Italy: champions
The Azzurri inspired the world with that special Italian
sprezzatura
, a dogged work ethic and a confident swagger. They established a new generation of players while honouring the old guard. They lived up to their potential and exceeded the hopes of their fans. They understood who they were in establishing their identity on the field and stuck to their gameplan.
When they fell behind, they were patient, nimble and trusted their coach. He has remoulded the team, and it needed steering after their last failed World Cup qualifying disappointment. They played like honourable men. I can only give them 10 out of 10. They not only survived the semi-final and final, but overcame the advantages
England
had in playing so many matches at home in front of their own fans. The Italians overcame these disadvantages with elegant panache.
The way the players sing their national anthem in full voice suggests they understand the words deeply and intimately “Brothers of
Italy
, Italy has awakened. Where is the victory? Let us unite! We are ready to die. We are ready to die. Italy called. Yes!” You have to appreciate that Italian passion.
Michael Angelo Larice
England: finalists
We did unbelievably well to reach our first final in 55 years, but unfortunately it ended in disappointment. This was the most likeable and admirable squad we’ve ever had: the players taking a knee, the captain wearing a rainbow armband, and the squad being ambassadors for the modern world. And we have a manager who oozes decency and integrity.
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We didn’t win but we brought joy and united a nation. I’m so proud of our team and can’t wait for the World Cup. We have a great future with a crop of wonderful young players such as Jude Bellingham, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka.
The only failure was in the final. We could have terrified Italy if we had gone for the jugular for the 90 instead of playing into their hands by backing off. I love Southgate, but he needs to see that pragmatism doesn’t always work and he should play Jack Grealish much more. Overall, I’d give our team a 9.5 out of 10. It could have been perfect.
Samuel Mansell
Denmark: semi-finalists
Denmark performed well, all things considered. A lot was attributed to the Christian Eriksen incident, but that should not be given more weight than necessary. This group had set out to be creative, play without fear, score goals while having a solid spine and make a tiny nation – fewer than six million people! – proud.
Eriksen is a national hero, so seeing him hurt that way clearly made the team more determined to succeed, but I believe they would have gone far regardless. If anything, Eriksen could have been the deciding factor against an England team that beat us by controlling the midfield.
Our solid spine of Kasper Schmeichel, Simon Kjær, Andreas Christensen, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg were excellent. They were able to put club allegiances and egos to one side and play as a unit – unlike nations such as France and Germany. It’s just a shame we did not have a direct replacement for Eriksen. Overall I would give our team a nine of out 10.
Mark Andersen
Spain: semi-finalists
We did far better than expected. If you had told me before the tournament that
Spain
would reach the semi-finals and outplay the eventual winners, I would have laughed in your face. This was a mishmash of players, largely from upper to mid-table La Liga sides, and before the tournament it was hard to pinpoint exactly who Luis Enrique would play.
Hot or cold would be the understatement of the century for this Spain side. In qualifying we beat Germany 6-0, but also lost 1-0 to Ukraine – and that form carried over to this tournament. Relatively poor performances in the first two games were followed up by thrashing a terrible Slovakia side, and then the rollercoaster against Croatia. Despite the inconsistency, it was a wild ride, and I couldn’t be prouder of how they played against Italy. After nine years of heartbreaking tournament exits, it was nice to sign off with something positive, and the future is bright (if they can find a striker).
The lack of a genuine goalscorer hurt Spain. This team is a consistent striker away from being a genuine contender. I’ll not hear a bad word said about Álvaro Morata, as he tries his heart out, but the team’s inability to put the ball in the net at crucial times ultimately killed them. Gerard Moreno was extremely poor.
Other than that, I couldn’t be happier with how the team performed. Despite a couple of nervy moments, Unai Simón was fantastic in goal, Aymeric Laporte was a brilliant addition in defence (thanks Didier Deschamps!) alongside Eric García (who really impressed me). In midfield, Pedri has been an absolute revelation – up there with Federico Chiesa as the breakout star of the tournament. Finally, this tournament has done wonders for my opinion of Luis Enrique; he managed the team brilliantly. Overall, I’d give the team an eight out of 10 – mostly because we played so well in the Italy match.
Jordan Cooke
Spain in action against Italy in the semi-finals.
Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Belgium: quarter-finalists
We were average to say the least. Injuries to Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Timothy Castagne and Axel Witsel (although he came back strongly in the end) took their toll. There were many races against time, especially with our most important player, De Bruyne. The manager’s rather conservative approach didn’t help. Where was our natural attacking game?
Finally, they didn’t show enough passion in the game against Italy. The Italians wanted it more. The Belgian players are too nice. I don’t want Romelu Lukaku to do a resurrection act in the style of Ciro Immobile, but a more streetwise attitude is required. The same happened against France three years ago. I would give them a five out of 10 at the Euros.
Roberto Martínez will stick around for the World Cup, which is good news as he still has the support of the players, most fans and media. But he needs to get back to the DNA of this team: a more attacking, possession-based game. The defence will be close to the retirement home, so new blood is needed.
Zinho Vanheusden is a good young player knocking on the door and Yari Verschaeren, Charles De Ketelaere and Albert Sambi Lokonga should be considered – along with new star Jérémy Doku. The core will stay the same – Thibaut Courtois, Youri Tielemans, Witsel, De Bruyne, Hazard and Lukaku. We need these players to be at the top of their game for the World Cup.
Bernard Hautecler
Czech Republic: quarter-finalists
It could have been better, but overall I am satisfied. The team played with a lot of discipline and determination, but they made so many defensive mistakes which our great goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik could not save. Without Patrik Schick, the team would not have gone so far.
I don’t think we need to change much for the World Cup. The players and coach are great and likeable. Maybe they could show more confidence in games, especially in the first 20 or 25 minutes of matches. Overall I would give them a 7.5 out of 10.
Daniel Kaluza
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Switzerland: quarter-finalists
We made it to the quarter-finals of a major tournament for the first time since 1954, knocking out the world champions on the way. The afterglow of that achievement remains despite the agony of the defeat by Spain.
After the debacle of the 3-0 defeat to Italy in the group stage, the team rallied strongly. Four men stand out: the coach Vladimir Petkovic, who kept his cool, Granit Xhaka who was outstanding against France, Yann Sommer in goal (he took a break for the birth of this second daughter after the Italy game and came back as Superman with gloves), and Haris Seferovic, who was much maligned but scored vital goals against Turkey and France.
This is Switzerland’s golden generation, many of them were Under-17 world champions in 2009. They have taken the nation through the groups stage of four major tournaments in a row, something the country had never achieved before. Yet there was always a sense they underperformed because they were inhibited when it mattered. Hopefully the France game put that to rest. Other than that, we need more consistent strikers. Overall, I’d give them a seven out of 10.
Amar Breckenridge
Ukraine: quarter-finalists
It’s a mixed bag. On one hand, nobody thought Ukraine would reach the quarter-finals so it could be seen as a success. On the other, the overall standard of play left many questions. The team has players who are capable of producing good football, but we only saw glimpses of that and they were far too infrequent for anyone to be satisfied with the overall quality. However, this is still a big improvement on Euro 2016, when the team lost every game and scored no goals. So the progress is there.
There is no one particular reason why the team has failed to produce consistently. The lack of quality and competition in the domestic game; not enough players competing abroad in the top leagues; poor standards in grassroots football; questionable fitness levels; key players playing in different positions to what they do at their clubs; a defensive set-up; and player mentality are all frequently raised by the supporters. You can make a case for each one of the above but it’s probably a combination of all of them.
I’d give the team a five out of 10 overall, with special mentions to goalkeeper Heorhiy Bushchan, who had an excellent tournament, and Artem Dovbyk for the goal against Sweden – you can’t beat the emotions of a last-minute winner.
Anton Mikhalovsky
Artem Dovbyk celebrates after scoring a last-minute winner for Ukraine against Sweden.
Photograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images
Austria: last 16
Austria exceeded expectations. Going into the tournament with a winless record at previous appearances at the
European Championship
, Austria won two games and finished second in their group behind the Netherlands. Arguably, their most impressive performance was their 1-0 win against Ukraine in the last group match. This was followed by a spirited last-16 outing, where we took eventual finalists Italy to extra time.
The recently much maligned national team coach Franco Foda showed remarkable tactical flexibility. After below-par performances against North Macedonia and the Netherlands, he changed the set-up from a three at the back to a more familiar 4-2-3-1. This allowed Austria’s best player, David Alaba, more freedom to attack from left-back. Collectively, the team started pressing higher up the pitch and the players seemed much more comfortable with a more energetic style of play. I would give them an eight out of 10 at the tournament.
