In its latest selection, Spanish newspaper Marca has unveiled the most disappointing lineup from the 2024 European Championship, which notably includes Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku, and Serbia’s Dusan Vlahovic among other prominent players.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the 39-year-old Portuguese striker, despite maintaining an astonishing competitive form at the club level, failed to carry his legendary goal-scoring record into this European Championship. According to Marca’s statistics, Ronaldo had 23 shots on goal during the tournament, second only to France’s Kylian Mbappe. However, Ronaldo’s shots did not translate into goals. In a crucial group stage match against Turkey, Ronaldo selflessly squared the ball for teammate Bruno Fernandes, who successfully scored; in the quarterfinal against France, Ronaldo missed a close-range shot, squandering a valuable scoring opportunity.
Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku is also a focal point on this list. He seemed to lose his edge on the European Championship stage. Marca noted that three of Lukaku’s goals were disallowed due to offside calls by VAR, and throughout the tournament, he contributed only one assist, falling far short of fans’ expectations.
Serbia’s Dusan Vlahovic was also unable to make an impact at the European Championship, failing to score any goals for the Serbian national team.
In midfield, Hungary’s Dominik Szoboszlai, Serbia’s Sergej Milinković-Savić, and Scotland’s John McGinn made it onto this disappointing squad. Despite their outstanding performances in the club season, they failed to live up to expectations in the European Championship, affecting their respective national teams’ midfield organization and control.
On defense, Ukraine’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, Denmark’s Andreas Christensen, Italy’s Mancini and Di Lorenzo are all named. Zinchenko’s Ukraine became the first team in European Championship history to be eliminated with four points from the group stage. The poor form of Mancini and Di Lorenzo directly led to Italy’s defeat against Switzerland in the round of 16, exposing significant weaknesses in the defensive partnership in crucial matches.
Finally, the inclusion of Croatia’s goalkeeper Dominik Livaković further highlighted his underwhelming performance in the European Championship. This goalkeeper, who shone brilliantly in the 2022 World Cup, saw his team exit in the group stage of this European Championship, failing to replicate his magical displays from two years ago.