Saturday 2 July 2016

5 failures in France

Whilst the likes of Dimitri Payet, Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos have all delivered consistently mesmerising displays at the EUROs, a fair few superstars have failed to turn up. Whether it be down to dips in form, minor injury or playing with a mediocre national side, many have not be able to reproduce their unstoppable club form.

Robert Lewandowski - Poland

The 26 year old Polish captain will be disappointed with his single goal against Portugal after 5 appearances in this competition.  The Bayern Munich man has very little to boast about since he did not register any assists either. In fact it took Lewandowski just under 400 minutes to mark in this tournament with a tap-in against eventual victors Portugal. The striker must be given credit however for confidently dispatching two penalties in shootouts yet he is sure to feel guilty after missing a handful of chances, most notably a free shot blazed over against minnows Ukraine. Such an uninspiring performance is surprising given the same man scored 30 goals in as many appearances last season.

Romelu Lukaku - Belgium 

The Everton striker registered his most successful campaign to date in the Premier League, netting 18 goals for the Merseyside blues after a record £28 million move. However he failed to terrorise defences in similar fashion to his Everton play style for Belgium, instead he was often wasteful, most of all against Italy and Wales. Despite scoring two goals (a brace against the Republic of Ireland) many will see Lukaku as a burden to the Belgium squad and felt the likes of Benteke and Batshuayi sitting on the bench deserved a chance ahead of the man with the touch of a trampoline.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Sweden

The 34 year old has recently completed a move to the Red Devils, however Manchester United fans will be hoping he can provide more than just one assist for them when compared to his EUROs campaign with Sweden. Zlatan announced his retirement from international duty which suggests he was fed up of playing with distinctly average Swedish talent. Zlatan had few opportunities excluding a shot just wide in the later stages against Belgium. An forgettable campaign for such an unforgettable talent.

Harry Kane - England

The Premier League golden boot winner recorded 25 goals last season for Tottenham in their failed title attempt. However Kane suffered an embarrassing Euro campaign thanks to an appalling first touch, poor movement and woeful set-pieces. After being substituted at half-time against Wales for the move effective Vardy many hoped that was the last to be seen of Kane, however the Spurs striker made an appearance in every match, somehow getting worse and worse as he went along.

Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal

What seems to be Ronaldo's final attempt to guide his nation to EURO glory has been a bizarre one for the Real Madrid talisman. Ronaldo has scored from less than 5% of his shots this tournament and averages as many as 7 shots a game. The 31 year old has been a frustrated figure however unlike Zlatan he cannot blame his teammates as the likes of Renato Sanches and Nani have shone throughout and created numerous chances which their out of form captain has failed to mark. Ronaldo's inconsistency is truly remarkable, other than several pieces of sublime skill and trickery including an inventive flick to equalise against Hungary he has been far from the best player at the EUROs. All the same Ronaldo did score his penalty against Poland to send Portugal through to a Semi Final tie with Wales in Lyon this coming Wednesday. Expect big things ...

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