Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann, Joe Allen Named In UEFA’s Euro 2016 Team Of The Tournament

UEFA has named its 11 players for its Euro 2016 Team of the Tournament, a team that includes four players from champions Portugal, three from Germany and two each representing France and Wales.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann, Joe Allen Named In UEFA’s Euro 2016 Team

Star forwards Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) and Antoine Griezmann (France) and Welsh midfielder Joe Allen are three of the team’s most prominent members.

The rest of the tournament squad includes Portuguese goalie Rui Patricio and defenders Pepe and Raphael Guerreiro, German defender Jerome Boateng and midfielders Toni Kroos and Joshua Kimmich, French midfielder Dimitri Payet, and Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey. 

In the past a 23-man squad was selected with Ronaldo (2004 and 2012) and Pepe (2008 and 2012) both previously picked twice. Ronaldo, who suffered a knee injury after being tackled in Portugal’s 1-0 victory over France in the final on Sunday, was also in the All-Time EURO 11 named before the tournament.

The team was selected by UEFA’s 13-strong panel of technical observers, led by UEFA chief technical officer Ioan Lupescu and including a number of managers and/or former players: Sir Alex Ferguson, Alain Giresse, David Moyes, Packie Bonner, Mixu Paatelainen, Savo Milošević, Peter Rudbæk, Gareth Southgate, Thomas Schaaf, Jean-François Domergue, Ginés Meléndez and Jean-Paul Brigger. 

The technical observes made their selections based on various criteria, which had been outlined before the tournament:

• Exceptional skill in attack and/or defense
• Involvement in decisive actions in attack and/or defense
• Tactical maturity and efficiency throughout the game
• A positive attitude with regards to UEFA’s Respect campaign

One of the biggest surprises among players not chosen for the team is Welsh midfielder Gareth Bale, who also plays for Real Madrid.

Bale, 26, scored three times for manager Chris Coleman’s side in their six matches, and led Wales to a historic semi-final appearance against Portugal.

Allen and Ramsey excelled in midfield as Wales topped Group B before beating Northern Ireland and Belgium in the knockout stages of the tournament before losing to Portugal.

“After quite a bit of deliberation, the observers chose a team that features the best performing players from the best performing teams at UEFA EURO 2016,” Ferguson said about the decision to select that XI.

“We have chosen dominant central defenders; full-backs who can defend and attack; deep-lying midfielders who can control the game and dynamic, flexible and creative attackers, all of whom have the ability to create and score goals.

“We believe that the selected XI represents the best of the competition.”

PHOTO: MARSEILLE, FRANCE – JULY 07: Antoine Griezmann of France runs with the ball under pressure from Toni Kroos of Germany during the UEFA EURO semi final match between Germany and France at Stade Velodrome on July 7, 2016 in Marseille, France. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena