This years Euro 2016 have produced a number of surprisingly dismal performances from teams and players alike. Even some of the most highly rated and hyped up players have grossly underperformed in comparison to their usual high standards. Is this due to the pressure that these individuals are under or could it really be the sheer volume of club games that they have played throughout the season?

Lets look at some of the stars of the recently embarrassed England side. Harry Kane and Dele Alli had wonderful club form this season and were tipped to be the most important players for their national team. Kane played an astounding total of 50 games for Spurs this season and his team mate Dele Alli played 46. It would be safe to say that the form the they showed for Tottenham this season was not mirrored in their Euro 2016 campaign. The pair couldn’t manage a goal between them as England crashed out to Iceland in the last 16.

Hosts France have also been less than convincing so far this campaign and their star man, Paul Pogba has been given a tough time by some in the media; Gary Lineker branded the 23 year old “the worlds most overrated player”, others suggested that he is a player who is only good for watching in YouTube clips. Pogba played 49 games for Juventus and was an integral part of their squad during their league winning season.

Robert Lewandowski is another player who was touted to be one of the players of the tournament. The big man from Poland was in fine form for club and country this season, scoring 42 goals for Bayern Munich in all competitions and topped the scoring charts in European qualifying. Poland have now played 4 games and Lewandowski is still to hit the back of the net. He played 51 games for his club in 2015/16.

Finally, Manchester United target and one of the biggest egos in the footballing world, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was extremely disappointing at this years tournament. His team finished bottom of group E and Ibra managed a grand total of 0 goals. His biggest and maybe only impact came when his cross was diverted by Ciaran Clark into his own net on match day 1. Zlatan also played 51 games this season for PSG, scoring a phenomenal 50 goals.

On the contrary, there have also been a number of players who have impressed at the tournament.

Alvaro Morata netted 3 times for Spain in 4 appearances before his side were knocked out by Italy. Morata had been in and out of the squad for his club side this season starting only 16 league games.

Likewise, Italy’s Graziano Pelle has chipped in with 2 goals so far as Antonio Conte’s men continue to steamroller their way through the competition, netting against number 2 in the world Belgium and European champions Spain. The Southampton centre forward only played 36 games for his club under departing manager Ronald Koeman.

Winger Jakub Blaszczykowski scored the opener in Poland’s last 16 victory over Switzerland. He has been one of his country’s more impressive players and his performances have been a major factor in Poland’s success so far. During the 15/16 season he only played a total of 20 games for Serie A side Fiorentina.

The players in question clearly have bags of ability and the big stars are always going to feature for their country. However it seems as though their inclusion in the national team at major tournaments has a detrimental effect on the performance of the individuals and in turn may cause their teams to underperform. Obviously there are other factors such as managerial style and poor tactics that cause teams to underperform but the overuse of players is undoubtedly a major influence.

Similarly, it appears as though the players who haven’t been involved as regularly for their club have been influential in the successes of their nations in the tournament so far.

Will playing in the Euros this year have an effect on their club form next season? Is it a vicious cycle? We’ll just have to wait and see.