It’s not just supreme attacking talent that’ll be on display at Euro 2024 this summer, there’s a fair share of brilliant defenders to consider, too.
Contemporary defenders come in all shapes and sizes, with the once unglamorous roles drastically increasing in style. Youngsters are still unlikely to desire the ‘next Gary Neville’ tag, but some wouldn’t mind being the next Trent Alexander-Arnold or Virgil van Dijk.
Europe’s best convene in Germany this summer for the 17th European Championships, with the defenders involved aiming to put a stop to the upward goalscoring trend at major international tournaments.
A whopping 142 were scored at Euro 2020 at an average of 2.78 per match, while a record 172 were scored at the 2022 World Cup. The attackers have certainly won the tug of war in recent years, but Europe is blessed with a litany of high-class performers at the back.
Here are the best defenders competing at Euro 2024.
Denzel Dumfries was one of the stars of Euro 2020 before the Dutch were stunned in the round of 16 by Czechia, but he is unlikely to play a prominent role for Ronald Koeman this summer.
There’s a new right-wing-back in town.
Jeremie Frimpong heads into Euro 2024 having scored a career-high nine goals while flying down Bayer Leverkusen’s right flank last season. 2023/24 was his second straight campaign of amassing at least 15 league goal contributions.
The flying wing-back is nothing short of electric and his evolution under Xabi Alonso means he offers greater versatility than he once did. Frimpong is a final third menace and he won’t allow his opposing number to rest while he’s marauding down the touchline.
Talk about unicorn profiles, Alejandro Grimaldo functioned in a litany of roles for Bayer Leverkusen last season.
The Spaniard had previously shown competence as an up-and-down back four left-back with impressive attacking instincts before he was brought to life by Alonso.
The tenacious Grimaldo offers bite without the ball, but it’s in possession where his brilliance comes to the fore. A sublime set-piece taker, Grimaldo constantly finds himself in and around the opposition’s box, attempting to wreak havoc.
His 23-goal contributions last season was the highest haul by any defender over the past 30 years.
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