Euro 2016 daily five: Importance of Cristiano Ronaldo; who needs to find form?

Friday, Day 15, was another day off for the teams at Euro 2016, but ahead of Saturday's knockout matches we have collated some of the best of our content from the last 24 hours in one place. All the latests news, plus group guides, kick-off times and news from around the teams can be found at our special microsite.

1 – World class and crucial

Ian Hawkey runs down the three teams in particular at Euro 2016 who could be most considered a one-man show: Portugal, Wales and Poland.

They feature three of the very best players in the world, easily three of the top 10, in Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Robert Lewandowski, respectively. And, Hawkey writes, with their towering talent comes a towering importance:

“Portugal, Poland and Wales, each of who seek a place in the quarter-finals on Saturday, arrived at this expanded European championships with a couple of things in common. They were not among the top favourites to win, but they were noted as dangerous outsiders for one reason above all: They had an individual who on his day, can swing a contest against anybody.

“They each have a gold-standard, world-class star, and they have just the one. That man plays for a club where he is surrounded, most weeks, by 10 footballers who, man for man, would in an ideal XI displace the 10 teammates with whom he lines up for his country.”

2 – Stars who need to step up

Jonathan Raymond looks at some of the biggest names who have had some of the quietest tournaments so far at Euro 2016.

No 1 on his list? Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne:

“Like Poland, Belgium are blessed with the pleasant side of the draw, and get a scrappy but severely less-talented Hungary to start, with Wales and Northern Ireland on the horizon offering a manageable path at least to the semi-finals. Unlike some of his under-pressure peers, De Bruyne’s team are good enough to navigate that without him hitting his stride just yet, but it would be nice to see some magic out of the kid before long.”

3 – Real Madrid stars prepare for battle

Portugal v Croatia figures to be an affair for madridistas, with Cristiano Ronalado and Pepe lined up on one side, and Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic lined up on the other. There is even a Barcelona party-crasher in Ivan Rakitic.

See how this collection of La Liga stars looked in training ahead of the last 16 contest in our photo gallery.

4 – ‘Sometimes you’re the dog, sometimes you’re the tree’

Who gave us that, ehm, descriptive line? Find out in our rundown of the best quotes of Euro 2016 so far.

Also among the highlights is Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson after his side secured passage to the last 16:

“I would guess we will change the national holiday. It’s normally on June 17, but they will probably change it now.”

5 – Are Germany still world-beaters?

It's a fair question to ask, given their slump in form following a 2014 World Cup triumph and an unconvincing qualifying campaign and group stage.

Just don’t go bothering Joachim Low with it:

“In 2014, we already had the same discussion. Then we won the World Cup and suddenly everyone was an awesome leader.

“In all honesty, it’s all been said before.”

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