Putting together combined XIs for some of the groups in EURO 2016 would be almost impossible, but luckily I picked Group A out of the hat – and it's not going to be too difficult.
If you need a reminder, Group A consists of:
- France
- Romania
- Switzerland
- Albania
I can confirm now (SPOILERS) that there are zero Albanians in my combined XI, so I will wistfully wave goodbye to SportsJOE's loyal Albanian fanbase. Sorry I've let you down.
Out of the three remaining teams in the group, it's hard to look far beyond France. Their midfield is ridiculous, it's stupid, it really shouldn't be allowed.
With that in mind, here's what I've gone for:
Justification:
Okay, before you tweet me to tell me I'm wrong and to ask me if I get paid for this so-called journalism, let me explain myself.
Hugo Lloris (France) – Obviously I have to have him in there. Not only is he a good goalkeeper, but his jawline is immense.
Ricardo Rodriguez (Switzerland) – Has been lighting up the Bundesliga for Wolfsburg this year, so he narrowly edges out Evra.
Laurent Koscielny (France) – Not had his best season, but still someone I would trust with the keys to my house while I went on holiday to Mallorca for two weeks.
Vlad Chiriches (Romania) – He was an absolute disaster at Spurs, which I was personally really happy about because I predicted he'd be an immense signing at the time... in a national newspaper. But he's had a great...ish season in 2015/16.
Stephan Lichtsteiner (Switzerland) – A better player than Sagna, for my money. Not that my money matters to either of them.
N'Golo Kanté (France) – One of the form players in Europe going into this tournament. I'm building my team around him.
Blaise Matuidi (France) – No arguments against this. Sorry.
Paul Pogba (France) – Same again, you can't argue against this.
Dmitri Payet (France) – Has had a superb season for West Ham, and you'd want him in your team on the off chance he gets a couple of free kicks in decent positions.
Anthony Martial (France) – Has really carried Manchester United at times this season, he's so DAMN cool under pressure too.
Antoine Griezmann (France) – A lot of people are tipping him for the golden boot, which probably means he won't win it. But he's still going to score loads of goals.
Anyway, so there you have it, that's my Group A combined XI. Xherdan Shaqiri was very close to getting a call up, by the way, but I just couldn't justify his place in the team... sorry to him.
And sorry to the nation of Albania.
Fancy having a go at creating a combined Group A XI? Send in your line ups to hello@JOE.co.uk, or drop us a message on Facebook.
