Our coverage of the pre-Euro 2024 friendlies continues. Before we get to Monday’s matches, a round-up of Sunday’s action.
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ITALY 1-0 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
- Goals: Davide Frattesi
- Assists: Federico Chiesa
The reigning champions scraped past Bosnia and Herzegovina to secure their third successive clean sheet, although they have Gianluigi Donnarumma (€6.0m) to thank after some big saves. One in particular came late on to spare Federico Dimarco‘s (€5.0m) blushes.
The Inter Milan wing-back is currently one of Euro Fantasy’s most chosen defenders, having just delivered five goals and six assists in the latest Serie A campaign.
However, managers shouldn’t be worried that he was only a substitute here, as first-teamers like Giovanni Di Lorenzo (€5.5m) and Alessandro Bastoni (€5.5m) watched from the sidelines, unused.
In attack, the team registered 17 attempts and three big chances but lacked precision. Former West Ham United forward Gianluca Scamacca (€7.0m) was particularly wasteful with his seven shots, as Davide Frattesi (€6.5m) instead stepped up to score. The midfielder is on 0.0% ownership but has four goals from his last six Azzurri starts.
Italy XI (3-4-2-1) – Donnarumma; Darmian, Buongiorno, Calafiori; Bellanova (Dimarco 65), Jorginho (Pellegrini 65), Fagioli (Cristante 65), Cambiaso; Frattesi (Folorunsho 76), Chiesa (Raspadori 76); Scamacca (Retegui 84)
FRANCE 0-0 CANADA
Similarly to England’s shock Friday defeat to Iceland, fellow favourites France were held to a goalless draw by a Canada side that just lost 4-0 to fellow Group D outfit the Netherlands.
They had 13 attempts in Olivier Giroud‘s (€8.0m) final Les Bleus appearance on home soil but went closest when substitute Kylian Mbappe (€11.0m) forced a save right at the end.
Seeing the game’s most-selected player come on in the 74th minute will be a relief to many. His slight knee issue should recover in time for the opener against Austria.
Considering the strength of Didier Deschamps’ line-up, it was interesting to see William Saliba (€5.5m) start instead of Ibrahima Konate (€5.5m). After promising run-outs from both he and international returnee N’Golo Kante (€6.0m), perhaps the duo still have time to sneak into France’s preferred XI.
France XI (4-3-3) – Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano (Konate 62), T Hernandez (Mendy 46); Kante, Camavinga; Dembele (Mbappe 74), Griezmann (Kolo Muani 87), Thuram (Coman 74); Giroud (Barcola 62)
SLOVAKIA 4-0 WALES
- Goals: Juraj Kucka, Robert Bozenik, Ethan Ampadu (own goal), Laszlo Benes
- Assists: Lukas Haraslin x2, David Hancko
Francesco Calzona’s Group E side made it two 4-0 wins within a week after taking Wales apart in Trnava.
Former Watford midfielder Juraj Kucka (€5.5m) broke the deadline on the verge of half-time. The 37-year-old was Slovakia’s best player for penalty area touches (27) during qualifying but this strike was from distance, assisted by star man Lukas Haraslin (€6.5m).
The latter netted 16 times for Sparta Prague last season and on three occasions en route to Germany, setting up the third here when his acrobatic shot forced an Ethan Ampadu own goal.
Meanwhile, a potential Fantasy gem continues to hide under the radar. Left-back David Hancko (€4.5m) had more goal involvements (five) than all Slovakian team-mates in the qualification stage, reaching double figures for both shots (11) and chances created (17). The only other active defender to achieve this is Joao Cancelo (€6.0m).
Here, his cross was converted by Robert Bozenik (€6.0m) – a centre-forward whose previous 31 caps brought a mere two goals.
Slovakia XI (4-3-3) – Dubravka; Pekarik, Vavro (De Marco 77), Skriniar, Hancko (Obert 71); Lobotka, Kucka (Bero 82), Duda (Benes 71); Schranz (Suslov 71), Bozenik (Tupta 77), Haraslin
MONTENEGRO 1-3 GEORGIA
- Goals: Otar Kiteishvili, Georges Mikautadze, Budu Zivzivadze
- Assists: Giorgi Gvelesiani, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Finally, upcoming debutants Georgia played their only pre-tournament friendly on Sunday and beat Montenegro 3-1.
Nine of the supposed first-choice starters took to the field, with Giorgi Gvelesiani (€4.0m) getting the nod at centre-back while Solomon Kverkvelia (€4.0m) undertook individual training.
Furthermore, there’s still some debate about which forward begins alongside Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (€7.0m). This time it was Georges Mikautadze (€5.0m) – on loan at Metz from Ajax – but often it’s Karlsruher’s Budu Zivzivadze (€5.0m). Both got on the scoresheet here.
Georgia XI (3-5-2) – Mamardashvili; Gvelesiani, Kashia, Dvali; Kakabadze, Kochorashvili (Mekvabishvili 80), Kiteishvili (Kvekveskiri 50), Chakvetadze (Altunashvili 67), Shengelia (Tsitaishvili 67); Mikautadze (Zivzivadze 80), Kvaratskhelia (Davitashvili 80)
9 months, 29 days agoGuardian pod Groups C and D preview:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3yEFFlQqb8V5suHkK3dO8B?si=81kO6pbJRTqqo4ahJ8n9Ww