Fernandes and Lukaku make star-studded Nations League team of the tournament
Now the group phase of the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League is done and dusted we can take stock of what happened and which players flourished for their respective nations.
Italy, Belgium, France and Spain all booked their place in the finals, which are pushed back until October next year due to Euro 2020 being delayed until the summer, while Bosnia, Iceland, Sweden and Switzerland were all relegated to League B.
Now it's time to run through the best rated XI from the entire group phase, only considering those that featured in four of the six group games on offer.
Goalkeeper: Ibrahim Sehic (Bosnia) - 7.07 rating
Bosnia may have finished bottom of Group 1 but things would have been a lot worse had it not been for experienced goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic. The 32-year-old made more saves than any other goalkeeper (19) in the tournament, which is even more impressive when you consider he missed two matches.
Right-back: Joao Cancelo (Portugal) - 7.22 rating
Portugal will consider themselves unlucky not to have qualified after collecting the most points of all the second place finishers (13). Joao Cancelo, who played a direct hand in two goals from his four starts, is one of four Portugal players in our best rated XI. Moreover, no player created more clear-cut chances than Cancelo across all four groups (4).
Centre-back: Francesco Acerbi (Italy) - 7.40 rating
After qualifying with the best defensive record in the competition (2 goals conceded), it's no surprise to see a representative from Italy in defence. Francesco Acerbi made four appearances during their group stage campaign and Italy didn't concede a single goal in that time. He finished with a pass success rate in excess of 90% and won 78.3% of his attempted aerial duels.
Centre-back: Pepe (Portugal) - 7.43 rating
Age is nothing but a number for ex-Real Madrid stalwart Pepe, who finished the campaign as the highest WhoScored rated defender. The 37-year-old started Portugal's first four group games and the Euro 2016 champions went unbeaten (W3, D1), keeping a clean sheet on three occasions. Pepe completed 92.5% of his attempted passes and won 75% of his aerial duels.
UEFA Nations League Top Rated players League 🅰️ (4+ apps):
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) November 19, 2020
🥇 @Lor_Insigne 🇮🇹 - 7.68
🥈 @Memphis 🇳🇱 - 7.64
🥉 @dries_mertens14 🇧🇪 - 7.61 pic.twitter.com/DePZvSejJq
Left-back: Raphael Guerreiro (Portugal) - 7.23 rating
Rounding off the defence is a third Portugal player in Borussia Dortmund's Raphael Guerreiro, who created more key passes from open play (8) than any defender in the competition. In three of his five appearances he finished with a pass success rate above 90%, while also managing 12 tackles and interceptions combined during his time on the pitch.
Right wing: Dries Mertens (Belgium) - 7.61 rating
Dries Mertens played a direct hand in four goals in as many appearances to finish as the third highest WhoScored rated player (4+ apps) in the competition. Mertens, who scored a wonderful free-kick against England last week, netted in three straight games before drawing a blank against Denmark in midweek.
Central midfield: Bruno Fernandes (Portugal) - 7.44 rating
Bruno Fernandes will feel aggrieved at finishing the group stage with only one assist to his name after registering the most key passes in the competition (18). The Manchester United star also worked hard without the ball, managing 18 tackles and interceptions combined - ranking 13th across all four groups. He was denied by the woodwork on one occasion and forced five saves from his six appearances.
Central midfield: Nicolo Barella (Italy) - 7.39 rating
Nicolo Barella is still finding his place at Inter but the 23-year-old is already a star of Italy's midfield. Only two players made more tackles and interceptions combined than Barella (21), while the midfielder finished with two goal contributions from his six appearances (one goal, one assist). Moreover, only two players created more goalscoring chances than Barella (13).
Left wing: Lorenzo Insigne (Italy) - 7.68 rating
Lorenzo Insigne claims the WhoScored Player of the Tournament award after registering three assists in four games for the Azzurri. The Napoli ace impressively averaged 3.8 key passes pg and 3.8 shots pg game, while a return of three accurate through balls was the best return in the competition.
Striker: Memphis Depay (Netherlands) - 7.64 rating
Memphis Depay managed a direct hand in three goals from five appearances for the Netherlands in their UEFA Nations League campaign (2 goals, 1 assist). The Lyon ace finished the campaign strongly and completed more dribbles than any other player (18). Moreover, Memphis also averaged the most shots per game (4.6).
Striker: Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) - 7.54 rating
Romelu Lukaku finished the UEFA Nations League campaign as the top goalscorer to help fire Belgium to the finals. Even when factoring in assists, Lukaku played a direct hand in the most goals in the competition (6). He claimed the WhoScored Man of the Match award on three occasions from his five appearances, more than any other player.
