UEFA EURO 2016 Team of the Tournament
Saturday, January 1, 2022
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Four Portugal players, three from Germany and two each representing France and Wales made the official UEFA EURO 2016 Team of the Tournament.
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GOALKEEPER
Rui Patrício (Portugal)
Called 'Saint Patrício' for his saves for club and country, the goalkeeper made his name in 12 seasons at Sporting CP, where he made more than 450 appearances and won the Portuguese Cup three times. Went on to win the 2019 UEFA Nations League with Portugal and the UEFA Europa Conference League with Roma in 2022, and is the only goalkeeper with a century of caps for his country.
DEFENDERS
Joshua Kimmich (Germany)
Was only 21 when he made this selection but went from strength to strength thereafter. Having joined Bayern from Leipzig in 2015, Kimmich won his eighth consecutive Bundesliga title in 2023. Equally at home in defence or midfield, he passed 350 appearances for the club in 2023/24 and has a UEFA Champions League winners' medal to his names after Bayern's success in 2020.
Jérôme Boateng (Germany)
Represented Hertha Berlin, Hamburg and Manchester City before a glittering decade at Bayern, during which he won two Champions Leagues, nine Bundesliga titles and five German Cups. Spent the following two seasons with Lyon after finishing his international career with 76 caps.
Pepe (Portugal)
The most-capped defender in Portugal's history, the EURO 2016 and 2019 Nations League winner was still representing his country after his 40th birthday in 2023. At club level, he won the Champions League and La Liga three times with Real Madrid and continued to haul in trophies after returning to Porto in 2019, including two league titles and three Portuguese Cups by the end of 2022/23.
Raphaël Guerreiro (Portugal)
Just 22 when he won this tournament, the marauding left-sided player also scooped the Nations League in 2019. Born in France, Guerreiro spent time at Caen and Lorient before joining Dortmund in 2016. Made over 200 appearances and won two German Cups during his seven seasons there before moving to Bayern, with 64 caps to his name, in 2023.
MIDFIELDERS
Toni Kroos (Germany)
One of the most decorated German players of all time, Kroos won three domestic doubles and the Champions League with Bayern before moving to Real Madrid, where he hauled in four Champions League and three league titles by the end of 2023. Reach his century of caps for Germany in October 2020, having been part of their World Cup-winning vintage of 2014.
Joe Allen (Wales)
The industrious midfielder started his career with Swansea and rejoined the club in 2022, ten years after moving to Liverpool. A runner-up in the UEFA Europa League and English League Cup in 2016, he went on to make more than 200 appearances for Stoke City before heading back to Swansea. Announced his retirement from the Wales national team in 2023 after winning 74 caps.
Antoine Griezmann (France)
The effervescent French icon made more than 200 appearances for both Real Sociedad and Atlético de Madrid, scoring at better than a goal every two games for the latter before joining Barcelona in 2019. Won the World Cup and Nations League with France and ranks in the all-time top five for both goals and appearances for his country, also going past a century of Liga goals for Atlético since returning in 2021.
Aaron Ramsey (Wales)
Spent more than a decade at Arsenal, where he won three FA Cups, then claimed silverware at both Juventus and Rangers before returning to Cardiff, the club where his career began in 2007. One of only six Wales players to score 20 international goals, he won his 84th cap in September 2023.
Dimitri Payet (France)
A creative midfielder capable of scoring spectacular goals, Payet struck eight times in 38 international appearances from 2010 to 2018. A Europa League finalist with Marseille in 2018, he also represented Excelsior, Nantes, St-Étienne, LOSC Lille and West Ham before heading to Vasco da Gama in 2023.
FORWARD
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
The Sporting CP academy product helped Manchester United to three successive titles and the Champions League in 2008 before moving to Real Madrid a year later. Four more European crowns followed, plus EURO and UEFA Nations League glory with Portugal as he became the all-time record international goalscorer. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is the only man ever to reach 200 caps and play at five EUROs, and he is also top scorer at the finals and in qualifying.