Sponsored by Sofascore
Welcome to Sofascore’s UEFA Nations League game!
As national squads gather for the international break, Fantasy managers face a unique schedule spread across four key Matchdays during the condensed September and October window.
Nailing your goalkeeper selection is crucial for securing a fast start and setting a high-scoring baseline for your squad.
JOIN OUR SCOUT MINI-LEAGUE + WIN PRIZES
Before we begin, we’ve set up our own mini-league for Nations League Fantasy – and we won’t just be playing for fun.
There’ll be these prizes up for grabs…
| Position | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | £150 Cash + Mega Bundle |
| 2nd | £100 Cash + Annual Sub |
| 3rd | £50 Cash + Annual Sub |
| 4th | Annual Sub |
| 5th | Month Sub |
More details on what benefits you get with ‘Mega Bundles’ and monthly/annual subscriptions are available here.
You join our league by entering the following code:
GOALKEEPERS: THE SCORING TWIST
So, back onto the men between the posts.
In Sofascore Fantasy, goalkeepers don’t just rely on standard clean sheets to deliver points.
Scores are heavily influenced by Sofascore’s detailed 30-category statistical matrix, meaning shot-stopping volume, box command, and sweeper actions reward active goalkeepers even when their clean sheet is wiped out.
Key goalkeeper-specific scoring rules include:
- Playing up to 60 minutes: +1 pt
- Playing 60 minutes or more (excluding injury time): +2 pts
- Clean Sheet (must play at least 60 minutes): +4 pts
- Saves from inside the box: +1 pt per 2 saves
- Saves from outside the box: +1 pt per 3 saves
- Punches + high claims: +1 pt per 3 actions combined
- Successful runs out: +1 pt
- Penalty saved: +5 pts
- Goals conceded: -1 pt per 2 goals conceded
- Yellow card: -1 pt
- Red card: -3 pts
- Own goal: -2 pts
- Penalty committed: -2 pt
- Goal scored: +10 pts
- Assist: +5 pts
- Long balls: +1 pt for completing at least 3 accurate long balls with a success rate of 60% or higher
UNAI SIMÓN (£6.5m)
Spain’s defensive strengths were evident in the World Cup, when Luis de la Fuente’s side racked up seven clean sheets in eight matches.
For an expensive premium asset, Unai Simón offers an exceptionally stable baseline floor under the specialised scoring system. Operating as a sweeper-keeper due to Spain’s aggressive high line, he notched 11 successful runs out during the World Cup.
The immediate hurdle is an initial Group A3 clash against England (R1, away). That is followed by home fixtures against Croatia (R2) and Czechia (R3), then the reverse fixtures away to Croatia (R4) and Czechia (R5), ending with England at home (R6).
The Three Lions represent Spain’s toughest-on-paper defensive test of the opening cycle, and the Round 1 clean sheet odds won’t be favourable. However, once past that opening examination, a four-match stretch against Croatia and Czechia look far more promising.
Given Spain’s dominant possession style that limits high-value chances for opponents, managers can comfortably lock Simón in as a highly reliable, long-term premium play.
DIOGO COSTA (£6.0m)
Portugal may have bowed out relatively early during their recent knockout tournament runs, but Diogo Costa remains a top target in the premium goalkeeper bracket.
Jorge Jesus’s men have a favourable Nations League group, finding themselves drawn into an opening pool against Wales (R1, home; R6, away), Norway (R2, away; R4, home), and Denmark (R3, away; R5, home). That means that they avoid any top-10 world ranking powerhouses early on.
Costa’s individual shot-stopping underlying metrics are encouraging. He racked up 32 saves in the last Nations League, the third-highest total across the entire competition.
Portugal are the strong favourites to win their group outright, so Costa bridges the gap perfectly for Fantasy managers, offering high clean-sheet odds alongside save points potential.
GREGOR KOBEL (£5.5m)
Switzerland boasts a solid defence, with Gregor Kobel firmly established between the sticks behind them.
