Euro U21 Best XI: Golden Boot favourite Waldschmidt among best group stage performers

Now is the ideal time to take stock of this summer’s U21 European Championship, with the group phase done and dusted and the semi-finals confirmed. Here we run through the best WhoScored rated XI from the group stage of the tournament.

Goalkeeper: Daniel Iversen (Denmark) - 7.14 rating

Denmark finished with six points from their three group matches but it wasn’t enough to qualify for the last four. They had a number of impressive performers, including goalkeeper Daniel Iversen. In fact, only Kamil Grabara (15) made more saves than Iversen (13) during the group phase of the tournament.

Left-back: Joakim Maehle (Denmark) – 7.77 rating

Joakim Maehle missed Denmark’s opening game and Niels Frederiksen may regret not utilising the 22-year-old in their defeat to Germany. Maehle played a direct hand in three of the five goals Denmark scored in their final two group games (two goals, one assist) and was the WhoScored Man of the Match in a 3-1 win over Austria.

Centre-back: Dayot Upamecano (France) - 7.37 rating

France have been fairly underwhelming this summer but Dayot Upamecano has at least impressed for Les Bleuets. Upamecano barely featured for RB Leipzig last season and appears to be making up for lost time at the Euros. France closed their group with successive clean sheets, with Upamecano playing an integral at the back. In fact, Upamecano won possession in the defensive third more times than any other player (19) in the group stage.

Centre-back: Krystian Bielik (Poland) – 7.60 rating

Krystian Bielik, who made one appearance in central midfield, scored in two of Poland’s three-group matches, as they narrowly missed out on a place in the last four. Bielik was the WhoScored Man of the Match in a surprise 1-0 win over Italy after netting the winning goal. No player made more clearances than the Arsenal youngster (23) in the group stage.

Right-back: Cristian Manea (Romania) – 7.47 rating

Romania have been a revelation at this summer’s tournament and Cristian Manea was a consistent performer for them. The 21-year-old garnered a WhoScored rating above 7.00 in all three of his appearances, registering an assist in Romania’s first match and finishing as the WhoScored Man of the Match in their final group game. He has also made the most interceptions (12) in the group.

Left midfield: Marco Richter (Germany) – 8.32 rating

Germany scored the most goals during the group stage of the competition (10) and much of that was down to Marco Richter. The Augsburg winger played a direct half in exactly half of those goals. Impressively, Richter scored three goals and registered two assists in Germany’s first two group games. He averages a goal or an assist every 40 minutes at this summer’s tournament.

Central midfield: Lorenzo Pellegrini (Italy) – 8.07 rating

Lorenzo Pellegrini scored or assisted in two of Italy’s three group games, but it wasn't enough for the Azzurri to qualify for the last four. Pellegrini scored in a 3-1 win over Spain and provided an assist in a 3-1 win over Belgium. Furthermore, only two players completed more dribbles than Pellegrini (nine) in the group stage and only one player provided more assists than the Italy midfielder (10).

Central midfield: Dani Ceballos (Spain) – 8.48 rating

Dani Ceballos has done his reputation no harm this summer after plummeting down the ranks at Real Madrid last season. Ceballos is one of only two players to garner a perfect WhoScored 10 rating in a game at the tournament, while also completing the most dribbles (13); attempting the most shots (14) and registering the most key passes (10).

Right midfield: Federico Chiesa (Italy) – 8.37 rating

Linked with a summer move to Juventus, Federico Chiesa will have impressed his admirers with his performances this summer. Chiesa scored three goals in three appearances in the group stage, half the tally he managed in 37 Serie A appearances last season. Chiesa scored a brace in a 3-1 win over Spain and also netted in a 3-1 over Belgium in Italy’s last group game.

Striker: Gian-Luca Waldschmidt (Germany) – 8.58 rating

Gian-Luca Waldschmidt has taken an early lead in the race to finish this the U21 European Championships as the top scorer after netting five goals in three group games for Germany. The 23-year-old has scored half of Germany’s goals so far this summer and has won the WhoScored Man of the Match award in two of their three games. He was the first player to garner a perfect WhoScored 10 rating in a game at this summer’s tournament after scoring a hat-trick against Serbia.

Striker: George Puscas (Romania) – 7.35 rating

George Puscas has scored two goals in three appearances at the U21 European Championships this summer, helping Romania secure an unlikely semi-final berth. The 23-year-old scored in Romania’s 4-1 win over Croatia and 4-2 win over England before firing a blank in a 0-0 draw with France. Puscas also averages 1.3 key passes per game and 2.3 dribbles per game.