Twist. One day down in Matchday Three and, in armband terms, it’s been a bitter disappointment for Fantasy managers. We placed our faith in the likes of Alan Dzagoev, Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Blaszczykowski but the trio not only let us down, they now wave farewell to the tournament after this evening’s pair of unexpected results.
With the Czech Republic winning Group A and Greece finishing second, there’s plenty of tinkering required with our knockout wildcards now as we rid our teams of Russians and Poles. On to tomorrow, then, as we eye up the likely captaincy contenders:
With Germany needing only a draw against Denmark to confirm their position as Group B winners, many are unsure over a starting role for Mario Gomez. The Bayern man has already grabbed three goals and is expected to be heavily backed for the armband, though some may take a sneaky punt on Miroslav Klose in the hope that Joachim Low tinkers with his front line. Mesut Ozil will be hoping to get amongst the points after a slow start to the tournament, while owners of Thomas Muller and Lukas Podolski will be hoping the pair aren’t subject to rotation, with the likes of Andreas Schurrle and Marco Reus ready-made replacements.
For the Danes, Michael Krohn-Deli has been their most consistent Fantasy asset – he has picked up attacking returns in each of his first two games and currently sits on 13 points in the McDonald’s game. Nicklas Bendtner’s brace against Portugal brings the Arsenal man under consideration, while Christian Eriksen’s creative spark should be crucial to Denmark’s cause.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed chance after chance in the Denmark game but will relish the prospect of taking centre stage against Holland – the 11.0 priced forward still looks a strong prospect and is a guaranteed starter for the encounter with Bert Van Marwijk’s men. Nani and Helder Postiga have both outscored the Real Madrid maestro thus far and, up against a shaky Dutch backline, look decent differentials, with 3.8% and 0.3% ownership respectively.
While a win against Portugal may still not be enough to secure their progress, Holland’s final group game looks at the very least a face-saving exercise after a dismal start to their campaign. A shift in formation for the second half against Germany may hint at what’s to come – Robin Van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben look the stand-out candidates here, while a starting role for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar could be on the cards if Van Marwijk chooses to operate with a front two this time round.
