Wales 3 England 0: Uefa names 40-man Team of the Year squad
Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen make the list, but not one of the Three Lions is chosen
Three players from Wales but not a single one from England, Ireland or Scotland have been named in Uefa's 40-man squad for its 2016 Team of the Year.
Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen feature after their heroics at Euro 2016, along with ten other Premier League players and the usual array of stars from Spain, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
Arsenal have three players on the list – Alexis Sanchez and Laurent Koscielny along with Ramsey – while the two Manchester clubs have two each: Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic represent United and Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero for City.
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The other Premier League stars in the mix are N'Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez, Dmitri Payet and Toby Alderweireld.
However, Real Madrid and Barcelona contribute more players than the entire Premier League, with eight from Real and five from Barca. Overall 18 come from La Liga.
There are players from 18 different nations on the list, playing in six different countries. England is the only one of the six nations not to contribute a homegrown player.
France and Spain both have five players nominated, while there are four from European champions Portugal. Ten players come from outside Europe, with eight South Americans and two Africans on the list.
"Premier League players Jamie Vardy, David De Gea and Harry Kane all missed out on the list after failing to impress Uefa officials, despite their strong performances in England's top flight," says The Sun.
The Daily Mail, meanwhile, is shocked by Allen's inclusion. "Ask any football fan whether they would prefer Arsenal star Mesut Ozil or Stoke's Joe Allen in their ultimate dream team and few would hesitate to opt for the silky German playmaker. But on the back of a special 2016 for Allen, the decision-makers at UEFA would choose the Wales international," it says.
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur) Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Pepe (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
Midfielders: Joe Allen (Stoke), Kevin De Bruyne (Man City), Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Grzegorz Krychowiak (PSG), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Dimitri Payet (West Ham), Paul Pogba (Man Utd), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal).
Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Man City), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Man Utd), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Neymar (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Luis Suarez (Barcelona).
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