Top 5 Defenders Euro 2016

Precise positioning. Communication. Courage. 
These are a qualities that a defender must possess to excel and obtain clean sheet upon clean sheet. Which defenders, be it central or wing back showed undeniable promise on one of the biggest stages of all?

5) Ben Davies: Wales

Davies made a phenomenal block against Slovakia

Wales exceeded all expectations this tournament, they conceded just 6 goals in total despite playing the higher ranked likes of Belgium, Portugal and also England. Davies started in the central left position of a 5 man defence and excelled despite making just 17 appearances for Tottenham last season. The 23 year old made over 4 interceptions on average each game which left his as Chris Coleman's third highest ranked player behind Bale and Ramsey. It's unlikely that he'll play the same role as a central defender for Tottenham however Davies has certainly shown off his capabilities in defence.


4) Leonardo Bonucci: Italy
Bonucci's campaign was so impressive that he is being linked to a £40 million move to Chelsea/Man City this summer, perhaps a reunion with Conte is on the cards? The Juventus man's valiant efforts meant Italy conceded just twice this campaign, a record bettered by no others. The 29 year old is neither incredibly fast or painfully Giroud slow yet he is certainly the quickest alongside his teammates Chiellini and Barzalgi and as a result often comes off best in a 1 vs 1 vs any attacker. Don't be surprised to see this defensive leader in blue next season even though he supports Manchester United!

3) Jerome Boateng: Germany
Excluding a bizarre handball that gifted Italy a penalty Boateng has looked very comfortable at the heart of the German stronghold all tournament. Boateng helped Germany to 4 clean sheets against Poland, Northen Ireland, Ukraine and Slovakia. Whilst they are not the most formidable opposition Boateng did well to limit chances to the likes of Lewandowski, his Bayern teammate. A muscular injury saw Boateng him taken off in Germany's disappointing defeat to France, he will feel he would have been able to put a foot in to stop Griezmann's second after unusually sloppy German play. An 87% pass accuracy tells you that Boateng is more than just a brick wall, expect the 27 year old to feature for many years to come.

2) Laurent Koscielny: France
The Arsenal man did well to stop the likes of Muller and Ozil from scoring in the last round in what was France's first real test defensively. France have kept just 3 clean sheets yet only conceded 4 times in total. Expect Koscielny to be tasked with marshaling Ronaldo in the final, a job he will approach with confidence and caution in equal measure. Koscielny averaged 3 aerial wins a game which is essential against Ronaldo, the man with a leap of a gazelle. I anticipate a strong defensive display from Koscielny and his counterpart the inexperienced but impressive Umtiti against Portugal.

1) Girogio Chiellini: Italy

At first deemed 'too old' and a vulnerability at the age of 31 Chiellini has put in an honorable display which saw Italy past Spain, Belgium and Sweden with relative ease. Chiellini's unforgiving pressure on opposition strikers saw Lukaku, Ibrahimovic and Morata all fail to mark past Buffon in net. The only thing against Chiellini is his age, many will feel he can't maintain this current run of form for much longer which saw Italy only concede twice all tournament.




Notable mentions:

Alesandro Florenzi: Italy
Kyle Walker: England
Matt Hummels: Germany
Pepe: Portugal
Ragner Sigurdsson: Iceland