5 best players for France at Euro 2020
France faced an early exit at Euro 2020, as they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Switzerland on penalties, with star player Kylian Mbappe missing the decisive penalty.
Before the tournament kicked off, the 2018 World Champions were given the best odds to lift the continental trophy. Les Blues had made it all the way to the final of the 2016 edition.
Though there were not a lot of positives to take home from a disappointing campaign for a team with probably the strongest squad in the competition, some players did their part and put on impressive performances.
Karim Benzema was France's top scorer after returning to action with the national team after almost six years. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba impressed with his skills in the middle of the pitch.
Before the players resume duties with their respective clubs, here we take a look at the 5 best players for France at UEFA Euro 2020.
#5 Raphael Varane
France were not particularly solid at the back and gave up a two-goal lead against Switzerland. In such a situation, it was easy to blame the defenders and the goalkeeper.
Though there were no standout performances by any player from France's defensive third, Raphael Varane proved to be a calm presence at the back. He led the team's backline with his no-nonsense defending.
Varane maintained a 94.2% pass completion rate and launched the ball into the final third with five long balls a game. He also won two aerial duels and made 5.3 clearances per 90. Varane has not been at his best for some time now and fans can only hope they get to witness his game-reading skills and clean tackling soon.
#4 N'Golo Kante
After back-to-back match-winning performances in the Champions League for Chelsea, N'Golo Kante was expected to be the player to lead France to European glory.
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The midfield maestro had a relatively quiet outing in the competition for the national team but he did produce a couple of impressive performances. Kante was a one-man army against Germany in France's opening game and did not allow the opposition's creative midfield any breathing space.
Kante was omnipresent in the clash against Hungary as well. By the time France got knocked out, he had averaged 2.5 tackles, 3.5 interceptions and 91.5% pass accuracy a game.
The only reason fans might label him as a flop is because of the 30-year-old's own high standards. However, if one looks at his performances from the layman's point of view, they were more than good enough.
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