Ranking Manchester United's Players on Their Performances at Euro 2016
Manchester United players generally endured a difficult Euro 2016.
From Wayne Rooney's struggles with England against Iceland, to Bastian Schweinsteiger giving away a penalty in the semi-final against France via Matteo Darmian missing his spot-kick in the quarter-final shootout against Germany, it was a tough tournament for the Red Devils.
Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford both suffered from chronic underuse. Marouane Fellaini's most notable contribution was to be near Hal Robson-Kanu when he pulled off his remarkable "Cruyff turn" for Wales—apart from taking the time to elbow Darmian in the face. Even David De Gea conceded a couple of goal which, by his lofty standards, could fairly be described as soft.
Let's take a look at each of the nine United players who saw Euro 2016 action and grade them on their performances. Those with a delicate disposition might want to look away now.
Wayne Rooney
1 of 9
Rooney's new role as England's midfield general got off to a pretty good start in Euro 2016. He attracted well-deserved plaudits for his performance against Wales in particular, a game he essentially ran.
However, by the end of the tournament his new club manager said of him, per the Mirror: "For me, he will be a nine, he will be a 10, he will be a nine and a half, but not a six, not even an eight." Jose Mourinho, having seen what Rooney can offer in deep-lying or more advanced midfield positions has clearly decided that was a non-starter.
And having seen his performance against Iceland, it is clear why. For more detail on that see here, but suffice to say, he completely failed to provide England with the thrust they needed.
A reasonable group stage cannot make up for a calamitous turn in England's one knockout game, arguably their most embarrassing defeat since 1950. When it really mattered, Rooney failed.
C-
Paddy McNair
2 of 9
Northern Ireland had a brilliant tournament—qualifying from the group stage and running Wales close for a spot in the quarter-finals. Paddy McNair, unfortunately, was not exactly a key part of that process.
He was taken off at half-time in their first group game against Poland, having played in a surprisingly advanced midfield role which did not really seem to suit him.
His only action after that was a brief cameo at the end of his side's famous win over Ukraine.
Against Poland, McNair was barely involved, completing just three passes all half—from just eight attempts.
Michael O'Neill probably warrants some criticism for using McNair out of position, though in fairness to the manager—given he never really used the United man again—perhaps the 21-year-old failed to follow instruction.
A poor individual tournament, though one which no doubt will hold fond memories given his team's achievements.
E
Marouane Fellaini
3 of 9
Belgium's record during Euro 2016 was played five, won three, lost two. Marouane Fellaini started one of the losses and came on at half-time in the other. His only other involvement was a nine-minute cameo in the win over Hungary.
His inclusion ahead of Moussa Dembele in the opening game was one of coach Marc Wilmots' more bizarre decisions in a tournament which should be seen as a real disappointment for Belgium.
Fellaini's individual performance was decent against Italy. He was his usual combative self, elbowing Darmian in the face, winning 67 per cent of his aerial duels. Remarkably, he made seven key passes in the game, though in truth his role at No. 10 did seem to slow the play down a little.
However, Belgium looked better in his absence, and Wilmots' attempt to turn the game against Wales by turning to Fellaini was a failure.
D
Chris Smalling
4 of 9
Chris Smalling was an ever-present for England and was one of his country's better performers. That is not particularly meaningful praise, given how poor England's tournament was. For the most part, though, the defender did his job.
He won nine aerial duels against Russia, completed 45 of his 47 attempted passes against Wales, helped England keep a clean sheet against Slovakia and was one of the few players not to disgrace themselves against Iceland. His was not the critical error for either goal conceded, he completed 95 per cent of his passes and won nine of the 13 aerial duels in which he competed.
Unlike many of his team-mates, his country could not have asked for too much more from him.
B
Bastian Schweinsteiger
5 of 9
Schweinsteiger may not have expected to play as much football as he did in this tournament. He started on the bench; a talisman and leader off the pitch rather than the midfield general he had once been.
