Great EURO midfield performances

UEFA.com picks out some memorable midfield masterclasses from past EURO final tournaments.

Check out our selections below and vote for your favourite.

Jorginho (Italy 1-1 Spain, Italy won 4-2 on penalties, 2021)

A metronomic presence in Italy's EURO 2020-winning side, Jorginho put in possibly his best performance of the tournament in the semi-final to inspire the Azzurri to victory over a highly talented Spanish opposition. Just months after winning the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea the defensive midfielder played a crucial role during the win at Wembley, making a total of eight interceptions - a EURO record. He also slotted in the winning penalty during the shoot-out in an effortlessly cool manner, wrong-footing Unai Simón with his customary hop, skip and shoot technique for a deserved moment in the spotlight.

Andrés Iniesta (Russia 0-3 Spain, 2008)

Spain had beaten Russia 4-1 in the group stage, but if Guus Hiddink's side had expected to make more of a game of it in the Vienna semi-final, they were wrong. Iniesta led the charge for Luis Aragonés's 'little guys' in the first of his record six EURO man of the match performances. His cross set up Xavi Hernández's opener and he had a hand in the third for David Silva in a 3-0 success. "We wanted it so much and this is the reward for everybody," he said afterwards.

Theodoros Zagorakis (Greece 1-0 Portugal, 2004)

In the greatest upset in EURO history, Zagorakis was Greece's organiser-in-chief, his Man of the Match display against Portugal in the 2004 final an object lesson in how to follow a tactical plan – and how passion can move mountains. "The most important thing is that we didn't panic," he told UEFA.com about his side's battle to hold on to a 1-0 lead in Lisbon. "Instead of getting tired, we started covering more ground and it became evident that we wanted the cup more."

Pavel Nedvĕd (Netherlands 2-3 Czech Republic, 2004)

If the Czechs were 2-0 down inside 20 minutes of kick-off in their second group game in Aveiro, it simply became an opportunity for them to showcase what their European Footballer of the Year Nedvĕd could do; the skills were immense, the deliveries awesome, and it was all too much for his marker, John Heitinga, who was dismissed following a foul on the man of the match. "It was a fantastic game," acknowledged Nedvĕd. "We were asleep to start with but after we awoke we showed great energy."

Zinédine Zidane (France 2-1 Portugal, 2000)

This semi-final in Brussels was a showcase for two of the greatest midfielders of the age; Portugal's Luís Figo may have shaded the first half, but Juventus man Zidane's sparkling control and casual brilliance passing the ball had turned the tide in his favour even before he converted the golden-goal penalty that sent Les Bleus to the final. Team-mate Patrick Vieira was inspired by 'Zizou': "If you play alongside him, you just want to perform like him. He lifts you so much."

Kim Vilfort (Netherlands 2-2 Denmark, 1992)

Team-mate Henrik Larsen scored the goals that earned rank outsiders Denmark a 2-2 draw with holders the Netherlands in the Gothenburg semi-final, but attacking midfielder Vilfort was the unsung hero, providing an outlet for his beleaguered defence and showing boundless energy as his side battled through to win on penalties.

"One of the best games I ever played in," remembered Vilfort, whose daughter's losing battle against leukemia provided a grim backdrop to the finals – he had missed the group match against France to be at her bedside.