Creating a Euro 2016 XI with only one player per nation

It’s almost time. With the curtains set to be raised in Paris a few months from now, one cannot wait to be spellbound by the galaxy of stars about to take centre stage at the 2016 European Championship. With 24 teams gunning for silverware, one thing is certain, this is going to be some spectacle. And needless to say, all eyes will be on the individuals slated to elevate the tournament into a peerless phenomenon.To this end, some squads (the traditional powerhouses) are better endowed than others, with an endless array of world class superstars. However, it wouldn’t be much fun to see a Team of the Tournament replete with Spanish and German names, would it? So here’s an assorted team for the UEFA Euro 2016, with not more than one player representing any nation.

#1 Manuel Neuer (GK), Germany

Few men are capable of moments which are as full of brilliance and madness in equal measure as Manuel Neuer. Whether it is a full-blooded tackle near the halfway line, a disdainful flick inches away from his own goal, or a good, old fashioned screamer of a save, the burly German exudes confidence in everything he does; keeping, sweeping, or whatever it is they call it.

Arguably the finest goalkeeper of his generation, the Bayern Munich number one is capable of producing turning points as decisive as the ones we associate more often with those men up field. But Neuer is a one of a kind – one of modern football’s path breaking pioneers. Is there a more commanding presence between the sticks catching the plane to France? I daresay not. Expect the purest form of lunatic magnificence from the German glove man. For Manuel Neuer is nothing, if he isn’t entertaining.