The Round of 16 stage of Euro 2020 has brought about names in European football who were on the verge of reaching the elite level, but now with their performances at the competition, their stocks would certainly be on the rise. One such example is Czech Republic’s striker Patrik Schick. The forward already grabbed the attention of many with his long-range goal against Scotland but his performance in the match against the Netherlands proves that he is a top drawer centre-forward.
Along with Schick, there were four other players who also proved their quality and here is the list of the top performers from the Round of 16 stage.
PATRIK SCHICK (Czech Republic)
Schick has been a striker who has made a mark already in European football with his time with RB Leipzig in Germany and AS Roma in Italy. The striker has recently moved back to Germany, this time to Bayer Leverkusen and the team would get a striker in red-hot form when the next season starts. Schick has already netted four times in four matches for the Czech Republic in Euro 2020 and got on the scoresheet yet again in the Round of 16 clash against the Netherlands. He would be the key man for the team if they are to book a spot in the final four of Euro 2020.
HARIS SEFEROVIC (Switzerland)
In one of the matches of the tournament, Switzerland’s Haris Seferovic helped the Swiss team pull off a major upset by knocking out the world champions, France in the Round of 16 stage. The 29-year-old striker scored a brace as Vladimir Petkovic’s team showed incredible courage to come from a two-goal down situation and force France into a penalty shootout, which the latter eventually lost.
RAHEEM STERLING (England)
Gareth Southgate has often been criticised for being extra loyal to certain players and Raheem Sterling is one of them. The winger proved his critics wrong yet again as he has emerged as England’s most prolific scorer in Euro 2020. He had a good game against Germany in the Round of 16 match and was a threat throughout the game for the German defenders as he time and again popped in those pockets between the lines. For the first goal, Sterling started the move and made sure that he was at the right position at the right time inside the box to open the scoring in this crucial encounter.
THORGAN HAZARD (Belgium)
Belgium plays with wing-backs who provide the attacking width for Roberto Martinez’s men and in the Round of 16 match against Portugal, he deployed Thorgan Hazard as the left wing-back. The Portuguese wingers failed to stop the Belgian wing-backs and they had plenty of space to operate in. Hazard got time and space near the box and scored an absolute screamer to win Belgium the game against the defending champions.
KASPER DOLBERG (Denmark)
The Danish team has been a pleasant surprise in this edition of the European Championship and they showed their superiority over Wales in their Round of 16 clash. The Danish manager Kasper Hjulmand was forced to start his namesake Kasper Dolberg in this vital match as their regular forward Yussuf Poulsen was out injured, and Dolberg didn’t disappoint. The striker scored a brace to help Denmark put on a 0-4 win over the Welsh team. Would he start in the quarter-finals clash against the Czech Republic? We’ll have to wait and see.
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