Ranking Liverpool's Players on Their Performances at Euro 2016
Portugal's 1-0 victory over France in the Euro 2016 final on Sunday night marked the end of an unpredictable tournament, where underdogs triumphed over favourites and several stars announced themselves on the big stage.
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool had the joint-most players at this summer's European showcase, alongside Serie A giants Juventus with 12, and the German's pre-season preparations have been hampered by the involvement of a number of his key players—as well as transfer targets, such as Poland midfielder Piotr Zielinski, as noted by the BBC's Phil McNulty.
The German granted each of his international stars a three-week holiday following their exit from the tournament this summer, per the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce (h/t Anfield HQ), and he can now look to mesh them back into his squad ahead of a busy 2016/17.
Some will return to Merseyside buoyed by their nation's strong performances in France, while others will be looking to put a disappointing run behind them—with Roy Hodgson's England charges, of which five came from Klopp's squad, among those to have left Euro 2016 with their stock considerably lower.
But how did each of Liverpool's 12 European stars get on at this summer's tournament? Here, we assess their performances subjectively and give each a ranking, starting off with Belgium goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
12. Simon Mignolet (Belgium)
1 of 12
Starts: 0
Substitute Appearances: 0
Clean Sheets: 0
Behind Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in Marc Wilmots' thinking on the international stage, Mignolet spent Belgium's disappointing Euro 2016 campaign warming the substitutes' bench—failing to make a single appearance.
Mignolet's position under Klopp at Liverpool could be under threat on his return, following the signing of 23-year-old shot-stopper Loris Karius from Mainz, with the German taking the No. 1 shirt on his arrival.
Possibly a sign of things to come, Mignolet's place on the sidelines may be a familiar sight throughout 2016/17, though his peripheral role in France could spur the 28-year-old to return and fight for his starting role on Merseyside.
11. James Milner (England)
2 of 12
Starts: 0
Substitute Appearances: 1
Goals: 0
Prior to England's flight to the south of France in June, Liverpool vice-captain James Milner hinted at a possible retirement from England duty after Euro 2016, and the former Manchester City midfielder's marginal role under Hodgson at this summer's tournament is likely to have persuaded him further.
"I don't want to be travelling around and not really contributing and being a good tourist," he told reporters, as relayed by Goal's Matthew Galea. "I want to contribute, and if the manager sees I have a part to play, then great, and if not, it is better for me to set aside and let younger guys travel around."
Milner played just three minutes of football for the Three Lions, replacing Raheem Sterling in the closing stages of their 1-1 draw with Russia, and he was on the pitch when Georgi Schennikov's lofted cross was powered beyond goalkeeper Joe Hart by Vasili Berezutski.
10. Christian Benteke (Belgium)
3 of 12
Starts: 0
Substitute Appearances: 2
Goals: 0
Christian Benteke's Euro 2016 played a sideshow to ongoing speculation over the Liverpool striker's future, with both West Ham United and Crystal Palace credited with interest in taking him from Anfield this summer—recently, the Guardian's Dominic Fifield revealed Palace had offered up to £31.5 million for his services.
That Benteke played second fiddle to Everton centre-forward Romelu Lukaku in France was arguably informed by his bit-part role under Klopp at Liverpool in 2015/16, and the 25-year-old made just two appearances for the Red Devils, totalling 11 minutes.
Leaving Merseyside this summer would likely boost Benteke's international prospects, with regular first-team football in the Premier League allowing the former Aston Villa man to showcase his goalscoring talents.
9. Divock Origi (Belgium)
4 of 12
Starts: 0
Substitute Appearances: 2
Goals: 0
Twenty-one-year-old striker Divock Origi established himself as an invaluable option as Liverpool pushed for the UEFA Europa League final towards the end of 2015/16, but he found himself playing a similar role to Benteke in France this summer.
Origi made two substitute appearances, replacing Lukaku in Belgium's opening defeat to Italy before coming on for Eden Hazard in the final minutes of their 1-0 win over Sweden, providing pace and power in Wilmots' attack.
Compared to the decidedly static Benteke, Origi is more of a suitable centre-forward in terms of Belgium's attacking system, and he found himself in some strong positions to score against Italy—but Klopp will be hoping for more in front of goal when he calls upon the former Lille striker in 2016/17.
8. Danny Ward (Wales)
5 of 12
Starts: 1
Substitute Appearances: 0
Clean Sheets: 0
Everything about Wales' remarkable surge to the Euro 2016 semi-finals came as a surprise; but perhaps even more of a surprise was Liverpool academy goalkeeper Danny Ward lining up between the sticks for the Dragons' opening group game against Slovakia.
Ward made a number of strong saves as Wales secured a 2-1 victory, but he will have been disappointed to concede Ondrej Duda's 61st-minute equaliser—though, overall, Ward provided a comfortable deputy to the injured Wayne Hennessey.
Taking to Twitter after Wales' 2-0 semi-final defeat at the hands of Portugal, Ward said that he "couldn't be prouder of this group of men," and the 23-year-old could find himself in the No. 1 role when Chris Coleman's side push for World Cup qualification, beginning against Moldova in September.
7. Jordan Henderson (England)
6 of 12
Starts: 1
Substitute Appearances: 0
Goals: 0
Few of Hodgson's England players escaped criticism in the aftermath of their exit from Euro 2016's first knockout stage, but few bore the brunt of the vitriol more than Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.
Ex-Liverpool striker Stan Collymore led the opprobrium, writing in his column for Boylesports that the midfielder "isn’t a good enough player" for the Reds or the Three Lions.
