So far this summer, Euro 2024 has been host to the best international sides of the continent. England, France and Portugal were among the favourites going into the competition and despite not impressing so far, all remain in with a shot having made it to the quarterfinals.
The key for all three teams? It’s probably due to the make-up of their talent-packed squads. All three have a vast array of superstars at their disposal. However, there is a difference between being a great player and a world-class one. The line between the two is fine and often blurred, but only the very best deserve the right to be seen in the highest tier of football.
Players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski no doubt would’ve been at that level five years ago. With age catching up to them, they no longer sit atop European football like these 14 other names do.
World-Class Factors
- Key statistics (Goals, assists, clean sheets etc.)
- Comparison to others in their position
- Individual improvement in last 12 months
- Impact on club and country
Euro 2024 World Class Players | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Nation | Position |
1 | Kylian Mbappe | France | Forward |
2 | Jude Bellingham | England | Midfielder |
3 | Rodri | Spain | Midfielder |
4 | Harry Kane | England | Forward |
5 | Toni Kroos | Germany | Midfielder |
6 | Jamal Musiala | Germany | Midfielder |
7 | Phil Foden | England | Forward |
8 | Antonio Rudiger | Germany | Defender |
9 | Bukayo Saka | England | Forward |
10 | Virgil van Dijk | Netherlands | Defender |
11 | Bruno Fernandes | Portugal | Midfielder |
12 | Bernardo Silva | Portugal | Midfielder |
13 | Declan Rice | England | Midfielder |
14 | William Saliba | France | Defender |
15 | Ruben Dias | Portugal | Defender |
Defenders
Antonio Rudiger, Virgil van Dijk, Ruben Dias, William Saliba
Jan Oblak is a world-class player and proved himself to be so with that brilliant penalty save against Ronaldo. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to keep Slovenia in the competition and so the goalkeeper has dropped off the list. Kyle Walker may feel hard done by to be excluded from this list but his form for England at the tournament has been poor and with his age, now 32, he just doesn’t quite cut it anymore.
Teammate Ruben Dias gets the nod though. Having won the Champions League, as well as a league title for every season he’s been at Manchester City, the centre-back has started three of four games for Portugal at Euro 2024, and was sorely missed during the shock defeat to Georgia. Still only 27, he is and has been one of the best centre-backs in the world for some time now.
Three more centre-backs join Dias, with William Saliba being the youngest member of the backline. The French international is the heir to Raphael Varane and was part of an Arsenal side that very few were able to break down in the latter part of the 2023/24 squad. With more room for improvement, it’s scary to imagine just how good Saliba could become having now established himself as a first-choice option for Didier Deschamps.
Providing experience with the Frenchman are Antonio Rudiger and Virgil van Dijk. The German entered the tournament after winning the Champions League. This led to speculation of a possible rift between the defender and Borrusia Dortmund striker Niclas Fullkrug but the pair have put that behind them for the host nation so far. As for Van Dijk, the 32-year-old rediscovered his best form during Jurgen Klopp’s swansong and was a colossal figure in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup success and journey back to the Champions League. He’s been his usual calm presence at the back for Dutch up to this point, keeping two clean sheets in four games.
Midfielders
Jude Bellingham, Rodri, Toni Kroos, Jamal Musiala, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Declan Rice
Seven midfielders meet the world-class criteria, more than any other position. Given the fact that those who operate the engine room must have the most multi-faceted set of skills, this shouldn’t be a surprise. Like Oblak, Kevin De Bruyne is one man who is undoubtedly world-class but has now dropped out of the tournament – with Belgium losing to France – and so is not included on this list.
All of the remaining individuals take up slightly different roles in the middle of the park. Declan Rice and Rodri are two of the best anchormen in world football, providing protection to their defenders while also being responsible for kick-starting attacks. The Spaniard is the recipient of one of the longest Premier League unbeaten runs in history and has provided some incredibly important moments, including the winning goal in the 2023 Champions League final – while he also netted the last 16 equaliser vs Georiga.
Toni Kroos is one of the elder statesmen in this group, and is set to retire at the end of the tournament. Despite now being 34, his performances at Euro 2024 have proven that he will be bowing out while still at the very top of his game.
Finally, Jamal Musiala, Jude Bellingham and Bruno Fernandes are three midfielders who look to join the attack at any given notice. The Bayern Munich man has been arguably the best player at this tournament, announcing himself as a truly world-class talent – if that wasn’t the case already.
Young Englishman Bellingham is one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or and top-scored for Real Madrid in La Liga last season, only adding to his fast-growing legend with that bicycle kick vs Slovakia. Fernandes meanwhile, recaptured his best form towards the back end of the season for Manchester United, popping up with 11 goal contributions in his final nine games of the season and has one goal in Germany so far.
Forwards
Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka
If England’s defence was as strong as their attack then you could probably have already handed them the trophy. Gareth Southgate is blessed to have a potential front three of Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane and Phil Foden. The two wide players have been their respected teams’ biggest stars during this past season’s title race and will be hoping to bring that form into the competition. As for their captain, Kane got his hands on the European Golden Shoe during his debut tenure at Bayern Munich and England’s all-time record scorer will hope that’s not the last individual award his finish merits this year.
While the three have not managed to click at Euro 2024 just yet, there talent is unquestionable and may be enough to go deep into the competition with England relying on them to deliver moments of occasional quality, as opposed to Southgate being able to build a cohesive attack.
The one outlier here is France’s Kylian Mbappe. Real Madrid’s most recent galactico, Mbappe led France to their World Cup in 2018, scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final and will have aspirations of bringing the nation its first European Championship in close to a quarter of a century. At just 25, he is his country’s third-highest scorer. A broken nose has made it difficult for him to shine so far in Germany but don’t rule him out being the different-maker at the business end of the tournament.