Euro U21 Group A top performers - Spain and Italy senior internationals star

With Group A of the European U21 Championships coming to a close on Saturday it was Spain that earned top spot courtesy of a thumping win over Poland.

Along with hosts Italy, all three sides ended the group with six points, with La Roja leading the way on goal difference, while the Azzurri are left sweating on a potential best runner up finish.

Both Spain and Italy made the decision to call up the strongest squad possible, brining a number of senior internationals back down to the U21 squad and the quality of those players certainly showed.

Here we run through the five top performers from Group A…

5. Dani Olmo (Spain) - 8.07

Having been left out of the lineup for the opening defeat to Italy, Olmo took his place in the side against Belgium and justified that decision with the opening goal in a 2-1 win. The Dinamo Zagreb youngster retained his place in the side for the must win game with Poland as a result, registering an assist in the 5-0 victory. Olmo mustered 11 shots over his two appearances as well as creating five chances.

4. Lorenzo Pellegrini (Italy) - 8.07

A familiar face with the senior team in the Italy set up, Pellegrini proved his quality throughout the group stages, starting all three matches. The Roma midfielder scored in the 3-1 victory over Spain and registered an assist as the host nation won by the same scoreline against Belgium. The 23-year-old attempted 12 shots, created ten chances and completed nine dribbles, as well as completing six tackles.

3. Fabian Ruiz (Spain) - 8.20

Having picked up an injury in the first half of Spain’s opener against Italy, forcing him off at half-time, Fabian’s withdrawal certainly gave the Azzurri the confidence to go on and win the game. The Napoli man had assisted his team’s early goal in the eventual 3-1 defeat - completing 97.6 per cent of his passes - but was unable to feature against Belgium. He returned in style with a superb strike against Poland, however, hitting the woodwork with two more of eight shots on the night, while creating six chances over his two starts.

2. Federico Chiesa (Italy) - 8.37

Like Pellegrini, Chiesa is a full international and showed why with a match-winning brace against Spain before bagging a third goal of the tournament in Italy’s 3-1 win over Belgium. The forward played every minute of the group stage campaign, firing off 14 shots while completing ten dribbles, ten tackles and creating six chances.

1. Dani Ceballos (Spain) - 8.48

The player of the tournament in Poland two years ago, Ceballos is certainly making a good fist of retaining his crown this summer having become a senior international in the meantime. The Real Madrid playmaker scored the first goal of the tournament against Italy and added a second with a sublime free-kick against the Polish. He registered an assist in said game too having also teed up Pablo Fornals’ late winner against the Belgians, having 14 shots, completing 14 dribbles and creating ten chances in three appearances.