The European Championships will be stacked with talent with some of the best players on the continent ready to battle for the Player of the Tournament award.
France star Kylian Mbappe is the 8/1 favourite to scoop the award, with Belgium’s playmaker Kevin De Bruyne (10/1) and England captain Harry Kane (12/1) second and third favourites.
Belgium’s goal machine Romelu Lukaku (16/1) is next up, followed by France forward Antoine Griezmann (20/1) and maybe surprisingly, Portugal talisman Cristiano Ronaldo (20/1) is sixth-placed on the list for the Player of the Tournament.
Despite the favourites for the accolade often being attackers, the Euros have seen midfielders pick up the award. Xavi Hernandez (2008) and Andres Iniesta (2012) have both been rewarded with the Player of the Tournament before, so could N’Golo Kante follow in their footsteps?
• Kylian Mbappe 8/1
• Kevin De Bruyne 12/1
• Harry Kane 12/1
• Romelu Lukaku 16/1
• Antoine Griezmann 20/1
• Cristiano Ronaldo 20/1
• N’Golo Kante 20/1
Past winners of the Best Player of the Tournament award
• 1996: Matthias Sammer (Germany – Midfielder)
• 2000: Zinedine Zidane (France – Midfielder)
• 2004: Theodoros Zagorakis (Greece – Midfielder)
• 2008: Xavi (Spain – Midfielder)
• 2012: Andres Iniesta (Spain – Midfielder)
• 2016: Antoine Griezmann (France – Forward)
Kylian Mbappe 8/1 (France)
Kevin De Bruyne 12/1 (Belgium)
Harry Kane 12/1 (England)
Romelu Lukaku 16/1 (Belgium)
Antoine Griezmann 20/1 (France)
Cristiano Ronaldo 20/1 (Portugal)
Prediction: N’Golo Kante (France) 20/1
The history of midfielders winning this award means it’s the best area to target, therefore, France’s N’Golo Kante looks a great pick at 20/1 odds.
The Chelsea midfielder recently became the only player to be awarded Man of the Match in both semi-finals and final of the Champions League, proving he is one of the best footballers in the world.
The thing with Kante is that he doesn’t rack up many goals and assists or chase individual awards, but when he’s at his brilliant best, you simply just can’t overlook his all-action displays.
He eats the whole pitch like a Pac-Man, covering every blade of grass for his team, while making inch-perfect tackles and timely interceptions.
Make no doubt about it, France will go far in this month’s tournament and there’s a very good chance that Kante will scoop the Player of the Tournament award as he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves.
