Euro 2016 Final XI feat. Southampton and Newcastle stars

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Centre-Defensive Midfield: William Carvalho (Portugal)

Sporting Lisbon’s Carvalho was superb in holding midfield in the vast cauldron that was the Stade de France. He played his part in Portugal’s finest hour with both an intelligent and physical performance which slammed the breaks on France’s danger man Antoine Griezmann. It is grit and the ability to dig in when required such as this which is key to those fabled championship-winning defences.

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Left-Centre Midfield: Blaise Matuidi (France)

The PSG midfield anchor was an engine in midfield and provided a lot of the bursts from deep that kept France going forward in the game. He usually provides the defensive shield for the French side but his influence in getting forward somewhat upstaged his mercurial partner Paul Pogba and thus deserves recognition.

He has been a superb defensive screen for the French defence throughout Euro 2016, and did a superb job in the same regard in the final. He can consider himself unlucky to finish a runner-up.

Right-Centre Midfield: Moussa Sissoko (France)

This man seems to have shed some form of disguise, because in his displays for his country he has looked a completely different player to that which has been turning out for Newcastle United throughout the season. He never stopped running and provided a lot of France’s width and energy going forward along with his partner in midfield Matuidi.

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Sissoko; surely playing for a move, looked a menace throughout and was only kept out by a stubborn Portuguese rear-guard, but relentlessly kept hammering on the door in search of a way through. He potentially could have won the game with a sweetly caught long range strike, but Rui Patricio got his body behind it to beat the ball away. His presence and threat in drifting from wing to wing warrants him being deployed in midfield here.