The European Championship throws up a host of players to watch out for every passing tournament. The likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Mesut Ozil, Daniele de Rossi, Philipp Lahm and Sami Khedira are some of the big names who have come to the fore after the passing of every Euro Championship. The sporting event is expected to continue its tradition of producing big players this time around as well.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bastian Schweinsteiger are among the big names present in the Euro 2016. However, what about the lesser-known stars who have the capabilities to make it big in the scene?
Let us look at some of those stars who can really light up the tournament for themselves this time around:
Dele Alli - England
The Tottenham Hotspur youngster can turn out to be one of the integral members of Roy Hodgson's side in the tournament. Alli, 20, has a massive potential to become one of England's best midfielders in the coming future and the Euro 2016 could just be the platform he needs to show his capabilities to the world.
In his debut Premier League season itself, Alli became one of the breakout stars of the English league and he not only bagged a confirmed berth in the Spurs XI but also picked up ten goals and nine assists over 33 games in the EPL this season.
Highly revered for his passing abilities and his strong sight to pick out the forwards through defence-splitting balls, Alli could be expected to become just the player The Three Lions have always craved for. He made his debut for the England senior team in October 2015.
Paul Pogba - France
The Juventus midfielder is one of the most feared players in football at the moment. Highly regarded as the next breakout superstar from Les Blues who could join the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Didier Deschamps in the hall of fame, Pogba, 23, can be the main person who could just help France bag their third European Championship title.
A complete versatile schemer, Pogba bagged a total of ten assists from all competitions for Juventus this season.
If Mesut Ozil was the one providing all the goals for Olivier Giroud throughout their season at Arsenal, it is best left to imagination as to what the combination of Pogba and Giroud could turn out for France. Also, the presence of Dmitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann can make the line-up a formidable one.
Granit Xhaka - Switzerland
Arsenal have already signed the player knowing his capabilities and strengths, and rarely has Arsene Wenger made a bad judgement before roping in a player. Xhaka, 23, is a no-nonsense midfielder known for his stamina and abilities to link the defenders with the forwards with elan.
Switzerland is in a tough group with France, Romania and Albania. However, if the star-studded Swiss team, most importantly, the duo of Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, perform to the best of their abilities, it wouldn't come as a shock even if Switzerland top the group before entering the knockouts.
Xhaka, who became the skipper of Borussia Monchengladbach only at the age of 22, already has 43 caps for the Switzerland senior football team.
David de Gea - Spain
Definitely one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the last few years, this is De Gea's biggest opportunity to showcase his abilities for the national team in front of the entire world. Recognised as the perfect successor to veteran custodian Iker Casillas, De Gea, 25, is expected to be one of the key players who will help La Roja in defending their Euro title.
His unpredictability and insane reflexes and diving skills make him the frontrunner to start the matches for Vicente Del Bosque's side in Euro 2016, ahead of Casillas.
De Gea featured neither in Euro 2012 nor the FIFA World Cup 2014, despite being in the squad for Spain. However, this time around, he is expected to start the games and give the performance that will cement his place in the Spain starting XI for many years to come.
Kevin De Bruyne - Belgium
From the moment he started playing for Manchester City after shrugging off his share of injuries, De Bruyne has been unstoppable -- be it on the scoring front or the assisting front. Still yet to enter his prime, the 24-year-old has turned out as a star under Manuel Pellegrini at City and one can only imagine how much he will be progressing more under Pep Guardiola.
For the national team too, De Bruyne is expected to carry his momentum to the Euro 2016 and showcase his impressive skills on the grand stage. Belgium have a star-studded squad, which features the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Christian Benteke and Eden Hazard.
The forward line of the team is formidable and thing is for sure, if they gel together, Belgium will be unstoppable in Euro 2016.
Robert Lewandowski - Poland
Undoubtedly, one among the top three strikers in football today, Lewandowski can make the Euro 2016 a goal festival if he displays his abilities to perfection and take the tournament by a storm. The 27-year-old not only comes to the tournament with a great scoring record for Bayern Munich but also for the national team.
He scored 30 times from 32 games in the Bundesliga this season and was also the top scorer in the Euro 2016 qualifiers with 13 goals. With a sensational form like he is in at the moment, the opposition defenders really have to step their game up if they want to have any attempt of preventing Lewandowski from scoring.
Poland may not have that many star names to be honest, but on any given match, if the ball is delivered accurately to Lewandowski inside the six yard box, the result of the kick may not turn out that unpredictable too.
