Euro 2021 key players Group B

By Nathan Holowaty @topworldfootball

Belgium

FIFA World Ranking: 1

Key players for Belgium:

Kevin De Bruyne is their best player and arguably the world’s most dominant central midfielder. De Bruyne was recently voted the PFA player of the year in England. The Manchester City star hopes to play but is recovering from a broken nose and eye socket fracture sustained in the Champions League final.

Eden Hazard is Belgium’s captain and left-winger, currently playing for Real Madrid. If Hazard can regain his top form he is one of the most lethal attacking options in Europe.

Romelu Lukaku playing for Inter Milan was recently named the Italian Serie A player of the season. Belgium hopes Lukaku scores plenty of goals in the central striker role he’s accustomed to.

Thibaut Courtois is one of the world’s best goaltenders, and currently playing for Real Madrid. He played every La Liga match for Real Madrid this season compiling 17 clean sheets and allowing only 28 goals in 38 matches.

Denmark

FIFA World Ranking: 10

Key players for Denmark:

Christian Eriksen is Denmark’s most valuable player. He will look to replicate the championship success he had at Inter Milan this past season. Playing in the central midfield, Eriksen will be relied upon heavily if Denmark is to have success in this tournament.

Kasper Schmeichel provides Denmark with a solid veteran presence in goal. Schmeichel hopes to replicate the success his father had as the goalkeeper for Denmark in their victorious Euro 1992 tournament. The Leicester City goalkeeper is hot off their FA Cup win at Wembley Stadium a few weeks ago

Andreas Christensen is the strongest option for Denmark on the defensive back-line. The Chelsea Centre-back has had success on the highest stage of professional football. He will need to play solid for every minute of this tournament if Denmark is to succeed.

Simon Kjaer is Denmark’s captain and will start in the other central-back position. He will be relied upon to provide leadership for the squad. Kjaer started most games for AC Milan this year. He played a large role in guiding them to a second-place finish in Italy’s Serie A.

Russia

FIFA World Ranking: 38

Key players for Russia:

Artem Dzyuba is Russia’s captain and best forward option, he will be relied upon heavily to score goals. The Zenit St. Petersburg striker netted 20 goals in the Russian Premier League this season.

Aleksandr Golovin is Russia’s most valuable player in terms of market value. The Monaco midfielder will likely line up as a right-side attacking midfielder for Russia. He scored five goals with nine assists in 21 games in the French Ligue 1 for Monaco.

Aleksey Miranchuk will look to provide some offensive support for Russia’s attack. He plays as an attacking midfielder for Atalanta in Italy as well as the Champions League. Miranchuk will likely line up on the left side of the attack for Russia.

Mario Fernandes is a star right-back and right-midfielder for CSKA Moscow. He should provide strength for Russia on the right side of the midfield.

Finland

FIFA World Ranking: 54

Key players for Finland:

Teemu Pukki leads the attack for Finland and is the biggest name on the team. Pukki has Premier League experience with Norwich City as their top scorer. Pukki helped guide Norwich City back to the Premiership with a first-place finish in the Championship last month.

Lukas Hradecky gets a lot of playing time in the German Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen. Hradecky played in 29 matches keeping eight clean sheets this past season for Leverkusen. He’s a legitimate top-flight goalkeeper and should be quite busy in the tournament.

Glen Kamara, currently playing for Glasgow Rangers in Scotland, will be Finland’s strongest midfield player. Kamara’s got experience playing in the Europa League with the newly crowned Scottish champions.

Marcus Forss may not start as he’s only 21 years old, however, he’s going to be playing in the English Premier League later this summer. He helped Brentford to the world’s top domestic competition by scoring some key goals in the Championship recently.