Euro 2020: 5 best players of Matchday 2
Euro 2020 has delivered some thrilling encounters so far and Matchday 2 produced quite a few surprises. All teams involved in Euro 2020 have now finished their second set of matches.
We'll now kick off with Matchday 3. It will determine the fate of most of the teams in the tournament and as such, it promises to be an exciting week of games ahead. Matchday 2 didn't go exactly as predicted. Some of the big teams head into the last round of games in the group stage with all to play for.
Several top individuals delivered on Euro 2020 Matchday 2
The minnows of Euro 2020 will not go down without a fight and that's for certain from what we have witnessed so far. The top teams are desperate to make it to the knockout stages. Some of the biggest names at the tournament have truly stepped up and will need to kick on in the same vein now.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the five best players of Matchday 2.
#5 Andriy Yarmolenko (Ukraine)
After suffering a 3-2 defeat against the Netherlands in their opening encounter, Ukraine desperately needed a positive result against North Macedonia. However, Igor Angelovski's men came to Euro 2020 to give it their best shot and were not going to make it simple for the Ukrainians.
Yarmolenko inspired Ukraine to a 2-1 win over North Macedonia. He got the lead for Ukraine in the 29th minute from a corner kick. Yarmolenko latched onto a flick-on from Oleksandr Karavaev and sidefooted the ball home at the back post.
Five minutes later, he released Roman Yaremchuk with a lovely through ball and the striker calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to extend Ukraine's lead. Yarmolenko was the best player of the match and was a constant threat down the flanks. Ukraine's chances at Euro 2020 will greatly depend on Yarmolenko and against North Macedonia, he showed us why that's the case.
#4 Gareth Bale (Wales)
Gareth Bale had an extraordinary 90 minutes against Turkey. He went through a range of emotions but was able to end the day with a smile on his face. Bale played a ridiculously good lobbed ball into Aaron Ramsey's path towards the end of the first half. The Juventus midfielder applied the finishing touches to it to give Wales the lead in the 42nd minute.
Wales came out in the second half hunting for a second goal. They had the perfect opportunity to add some cushion to their lead when they were awarded a penalty after Bale was brought down inside the box. However, the 31-year-old skied the shot and it reeked of a lack of confidence.
However, Bale was determined to turn his evening around and took to driving Wales forward. He raced into the box from near the corner flag in the 95th minute of the match. Bale then beat a couple of defenders before setting up Conor Roberts for Wales' 2nd goal of the game.
He finished the game with two assists to his name and proved just how important he is to Wales' chances at Euro 2020.