France superstar Antoine Griezmann currently leads UEFA’s ranking of the best international performers of the 2018/19 campaign, while a former Manchester United flop sits in second spot and Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos occupies third position.
Click through the mini-gallery above to see the top five international players of 2018/19 so far, according to UEFA.
The Atletico Madrid talisman played an influential role in Les Bleus’ 4-0 victory over Iceland in a 2020 European Championship qualifier on Monday night, grabbing a goal and an assist.
Griezmann, who is rumoured to once again be the subject of interest from LaLiga giants Barcelona, also registered an assist and got on the scoresheet in the 2018 FIFA World Cup champions’ previous clash – a 4-1 victory over Moldova.
The FedEx Performance Zone, which can be found on UEFA’s official website, is the official measuring tool that tracks the form of international players in the UEFA Nations League, UEFA 2020 European Championship qualifiers and international friendlies ahead of Euro 2020.
Rankings are based on a number of factors relating to the players’ respective positions, created through an algorithm by the FedEx Performance Zone. For more on the rankings, visit UEFA’s official website.
Former United flop Memphis Depay has found new life at Olympique Lyon in Ligue 1, and carried his fine form into the international break. The Netherlands winger scored two goals and assisted another two strikes in a 4-0 win over Belarus, before scoring one and setting up the second in his side’s 3-2 defeat to Germany on Sunday. After being involved in all of the Netherlands’ six goals in this international break, Depay climbed to second spot in UEFA’s performance index.
Ramos played a starring role for La Furia Roja, in both attack and defence, in Spain’s 2-1 win over Norway, and helped ensure a clean sheet in their 2-0 victory over Malta on Tuesday. The Los Blancos star comes in at number three due to his low percentage of errors and fouls committed, passes completed, successful interceptions of the ball and lack of yellow or red cards.
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His match-winning penalty against Norway took his international goals tally to 18 strikes in 162 caps for Spain, and he is now just five games away from matching legendary goalkeeper and former club teammates Iker Casillas’ record as the player with the most appearances Spain.
Do you think Griezmann has earned his spot as Europe’s best international player so far this season? Have your say in the comments below.
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