Euro 2016 captains for each of the 24 teams

Here is a look at the 24 captains who will lead their teams at Euro 2016.

Group A

Hugo Lloris, France

When he took charge of the national team four years ago, Didier Deschamps explored handing the armband to a field player – but it didn’t take the manager long to realize that he couldn’t do any better with the France captaincy than goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Lloris, who also captains Tottenham Hotspur, provides the type of consistent, drama-free leadership that frequently comes in short supply with France. If he can lift the trophy on home soil this summer, Lloris will be a national hero.

Razvan Rat, Romania

The Rayo Vallecano fullback will be 35 when his team kicks off against France in the tournament’s opening game on June 10.

Rat, who played over a decade for Shakhtar Donetsk, is Romania’s fourth-most capped player of all-time. His only previous major tournament experience came at Euro 2008, when Romania only conceded only conceded three times against France, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Lorik Cana, Albania

A native of Kosovo, Cana could have played for either Switzerland of France – but he instead accepted a call-up from Albania in 2003, and has gone on to become one of the country’s most famous players.

A hard tackling and increasingly deep-lying midfield player, Cana has spent much of his career in France between PSG, Marseille, and now Nantes. His experience should be a big boost to a team making their first-ever major tournament appearance.

Stephan Lichtsteiner, Switzerland

Lichtsteiner steps into the role for Euro 2016 after captain Gokhan Inler failed to make the manager Vladimir Petkovic’s provisional tournament squad.

Lichtsteiner has been a mainstay at right-back for Juventus over the last five seasons, where he is known as the “Swiss Express.” This tournament has been kind to Lichtsteiner in the past – it was his performance at Euro 2008 that got him to Italy with Lazio.

Group B

Wayne Rooney, England

This should be Wayne Rooney’s England team. But instead, after his worst goal-scoring season ever for Manchester United, the captain’s place in what has suddenly become a very competitive attacking setup has come under threat.

So while he appears to have the full support of his manager Roy Hodgson, there is no doubt that Rooney has a point to prove this summer – and if the FA Cup Final was any indication, he can do plenty of damage from midfield. But if Rooney flops, this could be the end of an international career that has always promised more than its delivered.

Roman Shirokov, Russia

His career has had its fair share of ups and downs, but Shirokov remains a hugely influential figure for Russia – just look at how the team struggled without him at the World Cup in Brazil.

At 34, this tournament is almost surely Shirokov’s last. A scorer at Euro 2012, he’ll have to play well in the heart of the Russian midfield for his team to advance in a sneakily difficult Group B.

Ashley Williams, Wales

One of the key men to Wales’ effort this summer, Williams is a natural captain – rising to the position with both his national team and his country’s top club Swansea City while in his twenties.

After the international retirement of Ryan Giggs in 2011, then-manager Gary Speed appointed Aaron Ramsey – a player six years Williams’ junior – to the position of captain. The reversal of that decision by Chris Coleman when he took charge in 2012 was an important moment in the maturation the teams and both players.

Martin Skrtel, Slovakia

Though he no longer plays regularly for Liverpool, Skrtel remains a fixture in the Slovakia team that qualified so convincingly for this tournament.

Nicknamed “The Terminator” by Liverpool fans, Skrtel is a notoriously combative player, adding bite to a team that isn’t known for its physicality. The captaincy, new at the start of this campaign, is an important next step in the career of a player who will surely make an impact one way or another in France.

Group C

Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany

Ten years ago, Bastian Schweinsteiger was a brash, dynamic winger with bleach blond hair and a flair for the audacious. Now, as he prepares for his seventh major tournament, Schweinsteiger is a deep-lying playmaker considered by his manager Jogi Löw to be “the brain” of the national team.

Löw’s lack of hesitance to include Schweinsteiger despite his recent knee injury and poor first season for Manchester United speaks to the midfielder’s influence on a decidedly young Germany team. If he’s fit, he’ll play a major role in France.

Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Ukraine

At 37, Tymoshchuk is a legend of Ukrainian football. The question is, at this point in his career, if he’s just that.

A central midfielder regarded as one of Shakhtar’s best ever players; Tymoshchuk stands as the most-capped player in the history of the national team. He took over as captain from another legend, Andriy Shevchenko, in 2012. As it stands now, Tymoshchuk could very well start this summer.

Robert Lewandowski, Poland

Sometimes, no matter their true leadership qualities – as we’ll see later on – one player is so much better than his teammates that the captaincy is simply a formality to bestow.

That’s not to say that Robert Lewandowski isn’t a terrific captain for Poland – it’s more to say that the striker has become one of Europe’s best players since his move to Bayern Munich in 2014. If Lewandowski is on form in France, the Poles will do serious damage.

Steven Davis, Northern Ireland

Davis is typical of the type of player who has driven Northern Ireland to their first major tournament since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Davis became Northern Ireland’s youngest-ever captain when he took the armband in 2006, and the diminutive midfielder has enjoyed one of his most successful spells at the club level in the last four years as an integral part of overachieving Southampton’s setup.

Group D

Iker Casillas, Spain

Iker Casillas spent a long time on top of the world, but his free-fall from grace over the last three years has been painful to watch. Leaving Real Madrid hasn’t made things any better – Casillas just had the worst season of any FC Porto goalkeeper in fifteen years.

