Now that the spectacle that was Euro 2016 is over and Portugal have claimed their first ever major international honour, we can look back at what was an enthralling tournament. During the competition, it was suggested to me that it would be interesting to see which players were picked for the 23 man squads for Euro 2016, but never featured on the pitch. So, around two weeks after the competition's conclusion I have finally got around to doing a little research on the subject, and without further ado, I present my Unused Substitute Best Eleven: The Euro 2016 edition:
Playing 4-1-3-1-1 Formation (No Wingers)
GK: Iker Casillas-Spain-Porto-35-167 Caps-0 Goals
The choice for the Goalkeeper for my unused Euro 2016 players team was difficult, as most teams had two goalkeepers who were not used during the tournament. Keepers such as Fraser Forster (England), Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Germany) and Steve Mandanda (France) were potential choices for the team, however I have chosen Casillas as not only was his relegation to 2nd choice behind David De Gea a shock for many people, but he is after all a World Cup winning captain with more caps for Spain than any other player. This makes him a strong choice for any team, and that's why I picked him.
LB: Lucas Digne- France- Barcelona- 23-13 Caps- 0 Goals
Similarly to the Goalkeepers, there were many choices when looking at which defenders should go in my unused players team, which meant there are some very high calibre players in the back line. One such player is the recently transferred France left-back, Lucas Digne. Digne, who recently joined Spanish giants Barcelona from PSG for around £17 million, is a promising fullback who will surely go on to play many times for Les Bleus in the future. However, at Euro 2016 he was unable to make an appearance for the hosts, with veteran Patrice Evra instead preferred.
CB: Marc Bartra- Spain-Borussia Dortmund-25-10 Caps- 0 Goals
From one new Barcelona player to a former one, just before Euro 2016 Marc Bartra left the Spanish Champions to join German side Borussia Dortmund for just under £7 million, and he will be hoping that he can secure a place in the starting line-up for BVB, despite not featuring for Spain this summer. He has long been a player that has been touted for greatness however he has never quite been able to break into the Barcelona first team with world class players like Pique keeping on the bench, and the same was true this summer in France. However, he is still a top player and an obvious choice for my team.
CB: John Stones- England- Everton-22-10 Caps- 0 Goals
England had a very disappointing tournament, losing in the Round of 16 to relative minnows Iceland, and no player will be more disappointed than highly rated young Everton centre back John Stones. With a big move to a top English club still a possibility, this could be a big summer for Stones, but when he looks back in the future he will surely feel that he could have helped lift England's lacklustre performances. However, John Stones' time will surely come again and this big tournament experience could prove invaluable.
RB: Hector Bellerin- Spain- Arsenal- 21- 3 Caps- 0 Goals
Arsenal and Spain RB Hector Bellerin was a surprise inclusion in Vincente Del Bosque's final 23-man squad, given that he had only made his international debut in late May. However, an injury suffered by Dani Carvajal meant that Bellerin was on the plane to France hoping to carry on the fine form that he had shown for Arsenal, which had seen him named in the PFA team of the season. Although the young RB was unable to break into a team stocked with former World and European champions, like Stones the experience will be invaluable to Bellerin when he inevitably returns to the big time international stage, and it is for this reason that he completes my young back four.
CDM: Pontus Wernbloom- Sweden-CSKA Moscow-30-51 Caps-2 Goals
The choice of midfielders (and subsequently strikers) was a lot more difficult, given that most substitutes brought on in a game are attacking players. For this reason, the midfield in my team is very centralised and very defence based. However, the players are still of a very high quality and Pontus Wernbloom is no exception to this. The man nicknamed "Il Grande Pontus" or the "The Big Pontus" is a six foot two inches Swedish powerhouse. He is described by fans as a fearless defensive midfielder and his fifty one caps for the national team support this claim. This is why it was a big shock for me that he did not feature in any of Sweden's three group games, and it it why Big Pontus is the anchor in my unused Euro 2016 team.
CM: Morgan Schneiderlin-France-Manchester United-26-15 Caps-0 Goals
In the summer of 2015, Morgan Schneiderlin made a big £25 million move from Southampton to English titans Manchester United, seemingly taking the next step in what looked to be a promising few years. However, his first season with the Red Devils was underwhelming and he found himself on the fringes of Didier Deschamps' France squad. Ultimately N'Golo Kante of Leicester (now Chelsea) was chosen before him, however an injury to Lassana Diarra meant that Schneiderlin was given a second chance. Despite this, he obviously did not impress in training as he was given no minutes in any of the eight games that France played en route to becoming runners-up to Portugal. Schneiderlin may not have been able to break into the France team, however he is still a very gifted player who will slot into the centre of my unused eleven.
