is a squad, not a team. Not the most observant observers, you have to say.

But anyway, here is the official UEFA Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament:

Source: UEFA.com

Six players from the champions Spain, while semi-finalists France have two inclusions to finalists England’s one, as Manuel Akanji and Jamal Musiala fly the flags for Switzerland and Germany, respectively.

There are not too many inclusions I would disagree with, but nonetheless, I am now going to attempt to disagree with all 11, but compiling my own Team of the Tournament without including anyone from the actual Team of the Tournament.

I’ll stick with the 4-3-3 system UEFA have used. Join me, it’ll be great craic.

Goalkeeper: Diogo Costa

As the only man to get four clean sheets across the tournament, it is hard to argue against Mike Maignan as the right man for the official team.

Giorgi Mamardashvili was Georgia’s hero on more than one occasion, but just the one clean sheet (albeit against Portugal) and four goals conceded in one match (again, albeit against the champions) counts against him.

But not only did Diogo Costa go level with Magic Mike on two knockout stage clean sheets, his heroics to deny Benjamin Šeško and then all the Slovenia penalty takers in the Round of 16 was the best goalkeeping performance of the tournament.

He had three clean sheets in total, but had much more to do than Maignan, who had a lot of help from VAR against the Netherlands.

Right back: Dani Carvajal

Of all eleven picks for the official team, the right back position is the most eyebrow-raising.

Kyle Walker did not have a bad tournament, but he certainly was not the best England player, and his inclusion seems like an attempt to shoehorn one of the runner-up English team into the XI.

But to make things worse, by forcing Walker in, they have dismissed Dani Carvajal, a man now being muttered in Ballon d’Or discussions. A 32-year-old right back in the Ballon d’Or conversation! That alone should merit inclusion!

Faultless in terms of his defending and link-up with the wide men, he even grabbed a goal against Croatia.

I can only imagine its his red card against Germany that kept him out. Yet, even that was a wonderful bit of self-sacrifice; knowing that he was already suspended for the semi-final, he took one for the team in the dying seconds to stop one final German attack at source. Hero!

Centre back: Aymeric Laporte

I promise this will not be a case of shoving all the non-included Spanish regulars into the team.

But Aymeric Laporte was the epitome of where Spain succeeded and other teams failed in this tournament. While other supposed big teams played conservative football, Laporte always played with his head up, always looking for the forward pass into midfield or wanting to find a long pass out wide.

And he could defend a bit, too!

Centre back: Marc Guéhi

This is the player who should have been shoehorned in for some Three Lions representation, although William Saliba and Manuel Akanji were decent picks.

I did not consider Jordan Pickford for the goalkeeping position, not just for a lower number of clean sheets, but for the fact he did not have too much to do, thanks in large part to Marc Guéhi, whose defensive positioning and reading of the game were faultless.

What is all the more impressive is he barely had a look in before the tournament, owing to the seemingly-unbreakable partnership of John Stones and Harry Maguire.

Guéhi and Laporte both played in the left centre back position, but for the sake of this hypothetical team, I think they can make it work!

Left back: Nathan Aké

Marc Cucurella has silenced a lot of critics at this tournament, and I don’t begrudge his inclusion, despite him flying into (and mistiming) a challenge 30 yards too far up the field with led to England’s equaliser in the final.

Perhaps a more cool-headed inclusion would have been the Netherlands’ Nathan Aké, the defender probably least at fault for the Dutch’s early problems at the back, and a key man for them as they looked stronger as the tournament progressed.

He was key going forward too, getting both assists as the Netherlands beat Poland to not only get off to a winning start, but likely avoid a group stage exit!

Centre midfield: Granit Xhaka

I made the point throughout the tournament that Switzerland seemed to have a new hero in each match they played.

But the understated hero who turned up in every game was their midfield general, Granit Xhaka, who would have been an ideal back-up to Rodri if UEFA were picking a full squad, as they used to.

Coming into the tournament on the back of his best season at club level, Xhaka was disruptive, comfortable on the ball and the foundation for the likes of Breel Embolo and Xherdan Shaqiri to get the Swiss forward.

Centre midfield: Xavi Simons

He may have spent the whole tournament looking like he was going to burst into tears, but the summer of 2024 was a happy one for Xavi Simons.

More of an attacking midfielder rather than an out-and-out centre, his direct running and willingness to burst forward was key for the Dutch and for this team, where Xhaka and the next inclusion will have no problem holding the fort!

He scored a tremendous goal against England in the semi-final, was harshly denied a group stage winner against France and - like his teammate Aké - provided two assists, as he constantly provided a threat.

Centre midfield: N'Golo Kanté

He was supposed to ride his bicycle with a big grin on his face into the Arabian sunset, but N’Golo Kanté came back and made us fall in love with him again.

The diminutive figure with the tireless legs and bottomless lungs was breaking up play and running his heart out like it was Leicester City’s 2016 title win or France’s World Cup win all over again.

Kanté was back to his best, the only problem was the French attackers he fed time and time again were no where near their best.

Right wing: Arda Güler

It’s a great shame for the Turkish wonderkid that the only man (well, boy) who could beat him to the Young Player of the Tournament tag was also a right winger.

But I am sure it’s a great consolation to Arda Güler to know that he has been selected for my team!

Even his amazing, curling left-foot stunner against Georgia was overshadowed by Lamine Yamal’s amazing, curling left-foot stunner against France!

Nonetheless, Güler’s performances for Turkey were brilliant as they progressed to the quarter-finals as arguably the most entertaining team of the who competition.

Left wing: Cody Gakpo

An unsurprising Spanish lockdown of the wing positions is bad news too for Cody Gakpo, who scored three goals from the position where he always looks more effective for his national team.

One of six joint-top scorers in the competition, he was the only out-and-out left winger to share the award, while one assist means he bettered Nico Williams’ goal involvements in the tournament 4-3.

Williams’ goal in the final was probably what swung it, but the Dutchman can feel hard done by.

Centre forward: Georges Mikautadze

Along with goalkeepers, centre forwards did not have a standout summer in Germany. Many made brief cameos, particularly the old-fashioned big men, but none really grabbed the tournament by storm.

The aforementioned six joint-top scorers managed three goals apiece for what is surely the worst Golden Boot race of all-time.

UEFA, in their wisdom, have given their centre forward place to one of the six, Jamal Musiala, a man who made four starts on the right wing, one on the left wing and ZERO at centre forward. Look at those Technical Observers being all observant again!

Of the other three goal merchants, Dani Olmo has been included in the team and is a centre midfielder, Cody Gakpo I have included at left wing (because he is a left winger) and Ivan Schranz lined up on the right of a three in all of Slovakia’s matches.

That leaves Harry Kane - two from open play, one penalty - against Georges Mikautadze - one from open play, two penalties.

And no, I’m not going to be all silly and give it to “Own Goal”, who actually had a worse record this time (10) compared to Euro 2020 (11).

The suspense would be killing you if you had not already seen from the sub-heading that I am going with the Georgian!

Yes, he scored fewer from open play, but he scored three in four matches compared to Kane’s three in seven. He also grabbed a great assist for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s opener against Portugal, while an unfit and injured Harry Kane looked a shadow of his usual self, culminating in a dreadful performance in the final where he could barely get a touch of the ball.

Plus, giving it to a Georgian is a whole lot more fun, and their overachievement deserves all the recognition in the world.

So, in full…

Diogo Costa
Dani Carvajal - Aymeric Laporte - Marc Guéhi - Nathan Aké
Granit Xhaka - Xavi Simons - N’Golo Kanté
Arda Güler - - - - - Georges Mikautadze - - - - - Cody Gakpo

Do you agree with my selections? Who would you swap out? What do you make of the official Team of the Tournament? Let me know and don’t forget to subscribe!

Anthony Tomas is a football writer and commentator, who writes for Flashscore and World Soccer Magazine.