Manchester United defender Luke Shaw might feel a little hard done by to be excluded from UEFA’s European Championship team of the tournament.
UEFA announced the XI on Twitter earlier today, which included five players from eventual champions Italy.
United skipper Harry Maguire made the cut, alongside Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling.
There was also room for ex-Red Devils striker Romelu Lukaku and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Shaw unlucky to miss out
However, to the surprise of many supporters, one man who didn’t get a mention was Shaw.
The left-back enjoyed a brilliant Euros campaign and was nearly England’s hero in the final when he scored after just two minutes.
His half-volley finish was executed with the highest order, by someone who is oozing with confidence.
As the Three Lions progressed through the rounds, Shaw’s display’s simply shot up in standard.
He grabbed an assist against Germany in the round of 16 and two in the quarter-final win over Ukraine.
According to the UEFA official website, only Steven Zuber of Switzerland provided more assists than United’s full-back.
Gareth Southgate left him out of the opening game clash with Croatia, but instantly backtracked and started the 26-year-old in all of the subsequent fixtures.
Despite all this, Shaw was pipped to the left-back slot by Italy’s Leonardo Spinazzola.
Spinazzola was one of the Euros’ best performers up until he suffered an injury in the quarter-final match with Belgium.
Yet, Roma’s marauding wing-back only managed two assists and didn’t score once, compared to Shaw’s four-goal contributions.
This omission should certainly not dishearten United’s no.23, who is set to return to Old Trafford even more enhanced than when he left nearly two months ago.
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