Austria need to take the positive vibes from this tournament into the qualifiers for next year’s World Cup. Qualification for major tournaments needs to be the norm rather than the exception.
Rene Guenther
Croatia: last 16
Croatia were turgid against England and in the first half against
Czech Republic
, then played well enough against Scotland to squeeze into the knockout stage. We lost to an admittedly superior side in Spain but, had we taken some of our opportunities that game, we might have lasted an extra game or two in the tournament.
Croatia, masters of chaos and often their own downfall, somehow managed to score two late goals to force extra time. Spain were clearly rattled and had Andrej Kramaric aimed his point-blank shot at anywhere except for Unai Simón’s body early in extra time maybe it would have been us playing in the semis instead. Overall it was a fair result.
It is unknown whether Luka Modric, our captain and spiritual leader, will continue with the national team after this tournament, but even if he stays on for next year’s World Cup, someone will have to fill his shoes eventually. The team is transitioning away from the golden generation in 2018, but there is a big question mark whether manager Zlatko Dalic is able to identify his best XI and make the right on-pitch calls. Off the pitch he has kept things under control, but Croatia are never far away from their next disaster.
Ryan Ho
France: last 16
I was optimistic after the group stage, where Didier Deschamps’ cagey and defensive approach to football worked. Unfortunately the last-16 match was a disaster. France didn’t play well, but still somehow found themselves cruising thanks to Karim Benzema, a Paul Pogba wonderstrike and Ricardo Rodriguez missing a penalty. I could not imagine this team throwing away a two-goal lead against a lesser opponent with 10 minutes remaining – yet France collapsed. Unbelievably so. There were rumours that team spirit wasn’t great, and looking at the team’s behaviour in the final 10 minutes against Switzerland, you have to think they are probably true.
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Of course the injuries to our two left-backs didn’t help, but that should not have mattered. I’ve seen people put the blame on Kylian Mbappé for a disappointing performance overall and missing the decisive penalty, but it’s not his fault the team were unable to defend a lead. Anything less than a semi-final was a sub-par performance, so a last-16 exit against Switzerland is utter failure. Not Raymond Domenech-era levels, but pretty bad, especially by the standards Deschamps has set for his team. I’d give them four out of 10.
France have a dilemma now. Zinedine Zidane is free; he is a great manager; and he wants the job. But you have to take him now – such a talented coach won’t be out of work forever. On the other hand, Deschamps has earned the right to take this team to Qatar 2022. He’s clever; he will learn from this; France have a Nations League final to play in October; and the World Cup is only 18 months away. Changing our coach now would be risky.
Alexandre Chesneau
Germany: last 16
I did not think Germany would make it out of the group stage and it certainly looked that way after the first game. In a weirdly perverse way, the fact they at least made it to the last 16 was almost a surpassing of expectations. But yes, historically, it was pathetic. For Germany, anything less than a semi-final should be treated as a major failure.
There were so many reasons for their failure: slow defenders, being slow to transition between offence and defence, a lack of teeth up front, being stuck with a manager who was one of the greatest footballing minds of his generation but is now very much yesterday’s man and could only come up with half-hearted solutions and tinkering around. This Germany team was almost everything that German teams aren’t. I’m giving them two out of 10.
All that said, the situation is not as bad as in the early 2000s. I’m excited about what comes next under Hansi Flick. I can see the light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel.
Shirsho Dasgupta
Raheem Sterling scores against Germany at Wembley.
Photograph: John Sibley/AFP/Getty Images
Netherlands: last 16
The Netherlands did not perform as well as I hoped. After a strong start in the group stage, we were taken out by the Czech Republic in the last 16. The air went out of the balloon very quickly. When faced with setbacks, the team seemed to wither rather than endure. During the match with the Czechs, Matthijs de Ligt lost patience and got sent off; that sealed the team’s fate. It’s a six out of 10 from me.
There is no shortage of talent in the team, the difficulty is ensuring cohesion and resilience. Frank de Boer has already left so we will be getting a new manager. It’s a pity Gareth Southgate isn’t available.
Christian DeFeo
Portugal: last 16
When the Euros began
I wrote on this website
that we were contenders, but that we should play on the front foot. We didn’t play on the front foot, except when we were a goal down in the last 16 and it was too late. We put up a fight to salvage a draw against France and we did what was required in the first game by beating Hungary. But the fact is we didn’t play well, and the beating Germany gave us in the second game was evidence of bad form and planning.
