The readers of the most popular country's football news portal "EuroFootball.com" have selected the footballers who performed the best in the European Championship group stage. A fierce battle took place for more than one position, and English defender Kyle Walker, Slovak team leader Marek Hamsik, and Croatian stars Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric narrowly missed out. Interestingly, Italians dominate the defense, with the symbolic team having a total of three players from Italy. Meanwhile, the attacking line belongs not to a national team, but to one club - Real Madrid. Goalkeeper - Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) The Italian national team legend between the goalposts stands firm in these continental championships. In the first two matches, Italy confidently beat Belgians and Swedes without conceding a single goal, securing the top spot in the group early on. One of the reasons for such a result was certainly Gianluigi Buffon. Defenders Jerome Boateng (Germany) German Jerome Boateng made a significant contribution to his national team finishing first in Group C and not conceding a single goal. The Bayern Munich player was a true leader of his team. Giorgio Chiellini (Italy) This footballer's stats are excellent - on average he had 1.5 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 5 clearances per match. Leonardo Bonucci (Italy) Another Italian can also boast great numbers. He averaged 0.7 tackles, 2.3 interceptions, and even 6 clearances per game. Without him and Chiellini, it would be hard to imagine Italy at the top of Group E. Midfielders Toni Kroos (Germany) The excellent distributor of the ball in midfield was the main playmaker of his team. Kroos proves once again this summer that it would be much harder to play without him. Andres Iniesta (Spain) Besides the German - the tireless Barcelona player, who managed to make more passes during the matches only to Kroos and Granit Xhaka from the Swiss national team. It is worth mentioning that Iniesta was named the best player of "EURO 2012", and in these championships, he was twice out of three recognized as the best player of the match. Dimitri Payet (France) There is no need to talk much about the host team leader. His goals against Romania and Albania, and France's first place in Group A, say it all. Ivan Perisic (Croatia) On the right flank - the Inter Milan defender, who led the Croatian national team to victory against the defending champions Spain. In the group stage, he scored two goals and had an assist. Forwards Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Perhaps not all matches went well for the three-time best player in the world, but without his contribution, we probably wouldn't see Portugal's national team in the knockout stages. His brace against Hungary was especially crucial in securing the first place in the group. Alvaro Morata (Spain) It was this striker who brought to his national team what they were missing for the past few years. With a strong attacking midfielder, Spain is now much more dangerous, and Morata himself scored three goals after the group stage and shared the title of the most productive player. Gareth Bale (Wales) Finally, the trio of forwards is completed by the captain of this symbolic team, Gareth Bale. The forward leading the Wales national team excels in his role as a leader and left far behind any other footballer in the polls. "EURO 2016" group stage symbolic team:
