The first games from Group C have gone the way of the favourites, with Germany and Poland taking maximum points from games against Ukraine and Northern Ireland respectively.
The World Cup winners were always going to dominate our combined XI from a group which is more ‘haves and have-nots’ than many others, but we’ve managed to create space for a couple of interlopers.
Here’s how we line up for Group C.
Goalkeeper – Manuel Neuer
One of the world’s best, and the last goalkeeper to make the Ballon d’Or final three. A no-brainer.
Right-Back – Łukasz Piszczek
A big part of Borussia Dortmund’s successful team under Jürgen Klopp, the Pole is getting on in years but has more to offer than Group C’s other right-backs.
Left-Back – Jonas Hector
The Köln defender kept the dangerous Andriy Yarmolenko quiet in the group opener, and has attracted interest from Liverpool among others. A solid inclusion at the back.
Centre-Backs – Jérôme Boateng and Mats Hummels
Hummels sat out the opener against Ukraine through injury and his replacement Shkodran Mustafi impressed (and scored), but there’s no looking past the 2016/17 Bayern Munich pairing. Quite frankly, we’re terrified of what Carlo Ancelotti can do next season.
Central Midfield – Toni Kroos and Grzegorz Krychowiak
Kroos was a shoo-in even before earning himself a place among our day three heroes. Krychowiak, meanwhile, has been one of the fixtures in Sevilla’s back-to-back Europa League triumphs.
Left Midfield – Yevhen Konoplyanka
One of Krychowiak’s club team-mates, the Ukraine winger impressed so much in the Dnipro team that ran Sevilla close in 2015 that Unai Emery decided to sign him. If Ukraine are to progress to the knockout stages, he will be key.
Right Midfield – Thomas Müller
Bayern man Müller has a knack for finding a way to goal even when playing in a more withdrawn role. We can’t rule out another Golden Boot run, even if all his goals end up being scrappy close-range finishes that you can’t remember two days later.
Attacking Midfield – Mesut Özil
Özil’s assist for Bastian Schweinsteiger was the sort of thing he does so regularly it’s just unfair. There’s no way we couldn’t include him.
Forward – Robert Lewandowski
He might have had a quiet game against Northern Ireland, but Lewandowski is one of a handful of players capable of demolishing a team on his own, as those five goals in nine minutes against Wolfsburg will demonstrate.
