As the EURO 2024 tournament reaches its climax, Manchester City’s stars have been making their mark on the pitch. With several Man City players representing their respective countries in the Round of 16, we take a closer look at their performances and assess their impact on the outcome of each match. From Manuel Akanji’s defensive heroics for Switzerland to Kevin De Bruyne’s struggles for Belgium, we review the highs and lows of Manchester City’s players in the EURO 2024 Round of 16.
SWITZERLAND vs ITALY (2-0)
Manuel Akanji: Another stellar performance for the center-back as Switzerland pulled off a big upset to knock out the previous Euros winners. He completely mitigated the threat of Gianluca Scamacca.
SPAIN vs GEORGIA (4-1)
Rodrigo: A world-class performance by the midfielder. Rodri scored Spain’s equalizer with a terrific drilled shot from outside the box with his weaker foot. He distributed play well with 109 accurate passes and also won all of his duels.
ENGLAND vs SLOVAKIA (2-1 after extra time)
Kyle Walker: A poor performance compared to his usual standards. His horrible positioning ensured Ivan Schranz was well onside for Slovakia’s goal. Walker lost possession 14 times but played a part in England’s equalizer with his long throw.
John Stones: A poor showing by the center-back. He was safe but accurate in possession but gifted the ball to David Strelec at the halfway point and was lucky to get away with it after Slovakia failed to capitalize on the mistake.
Phil Foden: Another decent showing but should have scored an equalizer which would have been his first goal of the tournament. He strayed into an offside position in a situation where he could have easily kept his run in check.
NETHERLANDS vs ROMANIA (3-0)
Nathan Ake: A confident showing by the inverted left-back. He played some nice long balls and was replaced in the 69th minute.
BELGIUM vs FRANCE (0-1)
Jeremy Doku: Another typical Doku performance. He caused plenty of havoc with his tricky and unpredictable dribbling but, yet again, was lacking in his end product.
Kevin De Bruyne: Looked uncomfortable as a deeper midfielder in a traditional 4-4-2. The Belgium captain had more freedom following Lois Openda’s substitution but would have been expected to score after a half-chance fell to him.
PORTUGAL vs SLOVENIA (0-0, 3-0 after penalties)
Ruben Dias: A dominant display by the center-back. He was confident at the back and passed well.
Bernardo Silva: Enjoyed a good game as he whipped in some excellent crosses from the right wing. Silva faded as the game progressed but scored the decisive penalty in the shootout to send Portugal through.
João Cancelo: A terrific display as a right-back. He drove forward with the ball well and caused plenty of problems for the opponents as he took the defenders on with ease.
Matheus Nunes: Unused substitute.