In the end, though, he featured in all but one of Germany's games and played a significant role during the knockout stages, when injuries and suspensions opened up a spot for him in the last eight and the semi-finals.
The high point of his tournament was surely his goal against Ukraine, coming after the 90th minute when he had been brought on as a late substitute. A lung-busting run into the box was followed by a deft finish.
The low points were the penalty he missed in the shootout against Italy and the handball he conceded against France, which led directly to the hosts opening the scoring just before half-time in the semi-final and changed the course of the game.
Overall, in spite of his usual neat passing, his contribution to Germany's cause will not be remembered as particularly positive.
C
Marcus Rashford
6 of 9Morgan Schneiderlin was the only United man to feature less than Rashford in Euro 2016, and he did not get a minute of action.
Rashford got 21, 17 against Wales and four against Iceland. It wasn't enough.
Against Wales the 18-year-old showed just why he is so special, looking almost completely unflustered by the occasion, showing a cooler head than many of his more senior colleagues.
Roy Hodgson's reluctance to use the youngster was made to look even more foolish by the fact that against a stubborn, deep-lying defence, Rashford beat as many players in four minutes as any other England player had in 90. His three completed dribbles equalled Daniel Sturridge's numbers.
It is unfair to assign Rashford a grade based on how little football he was given, but he certainly made a strong case to suggest he should have seen a lot more action.
N/A
Anthony Martial
7 of 9
Martial played a little more than his junior colleague in United's attack, but nonetheless he suffered a similar fate. He started one game on the left wing—France's second group match against Albania—and struggled to make an impact.
That was enough for Didier Deschamps, who decided Martial was not the man for him. Given Olivier Giroud and Andre-Pierre Gignac shared centre-forward duties, it was baffling that the 20-year-old did not get any time at No. 9 for Les Bleus.
Having been on the sidelines since the second game of the group stage, he finally made an appearance in the final, not brought on proactively to stretch Portugal's defence as the game wore on, but reactively once Eder had put the Portuguese in front.
It was one of Deschamps' biggest mistakes to use Martial so little—in spite of his struggles against Albania. He has better international tournaments ahead of him.
D
Matteo Darmian
8 of 9
Unfortunately for Darmian, his most telling contribution in Euro 2016 was the penalty he took in the shootout against Germany.
Italy had made it to the quarter-final on the basis of a resilient defence. Darmian, though, only started his country's opener and was then reduced to cameo appearances.
When he came on in the 86th minute of the quarter-final, the plan was presumably not for him to take a penalty. But, thanks to the vagaries of fate and three players from both teams' first five shooters missing their spot-kicks, Darmian was forced to take one. He got it on target, but it was easily saved by Manuel Neuer, and Italy were out.
Another United player who had a tough tournament.
D
David De Gea
9 of 9
Euro 2016 was not a vintage international tournament, but it did feature one notable footballing oddity—a poor performance from David De Gea.
De Gea, finally in firm command of the first-choice goalkeeping spot in the Spain setup, pulled off some of his standard brilliant saves throughout the tournament, but he played a pretty big part in his country's loss to Croatia.
He was beaten at his near post for Ivan Perisic's 87th-minute winner—a goal which meant Spain failed to top their group and met Italy in the round of 16. How different the tournament could have been had they faced Portugal instead.
Against Italy, De Gea made five saves, but there was another crucial error, when he parried Eder's free-kick into danger for the Azzurri's opener. But as Paul Fletcher wrote for BBC Sport:
"The scoreline could have been a lot worse for Spain were in not for a series of outstanding saves by Manchester United keeper De Gea. He made three in the first 45 minutes before smothering an effort from Eder in the second half after he had been put clean through by a sublime flick from [Graziano] Pelle.
"
A mixed bag then. Some outstanding saves and crucial errors. By his lofty standards, it counted as a poor tournament, but by the standards of the rest of United's players, his was one of the more positive contributions to his country's efforts.
C+
All advanced statistics per WhoScored.com.