I would give us a five or six out of 10 overall. We came third in the most difficult group of the tournament with a win, a draw and a defeat, and we lost by a goal against
Belgium
in the last 16.
A new manager with a new approach would be great, but unfortunately Fernando Santos will stay put until the World Cup 2022. We have a great squad, which needs to start planning for the loss of Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo. But, above all, we should start playing with more organisation and incisiveness. Too often it seems we are basically trusting the players’ talent to perform without providing them with a gameplan against the biggest teams. This lack of planning may cost this generation the shot at glory they deserve.
Martinho Lucas Pires
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Sweden: last 16
We performed reasonably well all things considered. The team reflects our head coach Janne Andersson. It is pragmatic, stubborn and quite dull yet oddly effective. Winning the group was a surprise and we were lucky at points but the team deserves lots of credit for that.
Then, in very typical Swedish fashion, we muck it up in the knockout stages. As soon as we are the favourites, we are not as effective. Ukraine was an excellent draw and we really should have been playing England in the quarters.
We were too conservative, playing the same old guard and lacking creativity. We were lucky that Emil Forsberg hit the form jackpot; without him we would not have won the group. The coach bears the responsibility here. He is a stubborn ox tied to his beloved 4-4-2 formation. Why not just go for it? It’s a six or seven out of 10 from me: very, very Swedish. It’s hard not to look at Denmark and feel jealous.
Chris Wingard
Wales: last 16
Just like 2016, many people thought we were here to make up the numbers but we performed admirably in a tight group, earning a draw against a good and underrated Switzerland team, beating Turkey and and falling to a slim defeat to Italy. The defeat to Denmark in the last 16 was disappointing but, given the difficult circumstances leading up to the tournament, the team did well to rally together and perform so well.
With one of the youngest squads in the tournament, the future looks bright too. And although Bale played well, we showed we’re more than a one-man team. I am confident he will want to stick around until at least the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign. He loves his country and there is nothing he would rather do than lead them out on the field in 2022. Overall, the young players in the squad gave a good account of themselves and will only get better with time. I’ve give us a 7.5 out of 10.
Ryan B
Wales players react after their 4-0 defeat to Denmark.
Photograph: Piroschka van de Wouw/AFP/Getty Images
Finland: group stage
Our team performed way over expectations. My friends and I thought that one point against Russia would be a success, so winning three against Denmark – who obviously had Christian Eriksen in their minds during the second half – was more than anyone could have asked for. We even fought for a place to go through the knockout stages.
Our manager Markku Kanerva has done his best to get our average quality players to over-perform. Our defence only conceded three goals. Overall, it was an amazing feeling to watch our boys play against each team with a chance to get a point, let alone win. They get an eight out of 10 from me.
This is a great basis on which to build confidence and try to qualify for the World Cup. Our style of play probably can’t be more polished with the quality of players we have, but maybe in a couple of years more of our youngsters will have proved themselves. It seems to me that football is becoming more and more popular in Finland. With more money put into training grounds and so on, the only way to go is up.
Joonas Tanner
Hungary: group stage
We exceeded expectations even though we did not win a single game. We gained creditable draws against Germany and France in the group of death and were very unlucky to lose to Portugal.
Our team was cohesive, well organised and mentally prepared. We had home advantage in two of the three games and a certain level of complacency on the opponents’ side didn’t hurt, either. However, we were unfortunate with injuries and lacked individual quality (barring a few notable exceptions), compared to the other teams in the group. I’d give us 8.5 out of 10.
If the manager stays (and it looks like he will), there is a good chance that the team can continue on the same path. The return of the injured players is likely to bring an instant improvement. However, some players in the squad are past their prime and good successors are few and far between. It would help if some players could get the chance to play their club football at a higher level.
Jay Turck
North Macedonia: group stage
North Macedonia struggled, losing all three group stage games on our way to a quick exit. Austria, Ukraine and the Netherlands proved to be too tough for our team. The main culprit was the lack of experience on the big stage. The intensity level is different; the stakes are much higher; and the room for error is magnified. With most of our players not used to that kind of pressure, the nerves got the best of them. Calm was lacking and the other teams proved more cunning and ruthless in taking their chances.
