By Jude Summerfield
The second matchday of the Euro 2024 group stages brought more incredible drama, exquisite goals and impressive performances from some of the continent's top stars.
There were second wins for Germany, Spain and Portugal, while France and England were held to draws. Greater improvement is needed from a fair few of the tournament hopefuls, but there was still no shortage of stellar individual outings on Matchday 2.
Here's 90min's team of the round for the latest batch of games.
GK: Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia)
Georgia have seen many of their lesser-known stars shine during their brave performances at Euro 2024 so far, but one of their more recognisable faces stood up to be counted in the 1-1 draw with Czechia.
Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was in inspired form at Volksparkstadion, making 11 saves to earn the Crusaders a point in Group F and keep their knockout stage hopes alive.
RB: Zan Karnicnik (Slovenia)
NK Celje right-back Zan Karnicnik was solid against Denmark and followed that outing up with a goal in Slovenia's 1-1 draw with Serbia.
The 29-year-old arrived at the back stick to convert Ivan Ilic's cross and made three important clearances in defence, also recovering possession seven times.
CB: Gernot Trauner (Austria)
Austria are emerging as a dark horse thanks to their relentless pressing and the sprinkling of attacking quality from the likes of Marko Aranutovic and Christoph Baumgartner, but it was burly centre-back Gernot Trauner who got things up and running against Poland.
The Feyenoord defender converted a brilliant header and misplaced only two of his 42 passes before having to come off before the hour-mark with an injury.
CB: Antonio Rudiger (Germany)
Any striker who comes up against Antonio Rudiger at Euro 2024 is going to have their work severely cut out for them.
The Real Madrid star had little trouble shutting out Hungary stars like Dominik Szoboszlai, shielding Manuel Neuer's goal and completing seven of his ten attempted long passes.
LB: Marc Cucurella (Spain)
A figure of derision at Chelsea, Marc Cucurella has enjoyed a positive start to Euro 2024 and was so good that opposite number Federico Chiesa was brought off after 64 minutes.
The left-back only misplaced one of his passes and frequently linked up with Rodri and Fabian Ruiz to push Spain up the pitch in their 1-0 victory.
CM: Morten Hjulmand (Denmark)
Denmark made life incredibly difficult for an abject England in their 1-1 draw but only drew level courtesy of a scorching strike from Morten Hjulmand.
Aside from that brilliant goal, the Sporting CP midfielder hounded Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice, winning the midfield battle alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)
Belgium's performances in Germany have showcased some of their best tendencies and a load of their worst habits.
The Red Devils won't get too far if Romelu Lukaku continues to have goals disallowed, but Kevin De Bruyne decided he'd had enough of the inefficiency and took command of the clash with Romania, scoring late on to seal the win and leave all four teams in Group E level on three points.
RW: Bernardo Silva (Portugal)
Portugal might not get the best out of this Golden Generation with Roberto Martinez in charge but, after a poor showing in their opener that somehow resulted in a win over Czechia, they were much more convincing in the 3-0 victory over Turkey.
Manchester City star Bernardo Silva put the Selecao ahead in the 21st minute and created four chances, constantly piercing the Turkey defence with his ingenuity and creativity.
AM: Ilkay Gundogan (Germany)
Germany have flashier and younger talents than Ilkay Gundogan in their current squad, but that doesn't make Ilkay Gundogan's role any less important.
The DFB-Team were superior in every aspect to Hungary during the 2-0 win which booked their spot in the knockout stages and it was Gundogan who made the difference, scoring and assisting as his side made another big statement to the rest of Europe.
LW: Nico Williams (Spain)
Nico Williams has the look of a player who will only get better and better throughout this summer's tournament in Germany.
He didn't grab a goal contribution in Spain's 1-0 win over Italy but he was a constant menace in the final third, forcing Chiesa to help out in defence after giving full-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo all sorts of nightmares.
ST: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
He's yet to get off the mark at Euro 2024 but Cristiano Ronaldo showed against Turkey he can still offer Portugal plenty in attack even when he isn't scoring.
His shooting was a little erratic but the Al Nassr striker created three chances for his teammates, including one that was finished off by Bruno Fernandes in the second half to wrap up the victory.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Euro 2024 team of the round: Matchday 2.
