So…is 12 points enough? That’s the question the majority of Fantasy managers are asking themselves after Cristiano Ronaldo notched the only goal of the game this evening to earn Portugal a place in the semi-finals at the expense of Czech Republic.
It’s on to tomorrow now, with Germany the red-hot favourites to see off Greece and join Paulo Bento’s side in the semi-finals, where they will face either England or Italy. We’ve rolled out the Captain Poll and, with Fantasy managers now swithering whether to stick or twist, there are a host of options available amongst the Group B winners’ first XI.
Mario Gomez looks the stand-out contender for Joachim Low’s side. The Bayern Munich forward is the only German to have picked up attacking returns in all three of his appearances, with a couple of goals and an assist to his name thus far. Mesut Ozil’s role in “the hole” has created chance aplenty but to date, he’s picked up just a single assist thus far – will tomorrow finally deliver the display his manager reckons is imminent?
Elsewhere amongst the German side, Bastian Schweinsteiger is second only to Gomez for points accrued; a couple of assists and two extra points for recovered balls has helped him to a 15 point haul. Lukas Podolski opened his account against Denmark in Germany’s final group game and will be looking to maintain his upturn in form, while Thomas Muller looks a real differential candidate – the Bayern man has yet to pick up any attacking points and resultantly has less than 6% ownership but, as his displays at the 2010 World Cup confirmed, he’s more than capable of producing for the national side.
It’s little wonder Greece are rank outsiders. Fernando Santos’ side are devoid of their skipper and playmaker Giorgos Karagounis due to suspension, while none of their forwards have returned more than nine points in the McDonald’s game to date. Having failed to score more than a single goal in any of their Group A matches, their chances of breaching the favourites’ backline more than once looks unlikely. Dimitrios Salpingidis and Theofanis Gekas have grabbed a goal apiece along with the banned Karagounis – the aforementioned forward duo should carry the threat tomorrow evening then, along with Giorgos Samaras.