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I would give our team a six out of 10. After all, we can’t be too harsh. This was our first major tournament, so just reaching
Euro 2020
was a huge success. The squad were brave and went for it. There was no parking the bus. We got on the scoresheet against both Austria and Ukraine, and we were unlucky not to score against the Dutch as two goals were ruled out for offside and one shot struck a post.
Some change is on the horizon for the national team. The contract of head coach Igor Angelovski was not renewed. Instead, the federation opted to promote U21 national team coach Blagoja Milevski to the top job. I rate Milevski as a better tactical coach than Angelovski, so am excited to see what he can do. Three veteran players, all in attack, retired after Euro 2020, the biggest name being Goran Pandev who will be missed.
Aleksandar Zlateski
Poland: group stage
We performed very poorly. We were expected to beat Slovakia but did not get going at all and, despite an equaliser early in the second half, a needless red card for Grzegorz Krychowiak put Slovakia back on top and they duly capitalised. A much-improved performance against Spain gave us hope, but abject defending right from the beginning against Sweden left Robert Lewandowski with too much to do, and his two brilliantly taken goals were in vain. The Slovakia game is the real regret.
Poor defending and decision-making cost us. A lack of settled first-choice wingers also starved Lewandowski of the service he needed, and in the end he did well to finish the tournament with three goals. Piotr Zielinski once again failed to stamp his authority over games when it mattered for us. I said before the tournament that failing in the group stage would be a tragedy for us, and it is difficult to be optimistic despite the resilient performance against Spain. The team gets a two out of 10 from me.
Kuba Witkowski
Russia: group stage
We were never favourites to make it out of our group. We did well against Finland and did not embarrass ourselves against Belgium or Denmark so, while I am obviously disappointed after a successful 2018 World Cup, we were never expecting to reach those same heights. It’s a four out of 10 from me.
The World Cup was the end for many of our established internationals, mainly in defence. It was clear against Belgium that we were missing some experience after the departures of the Berezutsky brothers, Sergei Ignashevich and Igor Akinfeev. We have potential in attack but we need a stronger midfield and defence to compete and progress further. To finish bottom of the group is disappointing, but there is potential for the future. Stanislav Cherchesov is a good manager and this was always going to be the start of a transition. Patience is needed.
Julian Gallie
Scotland: group stage
We performed exactly as expected: highs and lows, with emphasis on the low. The highs included being at a major tournament for the first time since France 98, and outplaying England at Wembley. The lows included the performance against the Czech Republic, that goal from Patrik Schick, and group-stage elimination ... again.
I’m giving the team a five out of 10. That might seem on the high side for a team that finished on a single point, but, taking pre-tournament expectations into account, the overall performance was as expected: a solid game at Wembley sandwiched between two defeats.
For a couple of months a new generation of fans were able to enjoy the anticipation and excitement that comes with qualification for a major tournament – before their hopes were dashed. The team is going in the right direction. Despite the losses and early elimination, they played with pride, did not embarrass themselves and gained experience, which is invaluable at international level.
Keith Moore
A Scotland fan watches the 0-0 draw with England at the fan zone in Glasgow.
Photograph: Stuart Wallace/BPI/Shutterstock
Slovakia: group stage
The expectations were not very high but the overall feeling is still one of disappointment. Even though we managed to beat Poland in the opening match, our extremely defensive and scared approach against Sweden completely overshadowed the Poland match. The defeat against Spain after that didn’t come as a surprise, but getting battered 5-0 was embarrassing.
Several key players from the past decade have retired and many others, most importantly Marek Hamsik, are close to the end of their careers. The manager lacks the charisma and confidence of his predecessors. Blaming the defensive approach against Sweden on them being higher in the Fifa rankings says it all. Did the Hungary manager forget to look at the rankings before their matches with France and Germany? The team gets two out of 10 from me.
Juraj Petrik
Turkey: group stage
We were horrible: no points and only one goal from three games. Our manager Senol Gunes’s only tactic was to play long balls to Burak Yilmaz. He had a talented squad but was too afraid to use other tactics than a 4-2-3-1 formation because he wanted to protect the defensive line with two pivots and play on the counter-attack. He also failed to motivate the players.
Turkey get a zero out of 10 from me. They were the worst team in the tournament. They had no football character on the pitch. Although a change in manager is definitely needed, Gunes will likely stay in his job. He will see the failure at this tournament as being the “result of inexperienced squad” and will do exactly the same thing next time expecting different results.
Selim Yurdakul