Possibly out of respect more than anything else, Casillas is still a part of Vicente del Bosque’s Spain setup. But David de Gea will most likely start in goal, and Sergio Ramos or Andres Iniesta will take the armband.

Petr Cech, Czech Republic

With Tomas Rosicky in and out of the Czech national team due to injury, Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech will captain his country into a major tournament for the first time.

While he isn’t the player he was ten years ago, there is no question that Cech is still one of the best goalkeepers on the continent. But the former Chelsea ‘keeper has been anything but sure-handed in recent international tournaments, and he’ll be keen to avoid the kind of major gaffe that cost the Czechs so dearly at Euro 2008 and in Euro 2012.

Arda Turan, Turkey

Having made his debut for Barcelona in January, Turkey’s stylish captain Arda Turan comes into Euro 2016 at the summit of a hugely successful career.

Named captain of Galatasaray at just 22, the fiery Turan was one of the main players in Turkey’s heart-stopping run through this tournament in 2008. Now, as one of the senior men in a less talented Turkish team, the midfield talisman will be counted upon for a repeat performance.

Darijo Srna, Croatia

Darijo Srna is a picture of stability – and at a position, right back, that doesn’t endear itself to that rarest of traits. Croatia captain since 2008, Srna will lead his country into a third consecutive major tournament this summer.

But there are other, heavier matters on the fullback’s mind. Beloved in Donestk for the thirteen years he has played for Shakhtar, Srna has been hit especially hard by the war in Ukraine. Just last month, he donated 100 laptops to children affected by the fighting.

Group E

Eden Hazard, Belgium

When Belgium lost Vincent Kompany for this summer due to injury, it was a major blow – not just for Kompany’s defensive prowess, but also his leadership skills. Marc Wilmots simply doesn’t have a comparable character to call upon.

Still, several players could have stepped into Kompany’s shoes. Jan Vertonghen is a senior player who has skippered the team in the past, as is Thomas Vermaelen. But Wilmots opted for Eden Hazard, who is both Belgium’s best player and a wielder of considerable influence behind the scenes.

Gianluigi Buffon, Italy

Unlike his colleague Casillas, Gigi Buffon hasn’t lost a step. Still a top performer for Juventus, the legendary Italian goalkeeper with captain his team at the European Championships for the third time nineteen years after making his national team debut in 1997.

He’s remarkable for his consistency and shot-stopping ability, but above anything else, Buffon is known for his heart – watching him belt out the national anthem before Italy play will be one of the highlights of the tournament.

John O’Shea, Ireland

While Robbie Keane is still Ireland’s captain, and very likely to make this Martin O’Neill’s squad, he’s unlikely to start in France. Instead, the armband will belong to Waterford native John O’Shea.

A versatile defender who these days lines up at center-back, O’Shea spent a decade with Manchester United before moving to Sunderland in 2011. Ireland will lean on his poise and major tournament experience this summer.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden

He’s a man who defies introduction. Zlatan Ibrahimovic may be the single most watchable player in the world – an arrogant, insufferable, insanely talented showman who may be on his last legs in competitive international football.

If Portugal is a one-man team, Sweden is one man. The Swedes need Ibrahimovic to have a huge tournament – and if he’s really leaving Europe for MLS or Asia, Zlatan will surely want to go out with a bang.

Group F

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal

He’s less fun than Ibrahimovic, but he’s also the superior player by some distance. Cristiano Ronaldo will be the greatest talent on show this summer, and as a man who has always taken international duty seriously, he’ll be gunning for glory.

Ronaldo, who was made Portugal captain at the age of 23, hardly has leadership qualities – but the logic is that as he goes, his team will follow.

That was certainly true as Ronaldo struggled with injury and failed to spark in Brazil. But with his health intact and his team drawn into the tournament’s weakest group, this could be a summer to remember for the Real Madrid star.

Aron Gunnarsson, Iceland 

Known to many fans as a steady midfield presence for Cardiff City over the last five years, Gunnarsson has, starting in 2012, served as captain during the golden years of Icelandic football.

At 27, Gunnarsson, who can also play right back, is in the prime of his career. He and his team have a chance to make national history in France.

Christian Fuchs, Austria

Before this year, Christian Fuchs was a fairly successful, fairly anonymous European footballer plying his trade in Germany with Schalke. But a move to Leicester City ahead of the just-concluded season changed all that, as Fuchs gained folk-hero status along the way to his club’s extraordinary Premier League triumph.

Long-term, Fuchs plans to move to the United States to be with his family and play in MLS. But for the moment, Fuchs, who has served as Austria’s captain since 2012, is ready to lead his country’s best side since the turn of the century into the European Championships in France.

Balazs Dzsudzsak, Hungary

Hungary isn’t exactly an overpowering team, but if they are to make any sort of mark at these finals, it will be players like winger Balazs Dzsudzsak leading the way.

Having spent much of his career in Russian football between spells in Holland and Turkey, Dzsudzsak is a vastly experienced campaigner at just 29 years old. With few other stars to turn to, Hungary counts on their captain for goals – he’s scored eighteen times in his international career – and leadership.