In this Fantasy Euros 2024 preview piece, I want to give you a short(ish) list of players for you to pick in your team.
If, like me, you were daunted and overwhelmed by the number of players available to you in Euros Fantasy 2024 then this is for you. I’ve done a fair amount of research to pick out the best options for your Euros Fantasy 2024 squad.
The idea is that you’ll get to the end of this piece and be able to pick from a much shorter list of options with some degree of confidence that they start and that they’re good options.
As I said before in our rules and tactics piece, neither Joe nor I are experts of all European football so there could be some errors in here and we welcome feedback. But, we are fantasy football nerds and know what we are looking for.
Defensive Assets
As always, with defences, the first thing we are looking for is clean sheets. So, the best place to start is to look at the overall quality of the defence you’re buying into. We have some data from the qualifiers that we can use to assess the quality of defences:
| Best Defensive Teams | ||||
| Rank | Team | MP | GA | GA/MP |
| 1 | Portugal | 10 | 2 | 0.2 |
| 2 | France | 8 | 3 | 0.375 |
| 3 | England | 8 | 4 | 0.5 |
| 4 | Croatia | 8 | 4 | 0.5 |
| 5 | Albania | 8 | 4 | 0.5 |
| 6 | Belgium | 8 | 4 | 0.5 |
| 7 | Romania | 10 | 5 | 0.5 |
| 8 | Spain | 8 | 5 | 0.625 |
| 9 | Czech Rep | 8 | 6 | 0.75 |
| 10 | Slovakia | 10 | 8 | 0.8 |
| 11 | Netherlands | 8 | 7 | 0.875 |
| 12 | Turkey | 8 | 7 | 0.875 |
| 13 | Austria | 8 | 7 | 0.875 |
| 14 | Hungary | 8 | 7 | 0.875 |
| 15 | Slovenia | 10 | 9 | 0.9 |
| 16 | Ukraine | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| 17 | Denmark | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| 18 | Scotland | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| 19 | Switzerland | 10 | 11 | 1.1 |
| 20 | Italy | 8 | 9 | 1.125 |
| 21 | Serbia | 8 | 9 | 1.125 |
| 22 | Poland | 8 | 10 | 1.25 |
| 23 | Georgia | 8 | 18 | 2.25 |
Of course, this is only half the story as you need to look at fixtures as well as the quality of the defence. But, this is a helpful table to tell us which teams we can basically set and forget (Portugal and France) and which teams we need to think more about.
Goalkeepers
Buy Pickford and/or Costa
Turning to the keepers then. I really think they have made a mess of the goalkeeper pricing. Donnarumma at 6.0 when I can get much better defences from Pickford or Costa at 5.0 seems crazy to me. And to make it more crazy, they want me to pay 5.0 for someone like Oblak who plays for a worse team.
So, that’s my very simple advice. Get one or both of Pickford and Costa.
If you’re only going to have one, for budgetary reasons or any other reason, then take Costa. Portugal play last and England play quite early. So, you will find it easier to get a cheap keeper that plays before Portugal and sub him out if he doesn’t perform. That way, you can take a risk with your first goalkeeper pick and feel reasonably confident in Costa after that.
Cheaper options
In terms of 4.5 goalkeepers, these guys are the starters:
- Gunn – Scotland
- Mamardashvili – Georgia
- Verbruggen – Netherlands
SchlagerPentz – Austria- Gulacsi – Hungary
- Milinkovic-Savic – Serbia
- Dubravka – Slovakia
I am pretty sure that Berisha will start for Albania at only 4.0. Sure, I don’t expect a clean sheet against Italy but its not out of the realms of possibility. Albania have had a good defence in the qualifiers and Italy have sucked.
