From De Bruyne to Foden: The greatest disappointments of the first round of Euro 2024

The first week of the Euro 2024 has concluded, and there have been some remarkable upsets already! The criticism is mounting on those who failed to live up to expectations, however, the tournament just started, leaving plenty of room to improve.

Let's look at some of the Euro 2024 stars, who were in peak form with their clubs but lacked something with their national teams.

Kevin De Bruyne is the beacon of Pep Guardiola's midfield at Manchester City. Nevertheless, the Belgian national team fell short to Slovakia in their Euro debut. It was a major upset that caught many fans by surprise.

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The Croatian legend will turn 39 in September and despite his incredible talent, his biological clock seems to be catching up with the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner. During Croatia's fixture against Spain, Modric was nowhere to be seen...

The French winner has his good and bad days, but his main issue is his constant inconstancies. The PSG forward did very little against Austria, barely creating any danger down the wing. Nevertheless, the French team managed to secure a 1-0 victory, after an own goal.

The young Jérémy Doku has been one of the newest sensations of the Premier League and the Champions League with City, but in his debut in Euro 2024, he has struggled to produce any threats.

Phil Foden was called to lead Southgate's England alongside Jude Bellingham. Foden has done alright so far, but Southgate demands way more from the City player.

Andriy Lunin had a sensational season at Real Madrid, making impossible saves! However, the Real Madrid keeper struggled to perform and lost 3-0 to Romania.

Romelu Lukaku completes the trilogy of the Belgian disaster in Germany. His game was an ode to poor aim, poor decision-making, and everything a striker should not do in a tournament of this level.

The Inter Milan striker struggled to generate some danger during Austria's fixture. Erratic, flawed, and very much in the shadow of Mbappe. Thuram was not linking up well with his teammates and would hold on to the ball for too long.

The English national team has one of the most complete squads in the Euros, however, Southgate is struggling to find the magic formula to make it all click. The English team didn't propose any attractive football and only managed to get 5 shots off against Serbia.

Undoubtedly, the French national team is one of the favourites to win the Euros. Deschamps has a squad filled with world-class players like Camavinga, Tchouameni, Barcola, Coman or Kolo Muani. Despite their squad depth, they failed to dominate Austria and even struggled at times. Deschamps needs to tweak his magic formula to prevent any hiccups.

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