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Euro 2016 missing men XI

:Headline: Euro 2016 missing men XI: ID:258058: from db_amp
Sports Mole selects a best XI of the footballers that will not be playing at next summer's European Championships in France.

Next summer some of European football's best players will descend on France to feature at Euro 2016.

However, due to some shock results during the qualification phase, a handful of the biggest names will be absent from the tournament.

Here, Sports Mole picks out a best XI made up of footballers from countries that were unable to secure one of the 23 places that were on offer.


Asmir Begovic (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

The Chelsea goalkeeper played every minute of Bosnia's 10 qualifying encounters, but having finished third behind Belgium and Wales, they crashed out in the playoffs at the hands of the Republic of Ireland. He may not be in great form at present, but on his day Begovic is a very good keeper.

Aleksander Kolarov (Serbia)

With a wand for a left foot, the Serbian full-back will be missed in the Euros. Not only is the Manchester City man a capable defender, he is also likely to weigh in with his fair share of assists and goals, particularly from set-piece situations.

Daley Blind (Netherlands)

He may have been converted into a capable centre-back under Louis van Gaal's watch at Manchester United, yet Blind will play no part in France. The versatile 25-year-old was part of what can only be described as a disastrous Dutch qualifying campaign.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Greece)

The 2004 champions will not be at the competition, which means neither will Papastathopoulos. At the age of 27, the Kalamata-born player has forged himself a reputation of being one of Europe's most solid defenders at Borussia Dortmund.

Branislav Ivanovic (Serbia)

He may be having a torrid time of it at Chelsea at present, yet Ivanovic has been a fine defender for many years. When he is fully fit and firing, the strong Serb never shirks a tackle and has also been known to pop up with a crucial goal - just as he did when the Blues won the Europa League.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Armenia)

With the greatest of respect, playing for Armenia, Mkhitaryan is unlikely to ever qualify for a major tournament. He was his country's leading goalscorer during qualification for Euro 2012 and while he was not so productive this time around, the Borussia Dortmund playmaker is a major creative and goalscoring force.

Nemanja Matic (Serbia)

Like his fellow countryman Ivanovic, for reasons that are not quite clear, Matic has struggled to produce the goods in a Chelsea shirt this term. The fact of the matter is, though, that when the 27-year-old is on top form, there are few better holding midfielders in Europe.

Christian Eriksen (Denmark)

It is difficult to name many better strikers of a dead ball than Eriksen right now. Injuries limited the 23-year-old to just six appearances in qualification, which ended in heartbreak against fellow Scandinavians Sweden in the playoffs.

Miralem Pjanic (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Few Bosnians came out of their clash with the Republic of Ireland with much credit, but Pjanic certainly did. The fact that he is a serial creator of chances for his teammates means that it is little surprise his club Roma have reportedly slapped a £30m price tag on the 25-year-old's head.

Arjen Robben (Netherlands)

Holland were truly awful, with their lack of depth and ageing squad being badly exposed. However, had Robben not been struck down by injury, they may just have squeezed themselves through, such is the impact that the Bayern Munich winger has on the team. Of Holland's eight encounters, Robben was absent for four of them.

Edin Dzeko (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Only Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thomas Muller scored more goals in qualification than Bosnia's main marksman. Of the 18 goals that Bosnia scored, Dzeko netted an impressive eight of them. In terms of his ability in the air, the Roma frontman is one of the best in Europe.


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