After three weeks of competition all over Germany, eight teams are still in the running to succeed Italy, winner of Euro 2021 and eliminated in the round of 16 this year by Switzerland (2-0). With Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé and Jamal Musiala, there are now 207 teams who can win the Henri-Delaunay trophy. We have examined their club to see which championships and clubs were most represented in the quarter-finals.
Premier League dominates, Ligue 1 fourth
If from a financial point of view, the English championship is indisputably the best in the world with billions of euros of revenue, the contingent of players from the Premier League in the quarter-finals of the Euro only reinforces this observation. Of the players still in competition, almost a quarter (53) play across the Channel, which is the highest total. The Bundesliga comes just behind with 37 players, followed by La Liga with 33 internationals, Ligue 1 (18 players) and Serie A (17 players). Note that the first non-European championship is that of Saudi Arabia (6), the new El Dorado of footballers, followed by the MLS (2).
The ranking of the championships best represented in the quarter-finals
1. Premier League (England), 53 players
2. Bundesliga (Germany), 37
3. Liga (Spain), 33
4. Ligue 1 (France), 18
5. Serie A (Italy), 17
6. Super League (Türkiye), 13
7. Eredvisie (Netherlands), 7
8. Saudi Pro League (Saudi Arabia) and Liga Nos (Portugal), 6
9. Championship (England, 2nd division), 3
10. MLS (USA) and Jupiler Pro League (Belgium), 2
11. Super League (Switzerland) and Super League Elláda (Greece) and Qatars Star League (Qatar), 1
Ten PSG players in the quarter-finals
However, on the club side, only one Premier League team dominates the top spots. Manchester City, the reigning English champion, has a total of eleven players. In second place, we find Paris Saint-Germain with ten players in the quarter-finals. Behind the duo, Bayern Munich and the last Champions League winner, Real Madrid, are the best represented clubs with nine internationals each.
In the match between France and Portugal, the capital club can even boast of having eight of its players in both squads. With Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Warren Zaïre-Emery and Randal Kolo Muani on the French side, and Nuno Mendes, Danilo Pereira, Vitinha and Gonçalo Ramos on the Portuguese side, the remake of the Euro 2016 final is the quarter-final that brings together the most international players from the same club.
Ranking of the best represented clubs in the quarter-finals
1. Manchester City (England), 11
2. PSG (France), 10
3. Real Madrid (Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany), 9
4. FC Barcelona (Spain), 8
5. Borussia Dortmund (Germany, 7
Turkey’s motley workforce
If the Euro is taking place in Germany, the start of the competition showed that it is also being played a little in Turkey. With three million Turkish citizens, each match of the national team is turned into jubilation and the players, dispatched in the championships all over the world, are celebrated. The teammates of defender Merih Demiral, author of a double on Tuesday against Austria (2-1), play in ten different championships, making it the most “spread” squad of the teams still in the running.
Switzerland, winners of Italy (2-0) and impressive since the start of the competition, are the second squad with the most players playing in nine different championships. In total, 96.2% of the Nati players play abroad, the highest total of the remaining selections.
Number of different championships per squad
1. Türkiye, 10
2. Switzerland, 9
3. Netherlands, 8
4. France, 7
5. Spain/Portugal, 6
6. England/Germany, 3
England, the most homegrown squad
Since the start of the competition, English fans have been singing the refrain “Phil Foden’s on Fire” on repeat.air Dancing in the Darkby Bruce Springsteen. But since their first match, no player, not even the Manchester City striker, has been able to ignite this English selection which is sorely lacking in understanding and cohesion.
However, coach Gareth Southgate can rely on a team with the most players playing in the domestic league (92.3%) and who should theoretically know each other better. Only midfielder Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) and England captain Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) play for a club outside the United Kingdom. Germany comes second with 17 internationals (73.1%) in the Bundesliga. France, on the other hand, has only six players (24%) in Ligue 1.
Teams with the most players in their domestic league
1. England (92.3%)
2. Germany (73.1%)
3. Spain (69.2%)
4. Türkiye (50%)
5. France (24%)
6. Netherlands (23.1%)
7. Portugal (19.2%)
8. Switzerland (3.8%)
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