Five LaLiga stars to watch at the Euros

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Andrea Orlandi18 June 2021

The Euros have started, and there have been a whole host of dramatic group games already.

As always at major tournaments, LaLiga is well represented, and I am sure you know the big superstars to watch out for. Luka Modric has always been fantastic for Croatia, and his midfield partner for Real Madrid, Toni Kroos, looked great for Germany against France.

Belgium will go far in this tournament, and I think Atletico Madrid’s Yannick Carrasco will be a vital asset up front alongside Real Madrid’s Eden Hazard. Thibaut Courtois will also be a rock in goal for them.

Honourable mentions aside, here are my top five LaLiga players to watch at Euro 2020...

5. Antoine Griezmann (France)

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The veteran of this list is Griezmann. His job for France is completely different to when he plays for Barcelona. He has the main role for Les Blues, but in LaLiga he usually plays off Messi.

He was fantastic in France’s win over Germany, and the way Griezmann provides energy when both attacking and defending is phenomenal. Offensively he is a real leader in the French team.

4. Pedri (Spain)

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From veteran to youngster, 18-year-old Pedri will be an exciting prospect at the tournament. He played very well in Spain’s group opener against Sweden, and he looked back at his best. In some of his performances towards to latter end of the season for Barcelona, you could tell he was tiring.

However, he seemed refreshed and looked so mature for Spain, hardly giving the ball away. He played the entire game, and it shows the faith Luis Enrique has in him as a young player.

3. Pau Torres (Spain)

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One of the sought-after young centre backs in Europe put himself on the radar following Villarreal’s Europa League Final victory over Manchester United. If he has a good Euro 2020, he will attract major bids from some of the biggest clubs across Europe. Villarreal will rightly do all they can to keep hold of him.

In Spain’s group opener he never had too much to do defensively, but his distribution in the game was incredible for a centre-back; he was the one starting all the attacking moves and rarely misplaced a pass.

2. Alexander Isak (Sweden)

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Powerful, fast and with a keen eye for goal, Alexander Isak could be one of the big names of the Euro 2020. My only concern for him is that his national team may hold him back. Isak’s brilliance showed against Spain when he set up Sweden’s only two key chances. Sweden’s idea to score for the game was seemingly to give Isak the ball and hope he can do something with it - and he almost did!

He is a super player but may not thrive due to the team’s defensive tactics – he works best in teams that want to play football, but Sweden sitting deep won’t get the best out of their star man.

1. Marcos Llorente (Spain)

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If used correctly, I think he could be the player of the tournament. For Atletico Madrid, he has been phenomenal as an attacking midfielder. Diego Simeone has got the best out of him playing him in that advanced role, with Llorente’s main strengths being his runs in behind and his excellent vision.

However, in Spain’s opening game he was being used as a right-back. He can influence games from there, but is far more effective when played further forward. He could be one of the names of the Euros if he isn’t wasted in the coming games.

Andrea Orlandi is a LaLigaTV pundit. Enjoy all of LaLiga, including Europe’s top stars, on LaLigaTV: https://bit.ly/ESLaLigaTV

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