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Saturday, 24 June, 2000, 15:12 GMT 16:12 UK

Dutch delight in technical stakes


Stam and Zenden
Holland leave the rest trailing when it comes to technique, according to Uefa.

European football's governing body has compiled a list of the best 50 players in Euro 2000 following the completion of the group games.

And the Dutch, through to the quarter-finals thanks to three straight victories, boast eight of them.

The list is bad news for England, who were eliminated after winning just one of their group matches.

Only one Englishman, Manchester United's David Beckham, is thought good enough to warrant entry.

Uefa's Technical Study Group, who conducted the survey, is coordinated by former Scotland boss Andy Roxburgh, now head of Uefa's technical department.

David Beckham
It also includes former Blackburn Rovers manager Roy Hodgson and Liverpool's French coach Gerard Houllier.

World Cup holders France, Portugal and Italy each have seven players in the list.

Significantly for England, the best represented nation among the midfielders was Portugal with all four of their men - Rui Costa, Luis Figo, Sergio Conceicao and Paulo Bento - included in the elite.

The top 50 will be whittled down to an all-star squad of 16 after the semi-finals, with the winners being announced by Brazilian legend Pele shortly before the final in Rotterdam on July 2.

Top 50:

Goalkeepers: Barthez (France), Toldo (Italy), van der Sar (Netherlands).

Defenders: Blanc (France), Cannavaro (Italy), Chivu (Romania), Couto (Portugal), Frank de Boer (Netherlands), Desailly (France), Djukic (Yugoslavia), Costa (Portugal), Maldini (Italy), Nesta (Italy), Reiziger (Netherlands), Stam (Netherlands), Thuram (France).

Midfielders: Albertini (Italy), Beckham (England), Conceicao (Portugal), Cocu (Netherlands), Davids (Netherlands), Figo (Portugal), Guardiola (Spain), Hamann (Germany), Ljungberg (Sweden), Mendieta (Spain), Munteanu (Romania), Mykland (Norway), Nedved (Czech Republic), Okan (Turkey), Bento (Portugal), Petit (France), Rui Costa (Portugal), Stojkovic (Yugoslavia), Totti (Italy), Wilmots (Belgium), Zidane (France).

Forwards: Anelka (France), Bergkamp (Netherlands), del Piero (Italy), Sukur (Turkey), Henry (France), Inzaghi (Italy), Kluivert (Netherlands), Milosevic (Yugoslavia), Gomes (Portugal), Overmars (Netherlands), Raul (Spain), Smicer (Czech Republic), Zahovic (Slovenia).


Related to this story:
Ince considers international future (24 Jun 00 | England)
Petit ruled out of Spain clash (24 Jun 00 | France)
Trezeguet set for Juve (24 Jun 00 | France)
Hansen: Keown is wrong (24 Jun 00 | The BBC Team)


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