Thursday’s European Championship action saw Spain qualify and secure top spot in their group – something that England had failed to do hours earlier.
We’ll address some of the main Euro 2024 Fantasy talking points from their games, as well as Slovenia v Serbia, in this article.
For all the goals, assists and stats, check out our Scoreboard piece from after full-time.
ENGLAND 1-1 DENMARK
ENGLAND DIRE
The good news: England’s drab draw means that Gareth Southgate will have to go strong in Matchday 3. Had they beaten Denmark, qualification would have been assured and the England boss could have rested his big guns ahead of the last 16.
So, should you wish to own Jude Bellingham (€9.5m) and co in the next Matchday, there’s less chance of some teamsheet carnage.
But the question now has to be asked: do you want to own any/many England players? Against Denmark, the Three Lions were even worse than they had been on Sunday.
Much has been made of the defensive shortcomings but the last line wasn’t even the main concern here.
Marc Guehi (€4.5m) mopped up well, adding nine ball recoveries to the eight he collected in Matchday 1. He’s now England’s second-highest points scorer in Euro Fantasy. Jordan Pickford (€5.0m) was also on alert to make six saves, although five of those came from shots from outside the box. For all that Denmark looked like posing a threat, they only mustered 0.82 xG in total.
The biggest disappointment on Thursday night was the attack. Phil Foden (€9.0m) at least looked to grab the game by the scruff of the neck with some jinking runs, hitting the woodwork with one of four efforts. Kyle Walker (€5.5m) got forward a lot, setting up England’s goal with a deflected cross. Trent Alexander-Arnold (€5.5m) also looked to spring some attacks from deep – but that ‘out of position’ experiment may be coming to an end now.
Bellingham and Harry Kane (€11.0m) were anonymous, save for the latter’s opportunistic goal. Southgate even took the unusual step of removing Kane midway through the second half, also sacrificing his wingers as part of a triple substitution.
The meaningful distribution, not just the sideways balls that led to a respectable pass completion figure, was terrible all over.
There are a lot of problems to solve by next Tuesday, not least the starting personnel, when England face Slovenia.
MAEHLE RECALLED, ERIKSEN CREATIVE
This was a bit of an opportunity missed by Denmark but they at least know that a win over Serbia on the final day will be enough to send them through. A draw might even be enough to finish second.
Head coach Kasper Hjulmand made just one change for this match, recalling former Fantasy royalty Joakim Maehle (€5.5m). With fellow wing-back Viktor Kristiansen (€4.5m) at fault for England’s goal and then hooked after 56 minutes, anyone keen on a Matchday 3 punt on Maehle will be hoping that he’s now towards the front of the queue for that three-way tussle out wide.
Christian Eriksen (€7.0m) blanked but once again topped the chance creation table. With four key passes against England, he’s now on 11 for the tournament – more than any other player.
It was shoot on sight for the Danes, who had 10 attempts from outside the box. Pierre Emile Hojbjerg (€5.5m), who would go on to scoop the Player of the Match award, had five of them, whistling a late effort inches wide.
It was a policy that ultimately proved fruitful: Morten Hjulmand (€5.5m) netted from long range for Denmark’s leveller.
SPAIN 1-0 ITALY
RODRI BANNED – AND MORE SPAIN ROTATION TO FOLLOW IN MATCHDAY 3?
Rodri (€6.5m) became the first player to be booked twice at this summer’s European Championship. He’ll be banned in Matchday 3 as a result.
It’s a good match to miss for the 22% owned midfielder, with Spain already assured of top spot in their group.
And there’s very decent chance that there’ll be further changes for the Group B winners against Albania.
It’s a fixture we Fantasy managers will want to target, with Spain arguably being the team of the tournament so far, but there now has to be some uncertainty over the starting XI.
Dani Carvajal (€5.5m) and Robin Le Normand (€4.5m) are on one booking each, so here’s a good chance for manager Luis de la Fuente to temporarily take them out of the danger zone.
The likes of Ferran Torres (€7.5m), Mikel Oryazabal (€7.5m), Ayoze Perez (€6.5m) and Mikel Moreno (€6.0m) could get opportunities further forward, too.
The match against Albania comes 24 hours after the first Matchday 3 deadline, so there is a chance we may get a heads-up on the early team news from the Spain camp. Some interesting differentials could emerge as a result.
SPAIN THRILLING, CUCURELLA’S RECOVERIES
Carvajal is the leading scorer among Euro Fantasy defenders, with Spain the only nation to keep two clean sheets so far.
Not far behind him is Marc Cucurella (€4.5m), who made a remarkable 14 ball recoveries against Italy. That gave him a double-digit haul in Matchday 2 although it could have been even more: two big chances he created went begging.
Spain were utterly dominant. Pedri (€7.0m) and Nico Williams (€7.0m) wasted excellent headed chances, the former also firing wide from Cucurella’s cutback. Substitute Ayoze spurned two clear sights of goal, while Fabian Ruiz (€6.5m), Lamine Yamal (€6.5m) and Williams went desperately close with long-range efforts. Williams clipped the bar with his.
In the end, they had to rely on an own-goal from Riccardo Calafiori (€4.5m).
The front three of Alvaro Morata (€8.5m), Yamal and Williams were very lively, the latter collecting the Player of the Match award. Were qualification not secured, we’d be advocating a Spain triple-up in Matchday 3. As it stands, more information is needed about what de la Fuente plans to do with his home-and-hosed squad.
As for Italy, they should find things a lot easier against Croatia. Unchanged from Matchday 1, they barely got a sniff. Only two shots arrived in the first 85 minutes, their final xG a meagre 0.18.
Calafiori and Federico Dimarco (€5.0m) at least chipped in with a combined 19 ball recoveries.
SLOVENIA 1-1 SERBIA
ANOTHER FULL-BACK GOAL, WASTEFUL MITROVIC
Following on from Turkey v Georgia, Romania v Ukraine and Albania v Croatia, this was another ‘undercard’ game that offered entertainment.
A quietly competent Slovenia side are unbeaten going into their clash with England. It’s now just one loss in 14 games for Matjaz Kek’s troops, the scalp of Portugal being claimed in that time.
Here they were the better of the two sides initially. Jan Mlakar (€5.5m) tested budget goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic (€4.0m), who started again for Serbia. Timi Elsnick (€6.0m) struck the woodwork and Benjamin Sesko (€7.0m), a differential Matchday 2 gamble for some Fantasy managers, couldn’t convert the rebound. Sesko later tested Rajkovic from distance.
Once again, though, it was a Slovenian full-back who popped up with the goods. Following on from Erik Janza‘s (€4.5m) goal against Denmark, this time it was the turn of Zan Karnikcik (€5.0m).
The two have combined for six shots at the Euros already, with Janza also supplying three chances created. Karnikcik was among the leading defenders for big chances in qualification, and his goal on Thursday indeed came from close range after a lung-busting run into the area.
On top of that, Karnikcik has also earned five extra points from ball recoveries.
If there are positives for England to take, it’s that Slovenia have given up chances. They’ve allowed more crosses than any other nation at Euro 2024 so far, for starters. Given that Eriksen alone had four shots in the box from central areas in Matchday 1 and the wasteful Aleksandar Mitrovic (€7.0m) had six on Wednesday, there is encouragement for Bellingham and Kane in those middle zones.
Fantasy managers know all about Mitrovic’s profligacy and here he was again, seeing two sitters saved and hitting the bar with another.
It fell to substitute Luka Jovic (€6.0m), connecting with Serbia’s ninth corner of the game, to grab a late, late leveller.
