My last-16 EURO Fantasy team with no Wildcard to fall back on

As I am embarking on the last-16 without a Wildcard, I am trying to take a more balanced approach in terms of which nations to invest in.

Rather than select four players from a small group of teams, I am building my squad based on fixtures both in the next round and beyond.

That’s why the Netherlands are the only team I have maxed out on for the last-16 as they, on paper, have the easiest route to the final.

If they are successful in each of their next three matches, they will have seen off the Czech Republic, one of Wales or Denmark and one of Sweden, Ukraine, England or Germany.

By comparison, the popular Italy assets must face either Belgium or Portugal if they get past Austria today and could face either France, Switzerland, Croatia or Spain in the semi-final.

Didier Deschamps’ fancied men face a similarly tough run if they are to reach next month’s final with Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Croatia and Spain all on their side of the draw.

Of course, if I still had a Wildcard, I would probably be a lot more prepared to place all my chickens in Italian, French and Dutch baskets.

GOALKEEPERS

I’m starting out with Gianluigi Donnarumma (€5.6m) for Italy’s last-16 meeting with Austria. After the first three rounds of matches, Roberto Mancini’s men have given up just eight shots inside the penalty box.

Maarten Stekelenburg (€4.7m) is a handy back-up for the Netherlands, who have kept two clean sheets from a possible three thus far and, as already mentioned, I really fancy their route to the final so their goalkeeper could prove good long-term value.

DEFENDERS

Italy’s ongoing run of 11 back-to-back clean sheets is why I have chosen Leonardo Spinazzola (€5.6m) for the last-16.

Well-rested in Matchday 3, the left-back has produced 7.5 points per appearance thus far.

Denmark’s defence has been similarly miserly at EURO 2020, conceding just seven shots in the box after the first three matches, the second-fewest.

Considering that has come across a series of outings where they were severely disrupted, both physically and mentally, against Finland and then faced a stacked Belgium attack, I think Joakim Mæhle (€4.5m) has a good chance of keeping a clean sheet against Wales.

On Sunday, I want the marauding talent of Denzel Dumfries (€5.6m) in my team when the Netherlands play the Czech Republic.

The wing-back is third among his colleagues for shots inside the box after the group stages scoring 21 points across his two starts during that phase of the competition.

Jordi Alba (€6.1m) awaits substitution from the bench when Spain face Croatia. No side has given up fewer shots in the penalty area than La Roja thus far.

Meanwhile, Presnel Kimpembe (€5.6m) can give me a route into France’s defence when they face Switzerland.

MIDFIELDERS

Georginio Wijnaldum (€8.1m) has had a wonderful tournament so far and I expect that to continue into the knockout stages.

His average of two penalty-box shots per match is the joint-best among his colleagues so far and he is also joint-top for shots on target per game too.

Meanwhile, only four teams have given up more shots in their own area than the Czech Republic so far.

Getting a Saturday punt is Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (€5.5m) who has produced three assists so far at EURO 2020. His average of three key passes per match is the best among Denmark players and joint-third best at the tournament.

Meanwhile, no team has given up more shots inside the penalty box than Wales so far (38).

Kevin De Bruyne‘s (€10.6m) stellar impact for Belgium has not gone unnoticed either by the eye test or the statistics.

In two appearances, Manchester City’s midfield maestro has produced 4.5 key passes per game, the second-highest of any player at EURO 20202 and the best of those who have played more than once.

Considering Ukraine (26) and Sweden (28) are both in the tournament’s bottom three for shots conceded in the box after three matches, I expect there to be goals when they meet on Tuesday evening.

Including the 23-point penalty-taking Emil Forsberg (€7.7m) feels like an easy call while Andriy Yarmolenko (€8.6m) is my differential option at 7% ownership.

No player at EURO 2020 has registered more shots in the six-yard-box than the West Ham midfielder so far.

FORWARDS

Cristiano Ronaldo (€12.2m) feels like an obvious inclusion in the forward line at this point. Not only has he scored at least nine points in every match so far, Portugal are definitely a team that can sustain the number of penalties they have won with their playing style.

Meanwhile, I think the weakest part of Belgium’s team is their defence, which Ronaldo can definitely exploit.

Obviously, only one of him or De Bruyne can make it to the quarter-finals but going for these two expensive players, and knowing I can keep one of them, it helps me invest in any premiums I don’t own for the last-eight stage.

The penalty-taking Memphis Depay (€10.1m) is level with Wijnaldum as the joint-top option for shots in the box and shots on target per game among Netherlands players thus far.

MY CAPTAINCY SCHEDULE

• Saturday: Spinazzola
• Sunday: Wijnaldum
• Monday: Alba
• Tuesday: Forsberg