Euro 2016: Gareth Bale snubbed from Team of the Tournament as Antoine Griezmann named best player
Griezmann scored twice as many goals than anyone else and reached the final with France
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Your support makes all the difference.France forward Antoine Griezmann has been named the Uefa Euro 2016 Player of the Tournament, although the prize is scant consolation for Les Bleus' 1-0 final defeat by Portugal on Sunday night.
Griezmann finished the tournament with the Golden Boot after scoring six goals to help France reach the Stade de France final, having scored both goals in the in the semi-final win over Germany as well as netting twice in the comeback 2-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland in the last-16.
Griezmann was guilty of missing one of France’s best chances on goal in the final, although his performances throughout the tournament justify his selection by Uefa’s team of technical observers.
Uefa chief technical officer, Ioan Lupescu, led the panel that selected Griezmann, and he said: "Antoine Griezmann was a threat in every game he played. He works hard for his team and possesses technique, vision and quality finishing. The technical observers were in unanimous agreement that he was the tournament's outstanding player."
Griezman was the clear front-runner for the Golden Boot too, as he finished three goals ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Olivier Giroud, who finished second and third respectively after the Portuguese registered three assists to Giroud’s two. Dimitri Payet also registered three goals and two assists, although he missed out on the top three after player 50 minutes more than Giroud.
Portugal’s Renato Sanches clinched the Young Player of the Tournament, having become the youngest ever winner at 18 years and 328 days old as well as the youngest ever finalists and third-youngest player to participate at the European Championship.
Other members of the panel that selected the award winners included Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes and Gareth Southgate.
Uefa also confirmed the Team of the Tournament, with four Portuguese players leading the way. Goalkeeper Rui Patricio joined Ronaldo in the side along with defenders Pepe and Raphael Guerreiro, while three Germans featured in Joshua Kimmich, Jerome Boateng and Toni Kroos. The rest of the team were made up of players from Wales and France, with Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey making the cut at the expense of Gareth Bale, while Dimitri Payet joined Antoine Griezmann in representing Les Bleus.
It meant that there was no space for Wales forward Gareth Bale, despite the 26-year-old scoring three goals in the group stages and helping to send his side through to the semi-finals after providing the cross that resulted in an own-goal in the last-16 win over Northern Ireland before featuring in the 3-1 quarter-final victory over Belgium.
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