The Swiss impressed at the rear during the recent World Cup, registering the second-lowest “goals prevented” metric across the tournament.
They also conceded just two goals across their entire World Cup qualification campaign.
Facing North Macedonia (R1, away; R4, home), Scotland (R2, away; R6, home), and Slovenia (R3, home; R5, away), Kobel faces lower-tier attacking lines.
He represents a reliable route to consistent shutouts at an incredibly generous £5.5m price tag.
THOMAS STRAKOSHA (£5.0m)
Albania are favoured to dominate their group, making Thomas Strakosha a prime target in the lower-priced bracket.
The Red and Blacks can boast of a very tidy defensive record during recent outings, conceding just 10 goals in their last 13 matches.
That stability is heavily insulated by their upcoming schedule. Group C1 features Belarus (R1, home; R6, away), San Marino (R2, away; R4, home), and Finland (R3, away; R5, home); all three other nations are ranked lower than Rolando Maran’s side.
San Marino are the lowest-ranked nation in the entire FIFA rankings, indeed.
On the Sofascore matrix, facing low-tier offences offers a massive opportunity to bank easy points.
MARTIN DÚBRAVKA (£5.0m)
Slovakia are the beneficiaries of possibly the most mismatched group in the Nations League, transforming Martin Dúbravka into a great value pick at £5.0m.
Group C3 features Moldova (R1, home; R4, away), Kazakhstan (R2, home; R6, away), and Faroe Islands (R3, away; R5, home). Slovakia are at least 66 places ahead of this lot in the FIFA rankings.
Dúbravka is an undisputed number-one starter who benefits from a disciplined low-block system.
In the last Nations League campaign, he recorded 20 total saves (including 14 saves from inside the penalty area), maintained three clean sheets and successfully executed three runs out, earning an impressive 7.54 average Sofascore rating.
Facing modest opposition, he offers a secure baseline floor.
KARL HEIN (£4.5m)
Estonia find themselves pinned to a (relatively) tough group in Group C4, which dents their appeal for clean sheets.
However, Karl Hein is the ultimate Sofascore matrix cheat code for managers wanting to exploit the underlying data.
The numbers behind Hein are absolutely staggering. He officially led the last Nations League in saves, racking up 38 total stops, including an elite 22 saves from inside the penalty area, one clean sheet and three successful runs out, all while maintaining a 7.70 average Sofascore rating.
He was the highest-rated goalkeeper in the last Nations League.
Estonia faces an immediate, high-pressure Matchday 1 away fixture against Iceland (and home in R4), followed by Bulgaria (R2 away, R6 home) and Luxembourg (R3 home, R5 away). While Estonia’s backline is highly likely to surrender goals across these fixtures, Hein will face a relentless barrage of shots.
FEDOR LAPOUKHOV (£4.5m)
Belarus asset Fedor Lapoukhov looks set to be an incredibly popular budget enabler, and justifiably so.
Viktor Goncharenko’s side relies on a defensive low block that provides an exceptionally stable baseline floor under the specialised scoring system.
Lapoukhov held a stellar 7.63 average Sofascore rating in the last Nations League campaign, and was among the top 10 ‘keepers for total saves (25) and saves from inside the penalty area (17). As well as that, he clocked up three clean sheets and two successful runs out.
His individual underlying metrics are great for an option at the lowest possible price point.
The major hurdle here is an initial Group C1 away trip to Albania (R1 away, R6 home), who represent Belarus’s toughest-on-paper group test. However, under the Sofascore scoring matrix, Lapoukhov could still prosper. Albania will dictate territory and cross heavily into the box, so Lapoukhov is perfectly positioned to face an immense barrage of deliveries and shot traffic, allowing him to farm continuous points.
Once past that opening away hurdle, matches against Finland (R2 away, R4 home) and group minnows San Marino (R3 home, R5 away) provide a much kinder runway.
