Euro 2024, best eleven of the group stage: Georgia eclipses Spain, Germany and France

After 36 matches and 81 goals, the Euro 2024 group stage is over and we have said goodbye to eight of the 24 teams who started the tournament.

This Euro has brought us some incredible upsets and storylines, with some of the pre-tournament favorites disappointing while other less favored nations have been a breath of fresh air.

So the best XI of the tournament so far is a real mix of old and new, big stars and little players. A few players (Riccardo Calafiori of Italy, Fabián Ruiz of Spain, Granit 3-1 was easy. TO DO.

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The Valencia goalkeeper was by far the best in his position throughout the group stage. He kept his team in all three games with incredible saves, notably against Czechia where he made 11 saves, the most in the history of a single Euro match. Even more impressive when you know that he is only 23 years old and this is his first major tournament.

The Fenerbahçe right-back scored one of the goals of the tournament so far, with a half-volley into the top corner against Georgia. The 25-year-old has been good defensively and is always ready to go forward. He was left on the bench against Portugal by coach Vincenzo Montella, but his team played much better when he returned against the Czech Republic.

Considering the Arsenal defender has been the best centre-back in the Premier League this season, it perhaps doesn’t seem like a surprise to see him in this team. However, it was not even certain that he would start for France in this tournament. But he convinced coach Didier Deschamps to give him a chance and he took it, producing three almost flawless performances so far.

In his team’s back three, Akanji plays the role of sweeper and commander of the defence. The Manchester City all-rounder was outstanding, especially in the 1-1 draw against Germany, as the leader of an organised Swiss side. His reading of the game, intelligence and calmness on the ball really made him stand out.

However, it is a selection that no one would have predicted at the start of the Euro. Few would have thought Cucurella would start ahead of Alejandro Grimaldo. Not only did the Chelsea left-back become the starter for Spain, but he was also the best left-back in the tournament. His relationship with Nico Williams and Fabian on the left is excellent and defensively he has the Croatian Lovro Majer and the Italian Federico Chiesa in his pocket.

The boss is back and what a difference he makes to Germany and to this competition. For the last days of his immense career, the maestro offers us high-flying masterclasses and shows us his ultra-high footballing IQ. Even though Switzerland frustrated him in the third game, there is no other player like him in this tournament.

Kanté’s story is one of the best of these Euros. At 33, after two years away from international football and out of the limelight due to injuries and then his transfer to Saudi Arabia, the former Chelsea midfielder returned and took charge of the first two matches against Austria and the Netherlands. Seeing Kanté return to his best on the big stage made this tournament better.

Another unexpected choice, and surely an unknown name to many before the tournament, the Slovak player has been the offensive leader of one of the surprises of the tournament so far. The 30-year-old scored two big goals for his country amid action-packed performances on the right side. This is a continuation of his good season with Sparta Prague, where he scored eight goals and recorded four assists in the league.

He was expected to be one of the stars of the tournament and he did not disappoint. An absolute joy to watch, sliding with the ball, sometimes uncatchable. Although he is only 21 and plays a wider role than at Bayern Munich, his two goals and nine successful dribbles are among the most to date. The Swiss managed to stop him in the third game, but who else can do it?

AM: Nico Williams (Spain)

Fittingly, before the tournament all the talk was about Lamine Yamal, and the Barcelona prodigy has performed well so far in Germany. But Nico, his teammate and closest friend, produced arguably the best individual performance of the tournament so far with his performance against Italy, which he tormented almost single-handedly. The Athletic Club star will have plenty of big clubs keen to make a move this summer.

If you had not followed this Euro and you were asked to name the top scorer at the end of the group stage, you would undoubtedly have said Kylian Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku or Álvaro Morata and you would be right. But you would also be completely wrong. With three goals (as many as the players mentioned above combined) and an assist so far, the Georgian and Metz Mikautadze win the race for the Golden Shoe. If you had followed Ligue 1 in recent months, you would have seen him in great form with 11 appearances in his last 12 club games of the season, but continuing to do so at the Euro is something else.

Coach: Willy Sagnol (Georgia)

Who else ? He was the mastermind of one of the greatest stories in the history of the Euro. He took Georgia to a tournament for the first time and then to the knockout stage. Yes, he played his team deep and relied heavily on superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and rising stars Mamardashvili and Mikautadze, but he also created incredible team cohesion with a fighting spirit and excellent organization. More importantly, he made his players believe that anything was possible in football.