Ronaldo, Kane or Mitrovic. Which players were expected to do better in the Euro group stage?

The preliminary groups of the European Championships are over and before the knockout matches it is time for the first evaluation. Several players did not perform as we would expect from footballers of their quality. Which players fell short of expectations?

Cristiano Ronaldo

Although he didn’t play all bad and showed that he is still very dangerous, he has huge demands on himself. And not scoring a single goal against the Czech Republic, Turkey and Georgia, Cristiano Ronaldo will certainly not be happy with that.

In doing so, he showed unprecedented unselfishness when he escaped alone on goal against Turkey, but instead of taking a simple shot and registering the first goal, he selflessly passed the ball to Bruno Fernandes in front of an empty net.

He will be looking to get his goal machine going in the knockout stages, where Portugal will face Slovenia in the eighth round. If he succeeds, he would become the first player in history to score at six European Championships.

Harry Kane

Before the tournament, four names were mentioned among the adepts for the tournament’s top scorer. Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku. It was the Bundesliga’s top scorer with 36 goals in 32 games that many thought was the favourite.

But he rode the misery that has dogged England throughout the championship. He scored one goal when he tapped the ball into the net from a small area, but otherwise he was virtually invisible. If Albion are to finally reach the title, the captain of the national team must definitely step up.

Aleksandar Mitrovic

For six years Aleksandar Mitrovic was a feared killer in England, scoring goal after goal in a Fulham jersey. Last summer he went to Saudi Arabia where he helped Al Hilal to the title with 28 goals in 28 games, only Cristiano Ronaldo has netted more.

Serbia’s strong generation was to be dragged to the EUROs and take them very far. But it turned out to be a fiasco and the last place in the group. Mitrovic didn’t make a single appearance despite having the unlimited trust of the coach.

In the first two games he started in attack alongside Dusan Vlahovic, when the coach realised it wasn’t working and changed the formation to one striker for the last game, he preferred Mitrovic to the Juventus star from the start. But both were goal silent in the tournament.

Romelu Lukaku

Got Belgium to 14 goals in EURO qualifying, breaking the historical record for the top scorer in a championship qualifier. He was expected to drag the Red Devils in Germany as well, but Lukaku was silent.

Actually, he didn’t, he scored three goals. But all of them were taken away by VAR, making him the big underdog of the group stages. Against Slovakia, he blew his chances, he could have scored in other games, but in the end his goals scored column is zero.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Gareth Southgate is looking for a position in the starting line-up at any cost, as there is no way to get past Kyle Walker at right-back. The Albion coach has put him in the centre of midfield, but the position doesn’t suit him.

The Liverpool player lasted 69 minutes in the first game, then only 54 minutes and in the last game he stayed on the bench for the final 7 minutes. He too rode England’s woeful performances, but his performances were among the worst.

Source: UEFA, Transfermarkt