HUNGARY 1-1 FRANCE
- Goals: Attila Fiola (€4.0m) | Antoine Griezmann (€11.0m)
- Assists: Roland Sallai (€6.5m)
Saturday’s action threw Group F wide open ahead of Matchday 3, music to the ears of anyone playing a chip for the last round of group-stage matches.
In search of finishing as the top team in this group, France’s disappointing draw with Hungary has put more pressure on Didier Deschamps’ men to get a positive result when they meet Portugal on Wednesday, June 23.
After the defending European champions were torn apart by Germany on Saturday afternoon, French attackers are sure to be high on the watchlist for EURO Fantasy managers, although picking the right one could be a challenge.
Even with two matches under their belt, we are yet to see Les Bleus at their best, Saturday’s draw with Hungary characterised by poor finishing.
Kylian Mbappé (€12.0m) may well be at the front of the queue for French investment ahead of Matchday 3 as he was, once again, their most dangerous player.
In the opening exchanges, he was inches from opening the scoring as he nodded a textbook Lucas Digne (€6.0m) cross wide of the mark.
In the 30th minute, Mbappé held up a long ball from Antoine Griezmann (€11.0m) very well before teeing up Karim Benzema (€10.0m), who could only slot wide with a scuffed effort.
Shortly after, the PSG forward showed some great footwork to carve an opening for himself but was denied by Péter Gulácsi (€4.5m).
Anyone struggling to fit Mbappé into their Matchday 3 side could do worse than going for his cheaper counterpart Griezmann.
It was the experienced number 10 who scored France’s only goal of the game, taking his overall tally at this competition to seven after netting four times at the 2018 World Cup. His total of 11 goals at major international tournaments is, at the time of writing, behind only Thierry Henry (12), Just Fontaine (13) and Michel Platini (14) in France’s history.
On Saturday, Griezmann forced Gulácsi into a save in the opening exchanges and gobbled up a loose ball in the second half to rescue a point for France.
Perhaps the most unexpected element of this match was how much Hungary were able to make this an even encounter, roared on by a vociferous Budapest crowd.
While they only managed five shots on goal all afternoon, they worked hard in the absence of their talismanic striker and leader Adam Szalai (€6.0m), substituted with a head injury in the 26th minute.
It was left wing-back Attila Fiola (€4.0m) who drifted into the space between France’s centre-back pairing and Benjamin Pavard (€6.0m) to slot home beyond Hugo Lloris (€6.0m).
However, whether Hungary can replicate this performance away from their bustling Budapest crowd when they travel to Germany for Matchday 3 remains to be seen, especially after the events in Munich on Saturday afternoon…
HUNGARY XI (3-5-2): Gulácsi; At Szalai, Orbán, Botka; Fiola, Schäfer (Cseri 76′), Nagy, Kleinheisler (Lovrencsics 84′), Négo; Ad Szalai (Nikolic 26′), Sallai.
FRANCE XI (4-3-3): Lloris; Digne, Kimpembe, Varane, Pavard; Rabiot (Dembélé 57′ | Lemar 87′), Kanté, Pogba (Tolisso 76′); Mbappé, Benzema (Giroud 76′), Griezmann.
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You can see from the data above, just how key the lack of clinical edge was for France against Hungary.
Mbappé was this match’s top shooter, with a total of six efforts, five in the box and two big chances but he was one of seven players who could only manage one on target.
France’s team shot accuracy was as low as 26.7%, compared to Hungary’s 60% while their goal conversion rate was just 6.7%.
PORTUGAL 2-4 GERMANY
- Goals: Cristiano Ronaldo (€12.1m), Diogo Jota (€8.5m) | Kai Havertz (€9.0m), Robin Gosens (€5.0m)
- Own Goals: Rúben Dias (€6.0m), Raphaël Guerreiro (€6.6m)
- Assists: Jota, Ronaldo | Gosens x2, Joshua Kimmich x2 (€6.0m)
Germany’s assets burst onto the EURO Fantasy scene with aplomb on Saturday as they tore defending champions Portugal to pieces.
With Hungary’s their Matchday 3 opponent, and a positive result still needed for Joachim Löw’s men, Robin Gosens (€5.0m) and Kai Havertz (€9.0m) are sure to be highly sought-after ahead of the next deadline.
It was left wing-back Gosens who stole the Fantasy show as Germany’s fluid 3-4-2-1 system allowed the Atalanta man to produce memorable performance in an advanced role.
After his early, flying back-post finish was ruled out for an offside in the build-up, the €5.0m defender provided the assist for Rúben Dias‘ (€6.0m) own goal and, in the second half, an almost identical cross was converted by Havertz.
Gosens then grabbed a deserved goal of his own in the 60th minute to cap off a 14-point haul which, of course, could have been even bigger were it not for the early offside call.
Can he deliver a similar performance for a horde of new owners against Hungary? The answer to that question may well depend on how much Germany’s next opponents extend themselves to earn the much-needed points to escape the Group of Death. Thankfully, Löw’s men also need a positive result after losing to France in Matchday 1.
However, it must be said that a key factor in Gosens’ marauding performance was an accordingly poor marking display from Nelson Sémedo (€5.0m).
As for Havertz, his midfield classification could prove a bonus for Fantasy managers given the fluidity of Germany’s line-up.
