Euro 2020: 10 players to watch out for

Euro 2020 is just around the corner. After a delay of 12 months finally, the tournament is about to start. 24 teams will battle it across 11 cities for the Henri Delaunay Trophy. There is no better time to list out players to keep an eye on. This is a selection of 10 players that we think would make a huge impact this summer.

10 players to keep an eye on in the upcoming Euro 2020:

1. Romelo Lukaku (Belgium):

After a disappointing end in the Euro 2016, losing to wales in the quarter-finals, Belgium has come a long way. Belgium went one stage better at the World Cup two years later with a semi-final defeat to eventual winners France. Belgium's fate in the Euro 2020 will depend on Romelo Lukaku. The Belgian striker arrives at the tournament in the form of his life. Scoring 24 goals in Serie A and seeing off Inter to the Italian crown, Lukaku had a great season so far. Since the 2018 World Cup, Lukaku has scored 18 goals in 14 competitive internationals for Belgium.  He's already the leading goalscorer in Belgian national team history with 59 goals. He needs to pop off in this tournament too if Belgium wishes to lift the trophy.

Also Read: Most Goal involvements in the 2020-21 season

2. Manuel Locatelli (Italy):

Roberto Mancini has done a great job with Italy. He strung together a total of 25 game unbeaten run heading into Euro 2020 warm-up matches. A lot depends on Locatelli's shoulder if Italy is to win the trophy. Manuel Locatelli is the backbone of both his Italian national team and club team Sassuolo. He has made some very crucial passes which often ended up in the back of the net. He is a very important build-up player for the team and really needs to step up if Italy is to conquer Europe again.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

The Portuguese legend and his team come in the tournament as the defending champions. After beating France in the Euro 2016 final the team has just gotten better. Despite his club having a disappointing season by barely qualifying for the Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo still managed to be the top scorer with 29 goals and bagged the Serie A Capocannoniere award. His next target would be to break Ali Daei's record of most international goals as he stands just 6 behind the Iranian.  

Also Read: Highest International Goalscorers in football history

4. Frenkie De Jong (Netherlands)

Holland's recent history in the tournament has been very disappointing. They lost every single game in the group stage in 2012 followed by a failure to qualify for the Euro 2016. Although this version of the Dutch side seems different. Despite finishing third in La Liga with Barcelona, de Jong was one of the brightest sparks for Ronald Koeman's side in 2020-21. De jong has an incredible passing accuracy of 94% in the opposition half.

5. Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)

The Real Madrid goalkeeper is one of the best in the business. The 29-year-old is probably the best goalkeeper in the tournament as Oblak's Slovenia is absent from the tournament. The Golden Glove winner of the 2018 World cup has a huge role to play if Belgium is to achieve any success. Courtois faced a total of 159 shots on target across all competitions in 2020-21 and conceded only 42 of them.

6. Jadon Sancho (England)

The young sensation from England has impressed every footballing eye. Due to injuries in recent times, he has been out of sight for quite a bit. Sancho has only made seven starts in competitive action for England so far. Since 2018-19 only Thomas Muller (48) and Lionel Messi (43) has more assists than Jadon Sancho (41). The youth winger of Dortmund might be the trump card for the Three Lions.

Also Read: Top 10 transfer rumours of the upcoming summer transfer window

7. Kylian Mbappé (France)

The World cup winner has proved his worth every time he took the pitch. He is also the second-youngest goal scorer in a World Cup final behind the legendary Pelé. One of the big reasons for France being favourites in this tournament is because of this PSG forward. The youngster has proved his incredible potential over the last three seasons by finishing as Ligue 1 top scorer. He is also the youngest player to reach 100 Ligue 1 goals in history. The return of Karim Benzema reshuffles the cards in the French attacking line-up but Kylian remains their main man.

8. Thomas Müller (Germany)

After unexpected elimination in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, Muller was excluded from the team since November 2018. Muller's incredible club performance got him his place back in the German National team after nearly three years. Thomas played a very crucial role in Bayern's ninth consecutive title-winning run. He was also the only player in the competition with double digits both in assists (18) and goals (11). Germany will be heavily counting on his performance as they move forward in the competition.

9. Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

The Golden boot winner of this season is one of the key players to watch out for in Euro 2020. Although he had a disappointing Euro 2016 and 2018 World cup with just two goals in 11 matches, the Polish team counts on him more now than ever. Euro 2020 could be a different story, as Lewandowski comes off his best season at club level. He scored 41 league goals for champions Bayern Munich breaking Gerd Muller's record of 40 goals.

Also Read: Top 10: Most Free-kick Goals In Football History

10. Gerard Moreno (Spain)

Spain's last three major international tournament appearances haven't lived up to expectations. After winning three consecutive major tournaments in (2008 Euro, 2010 World cup, 2012 Euro) they have just fallen out of the folds from being considered as favourites. A group stage elimination at World Cup 2014 followed by the last 16 exits at both Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018 made the Spanish giants numb. 2020-21 was Moreno's best-ever season as a professional, with 30 club goals in all competitions and 23 in La Liga alone for Villarreal CF.