We wrap up the headline Fantasy news from Sunday’s round of 16 matches as Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard are forced off through injury and Tomas Holeš presents himself a key transfer target for the quarter-final stage.
BELGIUM 1-0 PORTUGAL
- Goal: Thorgan Hazard (€8.1m)
- Assist: Thomas Meunier (€5.7m)
Kevin De Bruyne (€10.6m) was forced off through injury after 47 minutes of Belgium’s 1-0 win over Portugal on Sunday.
A sensational Thorgan Hazard (€8.1m) strike from outside the box settled the match, sending Roberto Martinez’s men to a quarter-final tie with Italy.
De Bruyne’s problem appeared to occur from a first-half tackle by Joao Palhinha (€5.0m), with the Portuguese midfielder catching the Man City man from behind.
Along with De Bruyne, Eden Hazard (€10.1m) is also an injury worry after seemingly encountering hamstring trouble late in the contest.
“We need 48 hours to find out the extent of the injuries. KDB is his ankle, it was a really bad tackle. Eden is more of a muscle feeling. We will go back to Belgium tonight and do scans tomorrow.” – Roberto Martinez
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (€6.2m) had a more grim prognosis on Hazard, however:
I think the Euros for Eden is over, he will not play anymore.
Thomas Meunier (€5.7m) picked up the assist for Thorgan Hazard’s 42nd-minute goal to bank a nine-point score. He’s now the top-scoring Fantasy defender of the players who have already assured their place in the quarter-finals.
The wing-back picked the ball up after an attack involving De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku (€11.3m) before sliding a simple ball to the goalscorer.
Hazard’s wicked shot bent from in to out, with Rui Patricio unable to adjust as the ball flew into his left-hand corner.
Diogo Jota (€8.7m) had Portugal’s best chance of the first half but pulled an effort in the box wide, while blazing a second-half opportunity over the bar while under pressure from eight yards out.
After his second-half introduction, Bruno Fernandes (€10.5m) swung in a corner from which Ruben Dias (€5.9m) forced Courtois into a save with a close-range header.
Moments later in the 83rd minute, left-back Raphael Guerreiro (€6.6m) hit the post but that was as close as Portugal got to an equaliser as Belgium held firm for the victory.
“In the first half we were playing high and putting pressure on Portugal, but looking at that second half, we are lucky to win. Portugal made it really hard for us. We had to really stay focused. It has cost us a lot of energy, but we have some time to recover and now we are looking forward to the game against Italy.” – Thomas Vermaelen
Belgium XI (3-4-3): Courtois; Vertonghen, Vermaelen, Alderweireld; T Hazard (Dendoncker 90+4′), Witsel, Tielemans, Meunier; E Hazard (Carrasco 86′), Lukaku, De Bruyne (Mertens 47′).
Portugal XI (4-3-3): Rui Patricio; Guerreiro, Pepe, Dias, Dalot; Sanches (Oliveira 77′), Palhinha (Danilo 77′), Moutinho (Fernandes 55′); Jota (A Silva 69′), Ronaldo, B Silva (Felix 55′).
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Belgium’s attack did not fire in this match, with Martinez’s troops managing just one shot inside the box over 90 minutes. Thorgan Hazard’s goal was the Belgians’ only shot on target.
THE NETHERLANDS 0-2 CZECH REPUBLIC
- Goals: Tomas Holeš (€4.5m), Patrik Schick (€8.6m)
- Assists: Tomas Kalas (€4.7m), Holeš
Budget midfielder Tomáš Holeš (€4.5m) returned a goal and an assist against ten-man Netherlands as the Czech Republic advanced to the EURO 2020 quarter-finals.
“I have mainly defensive tasks in the game and sometimes I get an advantage out of it, as the opponents think that I will only defend and do not cover me. I am glad it went this way for me tonight.” – Tomáš Holeš
The first goal came just under a quarter of an hour after Matthijs de Ligt (€5.6m) was sent off for a handball offence that denied Patrik Schick (€8.6m) a clear goalscoring opportunity after 54 minutes.
Holeš turned provider for Schick in the 81st minute as a ragged Dutch team allowed the midfielder to advance into the box before pulling the ball back for the striker. Schick made no mistake from eight yards out to net his fourth goal of the tournament.
“I have to mention the performance of Tomáš Vaclík who helped us with his marvellous save in the right moment. And Tomáš Holeš played a fantastic game, he contributed to both of the goals. I have to praise both of these players.” – Czech Republic head coach Jaroslav Silhavy
The Netherlands’ best chance came moments before De Ligt’s sending off. A Memphis Depay (€10.2m) pass set Donyell Malen (€6.2m) off on a mazy run, as the budget striker beat two defenders to advance towards goal.
The forward could not make his way past Tomáš Vaclík (€5.1m), however, as the goalkeeper claimed the ball in a one-on-one situation.
De Ligt saw red after an on-field review by the referee, having initially been handed a yellow card for his handball offence.
“Games like this revolve around one or two moments. We had one of them, with Donyell [Malen], and then a few seconds later we were down to 10 men. And the worst thing you can do against a team like this is to fall behind. Then they can just play the game exactly the way they want to.” – Frank de Boer
The Czechs made their advantage count soon after as Tomas Kalas (€4.7m) nodded a free-kick back across goal for Holes to head home, with Maarten Stekelenburg (€4.9m) in no man’s land after going for the initial ball in.
Holeš then added an assist, advancing into the box as spaces opened up in the Dutch defence. His pull back was slotted home by Schick, with both players set to come into consideration for the quarter-finals.
Denmark will be the Czech Republic’s opponents in the last eight. Holeš, in particular, could earn multitudes of owners as a bench enabler to free up funds for heavy hitters.
Denzel Dumfries impressed once more but carded a 0-pointer, having picked up a booking in the first half.
“They were difficult opponents, but I thought that we were better until the red card. We dominated the game. Denzel [Dumfries] reached the by-line a couple of times in the first half, and so did Patrick [van Aanholt]. But in each case, the final ball could have been better.” – Frank de Boer
Netherlands XI (3-4-1-2): Stekelenburg; Blind (Timber 81′), De Light, De Vrij; Van Aanholt (Berghuis 81′), De Jong, De Roon (Weghorst 72′), Dumfries; Wijnaldum; Malen (Promes 56′), Depay.
Czech Republic XI (4-2-3-1): Vaclik; Kaderabek, Kalas, Celustka, Coufal; Soucek, Holeš (Kral 84′); Sevcik (Hlozek 84′), Barak (Sadilek 90+1′), Masopust (Jankto 78′); Schick (Krmencik 90+1′).
JUST EAT’S KEY TAKEAWAYS
Tuck into some tournament data in association with Just Eat, partners of UEFA EURO 2020 and your first stop for home delivery meals.
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Above: Players involved in Netherlands v Czech Republic sorted by total attempts
Only Schick and Tomas Soucek (€6.5m) had more attempts on goal than Holeš (2).
Above: The average positions of Czech Republic players
Schick (10) played a very deep role for most of the tie but did arrive in the box at the right time to net the Czech Republic’s second.
