England left it late to defeat Wales, Northern Ireland excelled to collect a first tournament victory in 34 years and Poland and Germany laboured to a goalless draw. Here’s how yesterday’s Euro 2016 games panned out.
England 2 Wales 1
Bold half-time changes by Roy Hodgson ignited England’s Euro campaign, with substitutes Jamie Vardy (7.0) and Daniel Sturridge (7.5) earning the Three Lions their first ever come-from-behind tournament victory.
England dominated possession (71%), passing (505-206) and attempts (20-8) but walked off at half-time a goal down courtesy of a second free-kick strike of the tournament from Gareth Bale (10.5) – a shot Joe Hart (5.5) should have kept out.
Wales held out for ten minutes after the break before Vardy – owned by 17% of Uefa managers – put away a close range chance and the rest was wave after wave of England pressure until the influential Sturridge bundled home from a Dele Alli (6.5) assist.
The result and the performance puts Harry Kane’s immediate future in the first XI in doubt. The 8.5-priced forward in the official Uefa game had just two attempts and created one chance in a quiet first half, with Wayne Rooney (9.5) even taking over Kane’s corner duties.
The Manchester United man is now truly settled into his midfield role, and he was the match-leader for chances created (6) and crosses (10) and only Sturridge and Bale had more attempts than his three.
Bale, with four attempts, was again Wales’ only true attacking threat, aided and abetted by Neil Taylor (5.0), who put in six crosses.
But Taylor spent much of the match being pushed back by arguably England’s player of the tournament so far, right back Kyle Walker (5.0). The Tottenham defender put in seven crosses, created one chance and fired in a shot for excellent DraftKings returns.
Club mate Danny Rose (5.5), with four crosses and five clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI) was another solid DraftKings performer. As was the tireless Aaron Ramsey (7.5), who won four tackles, put in six crosses, created a chance and had one attempt himself.
By the end of the match, England were fielding four of their five Uefa game-listed forwards. The squad is looking strong, their destiny is in their own hands and they have controlled both of their matches to date. Now looks to be the time to invest strongly in Hodgson’s men, with Sturridge, who had four goal attempts in just 45 minutes of action, and Vardy looking stronger picks than Kane on current form.
As for Wales, they came for a point and came agonisingly close to gaining it. Another draw, against Russia, should be enough to see them through, but it is still difficult to look beyond Bale and Ramsey for consistent Fantasy returns.
Ukraine 0 Northern Ireland 2
Hodgson wasn’t the only manager to be bold on Day 7 of the European Championships, Michael O’Neill making five changes from the Northern Ireland team that lost tamely to Poland.
The big call was the benching of key striker Kyle Lafferty (7.0), with Conor Washington (5.0) taking his place in a side geared up for victory against Ukraine.
Northern Ireland pressed high and played with real pace throughout, forcing Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyativ into five saves. His counterpart, Michael McGovern (4.5) made four.
No team scored more qualifying goals from set-pieces than Northern Ireland’s nine, so it was no surprise when Gareth McAuley (5.0) tucked away a far post header from an excellent Oliver Norwood (5.5m) delivery to open the scoring in the second half.
Chances then came and went for both sides before Niall McGinn (6.0) pounced on a rebound from Stuart Dallas’s (5.0) shot to seal the deal late in stoppage time.
As the side’s principal free kick taker, Norwood remains an attractive option both in the official Uefa game and DraftKings. As well as his assist, he created a further chance, put in two crosses (both successful) and had one attempt.
But the true star of Northern Ireland’s tournament to date is centre half Jonny Evans (5.0). After taming Robert Lewandowski in the first match, Evans was a driving force at both ends of the pitch against Ukraine.
He crossed twice and created two chances going forward and managed ten clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI) – only goalscorer McAuley had more – to feature strongly in DraftKings.
Midfielder Yevhen Konoplyanka (7.5) was Ukraine’s main threat, firing in four attempts, setting up two chances and putting in a match-leading eight crosses.
Just the one Northern Ireland player is currently owned by more than 1% of official game managers – and he’s not played a single minute yet. Will Grigg (5.0) is the man and his popularity presumably rests in that song.
More managers might be tempted to invest in Northern Ireland players after such a fine display, but they do face Germany in their final group match.
Ukraine are now as good as out, and whatever side is put out to face Poland is unlikely to get many Fantasy backers.
Poland 0 Germany 0
The first goalless draw of Euro 2016 suited both sides, but it was Poland left to rue what might have been.
Arkadiusz Milik (7.5), the match-winner against Northern Ireland, had two great chances and fluffed them both during a second half when the Poles came out of their shell and stretched their opponents.
Germany still out-shot their opponents 16-7 but never looked like scoring, and although Manuel Neuer (6.0) didn’t have a save to make all match, back-to-back clean sheets flatters a defence that could well struggle against more progressive and ruthless opponents.
Matts Hummels (6.5) returned from injury, replacing Shkodran Mustafi (5.0) at centre half, but Jonas Hector (5.5) was the stand-out performer in their back line – for his threat going forward.
Germany relied almost exclusively on their left flank in attack, with Hector completing a match-leading 11 crosses (although none were successful) and creating one chance. In comparison, Hector’s fellow full-back, Benedikt Howedes (5.0), only managed two crosses.
Toni Kroos (7.0) backed up his influential performance against Ukraine with another busy display (three chances created, eight crosses, three shots) that earned him solid DraftKings returns, but Tomas Muller (10.5) again failed to live up to his price tag in a misfiring German front four. The Bayern Munich man managed a solitary goal attempt, which was off target.
Another big ticket striker, Robert Lewandowski (11.5), was also off the pace. In two matches, the Bayern Munich star has been starved of service, reduced to just five penalty area touches and two shots, neither of which have been on target.
As the second-most expensive striker in the official Uefa game, Lewandowski is surely in the last chance saloon. Muller is not far behind him in the queue.
Poland should ease past a deflated Ukraine in their final match, and Kamil Grosicki (7.0) turned in a decent enough performance (three chances created, three crosses and one attempt) to merit consideration.
The Germans will find a buoyant Northern Ireland a handful and will need to put in a far better attacking display if they are to prevail.