CM: Oscar Hiljemark-Sweden-Palermo-24-10 Caps-1 Goal
The second central midfielder in my team is a player that many may not be familiar of, but if you have ever seen Oscar Hiljemark in action, you will be aware that he is a great talent. He is very able both defensively and offensively and just like with Wernbloom, I was very surprised not to seem him feature in any of Sweden's games. I have no doubts that if Sweden had progressed further than the two midfielders would have had a part to play, however it was not to be and instead Hiljemark finds himself a vital part of my unused Euro 2016 eleven.
CM: Julian Weigl- Germany- Borussia Dortmund-20-1 Cap- 0 Goals
Julian Weigl's rise has been well documented this year, following his transfer to Dortmund. The former 1860 Munich captain, made 51 appearances for BVB last season and was able to break into the German national team picture, making his debut on May 29th in the defeat to Slovakia. He was selected by Joachim Low to go to France, but ultimately Weigl couldn't quite get any minutes in any of the seven Germany matches which was not particularly surprising but will still offer Weigl a great experience to help in future tournaments, Weigl has a brilliant upside and is immensely skilled, making him a certain choice for this team.
CAM- Ross Barkley-England-Everton-22-22 Caps- 2 Goals
The second England player on the list, and the second Everton player on the list, Ross Barkley's Euros feels like a massive missed opportunity. Although sometimes Barkley may seem like a player that isn't quite living up to his potential, when watching England's matches in the competition, it was obvious that the Three Lions needed some sort of spark to ignite the team. Barkley could have been that spark, and personally I found it shocking that Barkley wasn't given a least the chance to make something happen from the bench. However, he will get to start in my team.
ST- Will Grigg- Northern Ireland- Wigan-25-8 Caps-1 Goal
The entire reason that I endeavoured to create this article and make this team, was because of Will Grigg. He had a fantastic season in League 1 with Wigan , helping them win the league and was able to score his first Northern Ireland goal in a friendly before the tournament against Belarus. But these are not the reasons that this Northern Irish man has been so massive in the footballing world, indeed recently drawing with Paul Pogba in a UEFA player of the year poll, it is because of the musical genius of Wigan fan Sean Kennedy. In May, Kennedy uploaded a YouTube video entitled "Will Grigg's on Fire" in which he changed the lyrics of the Gala song "Freed from Desire". It immediately took the football world by storm, and it became a very popular chant used by Wigan and Northern Ireland fans alike. Kennedy has since received a free season ticket for his part in the chant's creation and the chant itself was heard many times during the tournament even though Grigg himself didn't feature in any of Northern Ireland's matches. He even received a heroes welcome home by Northern Ireland fans and it is certain that he will always be remembered as one of Euro 2016's stars, despite never setting foot on the pitch.
And those are my choices for the Euro 2016 Unused Players Team.I hope you enjoyed what I think is an interesting article. Now if you don't mind, I'm off to listen to "Will Grigg's on Fire" on repeat.
Thanks for reading,
James
Like the blog on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/anotherquestionofsport/ for updates and opinions.
Playing 4-1-3-1-1 Formation (No Wingers)
GK: Iker Casillas-Spain-Porto-35-167 Caps-0 Goals
The choice for the Goalkeeper for my unused Euro 2016 players team was difficult, as most teams had two goalkeepers who were not used during the tournament. Keepers such as Fraser Forster (England), Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Germany) and Steve Mandanda (France) were potential choices for the team, however I have chosen Casillas as not only was his relegation to 2nd choice behind David De Gea a shock for many people, but he is after all a World Cup winning captain with more caps for Spain than any other player. This makes him a strong choice for any team, and that's why I picked him.
LB: Lucas Digne- France- Barcelona- 23-13 Caps- 0 GoalsSimilarly to the Goalkeepers, there were many choices when looking at which defenders should go in my unused players team, which meant there are some very high calibre players in the back line. One such player is the recently transferred France left-back, Lucas Digne. Digne, who recently joined Spanish giants Barcelona from PSG for around £17 million, is a promising fullback who will surely go on to play many times for Les Bleus in the future. However, at Euro 2016 he was unable to make an appearance for the hosts, with veteran Patrice Evra instead preferred.
From one new Barcelona player to a former one, just before Euro 2016 Marc Bartra left the Spanish Champions to join German side Borussia Dortmund for just under £7 million, and he will be hoping that he can secure a place in the starting line-up for BVB, despite not featuring for Spain this summer. He has long been a player that has been touted for greatness however he has never quite been able to break into the Barcelona first team with world class players like Pique keeping on the bench, and the same was true this summer in France. However, he is still a top player and an obvious choice for my team.
