Ronaldo shines alongside Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool stars in Nations League Team of the Group Stage
With the UEFA Nations League group phase now complete, we’re taking a look back at the best-rated performers from League A, in our Team of the Group Stage.
To be considered for selection, players must have made at least four appearances. The likes of Serbia, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal and Hungary are represented in our XI.
Predrag Rajkovic (Serbia) - 7.06
Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic makes our XI having featured in four of his nation’s six group matches, helping them to clean sheets against Spain and Switzerland, as they eventually finished third in Group 4.
Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands) - 7.64
Netherlands and Inter full-back Denzel Dumfries earns a place in our team having scored three times for his country in the Nations League. The 28-year-old found the net in draws with Germany and Hungary (A), before both scoring and assisting in the 4-0 home victory over the latter last weekend.
John Souttar (Scotland) - 7.07
Scotland and Rangers defender John Souttar features at the back, having helped Steve Clarke’s side to clean sheets at home to both Portugal and Croatia. The 28-year-old also provided an assist in the dramatic late victory over Poland on Monday evening, as Scotland finished third in Group 1.
Aymeric Laporte (Spain) - 7.18
After a stellar European Championship in the summer, Aymeric Laporte played all but one of Spain’s Nations League matches, as they extended their unbeaten run to 16 matches with five wins and a draw. Laporte helped La Roja to clean sheets against Serbia (both home and away) and Denmark, while he also netted in the home victory over Serbia back in October.
Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne has enjoyed a fine start to the season for his club, but now also for his country, reviving his career for France with four appearances in the Nations League. Digne started three of six group matches for Les Bleus, providing three assists and also converting a spectacular free-kick against Italy on Sunday evening - which has since, perhaps harshly, been ruled an own goal.
Bruno Fernandes (Portugal) - 7.92
Manchester United captain continued his fine form for his country throughout the Nations League campaign, scoring twice and providing two assists for his team-mates, as Portugal went unbeaten to top Group 1.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz sits in the middle of what is an all-Premier League midfield, having been involved in three goals for Germany in three Nations League starts. The 25-year-old both scored and assisted in the 7-0 thrashing of Bosnia and Herzegovina last weekend, in what was his best-rated performance of the campaign.
Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary) - 7.64
In a tough group alongside the Netherlands and Germany, Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai gave Hungary a fighting chance of qualification for the quarter-finals, with impressive displays against both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany, with three goals across those two matches. The 24-year-old also made 27 key passes over the course of the group stage.
Florian Wirtz (Germany) - 7.73
The second of three Germany players to make our best XI is Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, who played a direct role in six goals for Die Mannschaft throughout their Nations League campaign. Wirtz registered three goals and three assists, with half of those involvements coming in the 7-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which the 21-year-old returned a perfect 10.0 WhoScored rating.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - 7.72
At 39 years of age, Portugal captain and icon Cristiano Ronaldo continues to show up for his country, and added five goals to his obscene international scoring tally over the last three months. In the opening group game against Croatia, Ronaldo surpassed the 900-goal mark for his career.
Jamal Musiala (Germany) - 7.93
Rounding off our XI is the highest rated player in Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, who managed five goal involvements in just three starts in the Nations League, with four coming in the opening victory over Hungary back in September (one goal, four assists).