On paper, the Chelsea man was deployed as one of two attacking midfielders supporting Serge Gnabry (€9.5m) in a centre-forward’s role but in reality, he was the focal point on so many occasions.
Reminiscent of the false-nine role Thomas Tuchel has deployed him in for Chelsea this season, Havertz was the target for many a Gosens cross, very close to getting a touch on what went down as Dias own goal in the first half.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo (€12.1m) continues to deliver the points even if his performances have not been consistently world-beating.
Portugal did most of their damage against Germany on the counter-attack, Ronaldo and Diogo Jota (€8.5m) combining for goals from a first-half breakaway and a second-half corner.
Ronaldo now has four attacking returns in two matches but faces his most difficult challenge of the group stages in Matchday 3 when he faces defending world champions France.
PORTUGAL XI (4-1-4-1): Patrício; Guerreiro, Dias, Pepe, Sémedo; Danilo; Jota (A Silva 83′), Carvalho (F Silva 58′), B Fernandes (Moutinho 64′), B Silva (Sanches 46′); Ronaldo.
GERMANY XI (3-4-2-1): Neuer; Rüdiger, Hummels (Can 63′), Ginter; Gosens (Halstenberg 62′), Kroos, Gündogan (Süle 73′), Kimmich; Havertz (Goretzka 73′), Müller; Gnabry (Sané 87′).
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Across both teams in this match, Havertz was joint-top for touches in the penalty area, his total of eight level with Gnabry who, on paper, was Germany’s centre-forward.
However, Havertz was infinitely more of a goal threat according to the numbers. His total of four shots was three more than Gnabry while three were in the box, two were big chances and two were on target.
Gosens was the game’s leader for efforts on target with a total of three, hence why both players look decent options to face Hungary. They have recorded an expected goals conceded (xGC) total across their first two EURO 2020 matches of 4.49.
SPAIN 1-1 POLAND
- Goals: Álvaro Morata (€9.0m) | Robert Lewandowski (€11.5m)
- Assists: Gerard Moreno (€6.5m) | Kamil Jozwiak (€6.0m)
- Penalties won: Moreno
- Penalties conceded: Jakub Moder (€6.0m)
- Penalties missed: Moreno
Popular budget defender Pau Torres (€4.5m) could not follow up his Matchday 1 clean sheet with another as Poland held Spain to a 1-1 draw.
29% of EURO managers own the centre-back ahead of Matchday 3, where La Roja face Slovakia chasing a positive result. 14% of managers are also holding Jordi Alba (€6.0m) going into that encounter, the left-back denied what looked a certain assist against Poland by a poor Gerard Moreno (€6.5m) finish.
Luis Enrique’s men have just two points after their first two matches, the first time since Euro 96 that Spain have failed to win either of their opening two matches in this competition.
With three points from three games a particularly precarious prospect in terms of trying to progress as a third-placed team, Spain are sure to give everything they’ve got against Slovakia, which could jeopardise their defensive stability.
The set-up for that match perhaps warrants consideration for Spain’s attack, even if it was somewhat predictable in the draw with Poland.
Centre-forward Álvaro Morata (€9.0m) netted his nation’s first goal of the tournament on Saturday evening and was faced with a number of opportunities to add to his total.
He might even fancy his chances of taking Spain’s next penalty after Moreno struck the post from 12 yards after drawing a foul in the box from Brighton’s Jakub Moder (€6.0m).
Admittedly, Morata did not fare much better in the aftermath of the failed spot-kick, spooning the rebound when faced with an open net.
Robert Lewandowski (€11.5m) could also be an outside contender for Fantasy inclusion, or even the more daring captain picks given Poland’s need for a Matchday 3 result.
They have just one point after their first two matches and will surely need a victory against Sweden to give them passage into the knockout stages.
The Bayern Munich forward was not particularly active for prolonged spells of Saturday’s encounter but could have come away with two goals instead of one.
In the 40th minute, his strike partner Karol Swiderski (€6.0m) beat Unai Simón (€5.0m) from long-range only to see his effort cannon back off the bost.
Lewandowski bore down on the loose ball before Spain’s goalkeeper recovered and smothered the effort.
Poland’s talisman finally got his goal in the second half as he rose higher than Aymeric Laporte (€6.0m) to head home a Kamil Jóźwiak (€6.0m) cross for just his third-ever goal at a major international tournament.
SPAIN XI (4-3-3): Simón; Alba, P Torres, Laporte, Llorente; González, Rodri, Koke (Sarabia 68′); Olmo (F Torres 61′), Morata (Oyarzabal 87′), Moreno (Ruiz 68′).
POLAND XI (3-4-2-1): Szczesny; Bednarek (Dawidowicz 85′), Glik, Bereszynski; Puchacz, Moder (Linetty 85′), Klich (Kozlowski 55′), Jozwiak; Zielinski, Swiderski (Frankowski 68′); Lewandowski.
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Group A: Turkey | Italy | Wales | Switzerland
Group B: Denmark | Finland | Belgium | Russia
Group C: Netherlands | Ukraine | Austria | North Macedonia
Group D: England | Croatia | Scotland | Czech Republic
Group E: Spain | Sweden | Poland | Slovakia
Group F: Hungary | Portugal | France | Germany
BY POSITION: Goalkeepers | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards
2 years, 10 months agoHow are Finland below Russia in the group with the same points and superior goal difference? Is it because they lost to them?