CB: John Stones- England- Everton-22-10 Caps- 0 GoalsEngland had a very disappointing tournament, losing in the Round of 16 to relative minnows Iceland, and no player will be more disappointed than highly rated young Everton centre back John Stones. With a big move to a top English club still a possibility, this could be a big summer for Stones, but when he looks back in the future he will surely feel that he could have helped lift England's lacklustre performances. However, John Stones' time will surely come again and this big tournament experience could prove invaluable.
RB: Hector Bellerin- Spain- Arsenal- 21- 3 Caps- 0 Goals
Arsenal and Spain RB Hector Bellerin was a surprise inclusion in Vincente Del Bosque's final 23-man squad, given that he had only made his international debut in late May. However, an injury suffered by Dani Carvajal meant that Bellerin was on the plane to France hoping to carry on the fine form that he had shown for Arsenal, which had seen him named in the PFA team of the season. Although the young RB was unable to break into a team stocked with former World and European champions, like Stones the experience will be invaluable to Bellerin when he inevitably returns to the big time international stage, and it is for this reason that he completes my young back four.
CDM: Pontus Wernbloom- Sweden-CSKA Moscow-30-51 Caps-2 Goals
The choice of midfielders (and subsequently strikers) was a lot more difficult, given that most substitutes brought on in a game are attacking players. For this reason, the midfield in my team is very centralised and very defence based. However, the players are still of a very high quality and Pontus Wernbloom is no exception to this. The man nicknamed "Il Grande Pontus" or the "The Big Pontus" is a six foot two inches Swedish powerhouse. He is described by fans as a fearless defensive midfielder and his fifty one caps for the national team support this claim. This is why it was a big shock for me that he did not feature in any of Sweden's three group games, and it it why Big Pontus is the anchor in my unused Euro 2016 team.
CM: Morgan Schneiderlin-France-Manchester United-26-15 Caps-0 GoalsIn the summer of 2015, Morgan Schneiderlin made a big £25 million move from Southampton to English titans Manchester United, seemingly taking the next step in what looked to be a promising few years. However, his first season with the Red Devils was underwhelming and he found himself on the fringes of Didier Deschamps' France squad. Ultimately N'Golo Kante of Leicester (now Chelsea) was chosen before him, however an injury to Lassana Diarra meant that Schneiderlin was given a second chance. Despite this, he obviously did not impress in training as he was given no minutes in any of the eight games that France played en route to becoming runners-up to Portugal. Schneiderlin may not have been able to break into the France team, however he is still a very gifted player who will slot into the centre of my unused eleven.
CM: Oscar Hiljemark-Sweden-Palermo-24-10 Caps-1 Goal
The second central midfielder in my team is a player that many may not be familiar of, but if you have ever seen Oscar Hiljemark in action, you will be aware that he is a great talent. He is very able both defensively and offensively and just like with Wernbloom, I was very surprised not to seem him feature in any of Sweden's games. I have no doubts that if Sweden had progressed further than the two midfielders would have had a part to play, however it was not to be and instead Hiljemark finds himself a vital part of my unused Euro 2016 eleven.
CM: Julian Weigl- Germany- Borussia Dortmund-20-1 Cap- 0 Goals
Julian Weigl's rise has been well documented this year, following his transfer to Dortmund. The former 1860 Munich captain, made 51 appearances for BVB last season and was able to break into the German national team picture, making his debut on May 29th in the defeat to Slovakia. He was selected by Joachim Low to go to France, but ultimately Weigl couldn't quite get any minutes in any of the seven Germany matches which was not particularly surprising but will still offer Weigl a great experience to help in future tournaments, Weigl has a brilliant upside and is immensely skilled, making him a certain choice for this team.
CAM- Ross Barkley-England-Everton-22-22 Caps- 2 GoalsThe second England player on the list, and the second Everton player on the list, Ross Barkley's Euros feels like a massive missed opportunity. Although sometimes Barkley may seem like a player that isn't quite living up to his potential, when watching England's matches in the competition, it was obvious that the Three Lions needed some sort of spark to ignite the team. Barkley could have been that spark, and personally I found it shocking that Barkley wasn't given a least the chance to make something happen from the bench. However, he will get to start in my team.
ST- Will Grigg- Northern Ireland- Wigan-25-8 Caps-1 Goal
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And those are my choices for the Euro 2016 Unused Players Team.I hope you enjoyed what I think is an interesting article. Now if you don't mind, I'm off to listen to "Will Grigg's on Fire" on repeat.
Thanks for reading,
James
Like the blog on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/anotherquestionofsport/ for updates and opinions.