Henderson made just one appearance for England at the tournament, starting in the 0-0 draw with Slovakia, but despite Collymore's words, he was one of the more impressive players on the pitch, completing 80 passes at an accuracy of 91.3 per cent and including four key passes.
After a miserable 2015/16 campaign, which was hampered by injury, Henderson will be looking to impose himself more regularly under Klopp in the coming season.
6. Emre Can (Germany)
7 of 12
Starts: 1
Substitute Appearances: 0
Goals: 0
Emre Can was among the exciting young talents included in Joachim Low's Germany squad for the tournament, with the 22-year-old joining Jonathan Tah (20), Julian Weigl (20), Joshua Kimmich (21), Julian Draxler (22) and Leroy Sane (20) in highlighting a bright future ahead for Die Mannschaft.
However, while Draxler and Kimmich took up key roles throughout Euro 2016, Can was limited to one appearance, replacing the injured Sami Khedira to start in Germany's 2-0 defeat to France in the semi-finals.
Taking up his natural midfield role, Can was in impressive form, with Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe awarding him a B grade for his performance as Germany's joint-best performer alongside Mesut Ozil, with Liverpool's No. 23 troubling Hugo Lloris on a number of occasions both in creating chances and taking shots on goal.
Can will play a key role under Klopp in 2016/17, but it won't be long before he takes up a similar status in Low's Germany squad.
5. Nathaniel Clyne (England)
8 of 12
Starts: 1
Substitute Appearances: 0
Clean Sheets: 1
Another of Liverpool's European talents to make just one starting appearance at Euro 2016, Nathaniel Clyne was in such excellent form in England's 0-0 draw with Slovakia that Hodgson arguably should have considered replacing first-choice right-back Kyle Walker for the duration of the tournament.
Clyne produced an all-action display in the final group game of the Three Lions' campaign, making two successful tackles and one interception, completing a remarkable 95.2 per cent of his attempted passes and creating seven chances for his team-mates.
Liverpool supporters will have been familiar with this level of performance from the former Southampton defender, and while Hodgson clearly favoured Walker's pace and persistence in the final third, the Reds can look forward to more heroics from Clyne in 2016/17.
4. Martin Skrtel (Slovakia)
9 of 12
Starts: 4
Substitute Appearances: 0
Clean Sheets: 1
Long-serving centre-back Martin Skrtel takes up a position in our top five by virtue of his regular appearances for Slovakia, captaining his side as they reached the last 16 before falling to a 3-0 defeat to Germany.
The 31-year-old was in familiar, shambolic defensive form against both Wales and Russia in the group stages, avoiding conceding a penalty following a contentious challenge in the former, but he produced a stoic display in Slovakia's 0-0 draw with England, sealing progress to the knockout stages.
Skrtel won three headers and made eight clearances, five blocks, two successful tackles and two interceptions against the Three Lions, showcasing the no-nonsense defensive prowess that likely convinced Fenerbahce to bid £5.5 million for his services this summer, as reported by the Mirror's David Anderson.
3. Daniel Sturridge (England)
10 of 12
Starts: 2
Substitute Appearances: 1
Goals: 1
England's exit at the hands of Iceland came as a shock to supporters—and, judging by the reactions of the players at the final whistle of their 2-1 defeat, the players too—but following a number of tactical aberrations from Hodgson, their fate was seemingly sealed from the offset.
One such misstep came in Hodgson's use of his centre-forwards, with the former Liverpool manager favouring Harry Kane in the No. 9 role, with Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge regularly utilised on the flanks.
This stymied the influence of Liverpool's key centre-forward, who scored just once in his three appearances in France, but an exceptional, match-winning performance against Wales in the group stages underlined his influence—something that Klopp will be looking to harness on a regular basis in 2016/17.
2. Adam Lallana (England)
11 of 12
Starts: 3
Substitute Appearances: 0
Goals: 0
"[Adam] Lallana would be the one for me who has been outstanding. He is similar to the way I played with how he moves the ball and creates goals," former Liverpool midfielder Peter Beardsley told 888sport (h/t the Liverpool Echo's Andy Kelly) ahead of England's last-16 defeat to Iceland.
"I really like his energy and his enthusiasm in getting the ball back. [Eric] Dier has done well but overall Lallana has been our best player and I see a lot of myself in him."
Given Beardsley's legendary status on Merseyside, this comes as considerable praise for Lallana, and while the likes of Henderson and Sterling were criticised following England's exit at the end of June, the 28-year-old's tireless industry and creative guile drew widespread plaudits.
Lallana averaged more successful tackles per 90 minutes (2.4) than any other England regular, while also averaging more key passes per 90 (1.6) than Sterling (0.9), with Hodgson's decision to drop the ex-Southampton midfielder for his youthful counterpart against Iceland a controversial one.
1. Joe Allen (Wales)
12 of 12
Starts: 6
Substitute Appearances: 0
Goals: 0
As Wales captain Ashley Williams revealed in interview with Wales Online ahead of Euro 2016, Reds midfielder Joe Allen is a popular figure within Coleman's squad, with the centre-back saying "he’s the main man in the squad."
This cult status was magnified throughout the tournament, with Allen's composed, intelligent displays in the midfield of the park complementing the attacking prowess of Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale and Hal Robson-Kanu.
Allen is on the radar of six clubs this summer, according to the Telegraph's Matt Law, including La Liga outfit Sevilla and former club Swansea City, but his excellent form in France may force Klopp to reconsider his position—the 26-year-old deserves to play a regular role in the German's midfield.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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