EURO 2024 has ended and whether you feel disappointed or relieved at the result of the final, it was a tournament that still leaves a bitter taste for Welsh fans.

We should have been there. You only have to look at the performances of Poland in the group stages to know that they weren’t a great team.

Poland lost to Netherlands, the side you voted for Sportin Wales to support during the Euros, along with everyone’s second team Austria, but despite the difficulty of the group you’d like to think Ethan Ampadu and co would have performed better than the Poles.

Overall, it was a tournament of moments, where young stars shone brighter than old ones with ultimately the best team, who played the best and most progressive football, winning out in Spain.

But who makes our coveted team of the tournament? It’s hard not to recognise the Spanish with five of Luis de la Fuente’s side in our side and a case to be made for at least three more, but this is the side we have chosen:

GK – Jordan Pickford (England)

England scraped, scrapped and scrabbled their way into the final, unable to formulate anything that resembled a coherent team from the end of the first half in their tournament opener against Serbia until the semi-finals.

They often relied upon their defence with moments of individual brilliance dotted around, such as Jude Bellingham’s overhead kick.

One player who can rarely be faulted was their keeper, Jordan Pickford.

After years of debate around the England number one position, Pickford came into the tournament after an impressive season personally with Everton, the former Sunderland stopper deserved his place in the line-up and produced some crucial saves, including a couple to keep England in it in the final.

Unlucky to miss out: Diogo Costa (Portugal), Mert Günok (Türkiye)

RB – Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands)

This caused much debate inside the offices of Sportin Wales with Portugal’s Joao Cancelo and Spain’s Dani Carvajal coming close, but Dumfries gets the nod

Despite not grabbing the headlines as he did during the last Euros and World Cup, Dumfries was incredibly important to Netherlands’ attacking play, offering them balance high and wide on the right-hand side.

Unlucky to miss out: Jao Cancelo (Portugal), Dani Carvajal (Spain)

CB – Manuel Akanji (Switzerland)

Switzerland will look back on a largely successful Euros with a tinge of regret. Their 3-1 win against Hungary, 1-1 draw with Germany and especially their 2-0 defeat of Italy in the round of 16 were all impressive performances with some brilliant goals to boot.

However, when they took the lead against England in the quarterfinals, their hopes  of going further than they ever had before will have been raised.

Unfortunately, England responded immediately with a goal of their own and then came penalties, with Akanji, who had been a rock throughout the championship, being the one who saw his penalty saved.

Heartbreaking for the Manchester City defender who, up until that point, had not put a foot wrong in what was at times a superhuman effort of defensive stability.

Unlucky to miss out: John Stones (England), Abdülkerim Bardakcı (Türkiye)

CB – William Saliba (France)

Hardly surprising that the best defender in the Premier League makes this list, Saliba was royalty at the back for France during the tournament.

His pace, strength and positioning play was excellent as France relied almost solely on their defence during the tournament as their front four misfired.

The Arsenal defender finally established himself as France’s first-choice centre back having had to wait his turn. He just wins out ahead of another French qualified player in Spain’s Aymeric Laporte who has not lost any of his sharpness during his time in Saudi Arabia.

Unlucky to miss out: Aymeric Laporte (Spain), Marc Guehi (England)

LB – Marc Cucurella (Spain)

Never in a million years did we think we’d be writing this name in our team before a ball was kicked in Germany. Indeed, I don’t think anyone thought Cucurella would start for Spain given his troubles at Chelsea and the form of Alex Grimaldo at Bayer Leverkusen.

However, Cucurella was brilliant offensively and defensively during the tournament, forming a formidable partnership with Nico Williams down Spain’s left flank, capable of under or overlapping at will.

His assist for Mikel Oyarzabal’s winning goal in the final was a sublimely controlled first-time ball, while he was rarely beaten in defence. Just selected ahead of Theo Hernández’s incredible speed and defensive solidity for France.

Unlucky to miss out: Theo Hernández (France), Nuno Mendes (Portugal)

DM – Rodri (Spain)

Player of the tournament. Need we say anymore?

Rodri’s control, first touch, defensive positioning, range of passing…to be honest everything he did, oozed class throughout the tournament.

It was an indication of his importance to his side and the tournament as a whole that when he was forced off with an injury at half time of the final, English pundits actively celebrated his departure. Simply the best holding midfielder in the world by a distance.

DM – Fabián Ruiz (Spain)

Another easy pick in midfield, Fabián Ruiz’s ability to drift around from holding midfield to the opposition penalty area with unequalled serenity was crucial for Spain in what was arguably a breakthrough tournament for the 28-year-old.

Despite having played for Napoli, PSG and been a part of Spain’s 2020 Euro’s squad, Ruiz has never truly received the recognition on the global scene until this moment and it will be interesting to see how his career develops from here.

His coup de grace in this tournament came with his brilliant footwork and finish for Spain’s second in a 3-0 dismantling of Croatia in the first game of the tournament.

Unlucky to miss out: N’Golo Kanté (France), Vitinha (Portugal), Granit Xhaka (Switzerland)

RW – Lamine Yamal (Spain)

Young player of the tournament, Yamal, who turned 17 the day before the final, is an incredible and irresistible talent.

He is perhaps guilty of at times drifting in and out of games but he produces moments, and what moments they are. The equaliser against France, the run and assist for Nico Williams’ goal in the final and the balls for Dani Carvajal and Ruiz’s headers against Croatia and Georgia were all brilliant.

England’s starboy Bukayo Saka and Germany’s Jamal Musiala were others who were phenomenal and reflective of a bright future for European football, but Yamal just gets the nod.

Unlucky to miss out: Bukayo Saka (England), Jamal Musiala (Germany)

AM – Arda Güler (Türkiye)

Another teenager who shone, Güler came into the tournament having scored five goals in his last five games for club side Real Madrid and continued that form at the Euros.

Scorer of, if not the best, then the most aesthetically pleasing goal of the tournament during his side’s 3-1 win against Georgia, Güler also provided two assists during his sides 2-1 win against Austria in the round of 16.

Dani Olmo is another Spaniard who was unfortunate to miss out. Seamlessly replacing Pedri in Spain’s number 10 role and scoring three goals along with two assists to earn his share of the tournament’s golden boot.

Unlucky to miss out: Dani Olmo (Spain), Christoph Baumgartner (Austria), Jude Bellingham (England)

LW – Nico Williams (Spain)

If Rodri and Ruiz were Spain’s controllers, Williams was their most devastating weapon.

His pace and dribbling ability caused defenders plenty of problems, whilst his directness and confidence had an air of dismissiveness towards those in front of him.

A beautiful shimmy and blast against Georgia and a sumptuous first-time finish against France showed that he has an eye for goal too. A big summer move is on its way with Barcelona leading the queue.

Unlucky to miss out: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia), Rafael Leão (Portugal)

ST – Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)

It says a lot about the paucity of options up front that we have decided to move Gakpo from his berth on the left wing to striker.

Gakpo scored three goals in the tournament and was Netherlands’ best attacking outlet during the tournament, driving forward, committing players as well as providing a memorable assist for Donyell Malen against Romania when hopes of a second goal seemed lost.

In a tournament where Europe’s biggest stars – Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé to name a few – underperformed, strikers were often more noticed for their pressing and work rate than their finishing prowess.

Unlucky to miss out: Georges Mikautadze (Georgia), Niclas Füllkrug (Germany)