Defenders
Top 20 Ball Recoverers
Before we get into the defenders properly, you will have noticed that players get extra points for ball recovery. Using the UEFA Euros Qualifiers Stats, I have grabbed the top twenty assets who recovered balls in the quails and made it to the Euros proper.
| Player | Team | MP | BR | BR/MP |
| Akanji | Switzerland | 10 | 75 | 7,5 |
| Sutalo | Croatia | 7 | 52 | 7,428571 |
| Gudelj | Serbia | 8 | 58 | 7,25 |
| Holes | Czech | 8 | 56 | 7 |
| Burca | Romania | 10 | 69 | 6,9 |
| Bijol | Slovenia | 10 | 68 | 6,8 |
| Kashia | Georgia | 10 | 68 | 6,8 |
| Gvardiol | Croatia | 8 | 53 | 6,625 |
| Lobotka | Slovakia | 9 | 58 | 6,444444 |
| Nagy | Hungary | 8 | 51 | 6,375 |
| Dias | Portugal | 9 | 57 | 6,333333 |
| Van Dijk | Netherlands | 8 | 50 | 6,25 |
| Rice | England | 8 | 49 | 6,125 |
| Skriniar | Slovakia | 8 | 49 | 6,125 |
| Dragusin | Romania | 10 | 61 | 6,1 |
| Brozovic | Croatia | 8 | 48 | 6 |
| Kiwior | Poland | 10 | 59 | 5,9 |
| Zabarnyi | Ukraine | 9 | 52 | 5,777778 |
| Kverkelia | Georgia | 9 | 49 | 5,444444 |
| Hojberg | Denmark | 10 | 46 | 4,6 |
Expensive Defenders
There are only four 6.0 defenders and I only like one of them. Cancelo plays for one of the best defences in the tournament and has a history of getting attacking returns with three goals and zero assists in nine games in the qualifiers.
There are quite a few 5.5 defenders. I like Hernandez at France as he has attacking threat and the French defence is excellent. Having said that, he only got one assist in eight qualifiers. If Dumfries is nailed then he is a great option. He got loads of attacking returns last time out and is 0.5 cheaper than Van Dijk.
I’m trying not to talk about players I’m not picking here because there are too many. However, we do have to talk about Frimpong too. He is a right-back and potential competition for Dumfries and, on several occasions, this guy has played right-wing for the Netherlands. He is currently 34% owned after a right wing performance in the friendlies saw him get attacking returns. The thing is, I don’t think he starts
Another international fantasy legend is Maehle for Denmark who got six returns last time out I think. If Robertson, wasn’t playing Germany in his first game I would also say you could consider him (three assists in the qualifiers). Gvardiol is also kind of fine, he is probably less attacking than for City but has a good ball recovery stat.
Cheaper Defenders
In terms of 5.0 defenders, Akanji is the number one ball recoverer from the qualifying stages. His fixtures aren’t incredible but he is. I also like Dalot who, I think, is nailed to start for Portugal. He has a smaller attacking threat than Cancelo but is a whole 1.0 cheaper. The annoying thing with him is that he plays on the last day so you don’t really want to be fretting as to whether he starts. If Shaw was fit for England then I would have him but as he isn’t I don’t mind grabbing Stones. Finally, Castagne seems to be nailed on for right-back for Belgium and has two assists in seven games for the qualifiers.
For 4.5 defenders, Mittelstadt and Tah at Germany are super cheap options. Mittelstadt has the attacking threat. Schar is potentially a good option who we know can score. I like Dragusin for Romania because he has great ball recovery and play against the terrible Ukranian attack in the first game. Speaking of Ukraine, Konoplia plays right back and has a goal and two assists from the qualifiers. I just don’t think they are a great defence. Probably you will be able to grab the starting England centre back for 4.5 which I think will be Guehi but I’m not 100% sure he starts.
Finally, there is one 4.0 defender that may start – Faes for Belgium. He’s a centre back but has good fixtures and plays for an okay defence. And, frankly, he is super cheap so who cares.
Attacking Assets
Midfield Ball Recoverers?
I am treating midfielders like I treat them in FPL, as attacking assets. The truth is, this is a bit more complicated because of ball recovery points. I’m going to recommend a couple of ball recoverers.
In general, for midfielders, I prefer chasing the five points for a goal or three points for an assist rather than “playing safe” and going for the one point per three ball recovers. The reason being that a player will need to recover nine balls to equal the return of an assist. And, you can see that nobody does that in the table above.
Top Attacking Teams
We care less about team’s attack than individuals. However, its worth us taking a look at the team stats from the qualifiers anyway:
| Best Attacking Teams | ||||
| Rank | Team | MP | GF | GF/MP |
| 1 | France | 8 | 29 | 3.625 |
| 2 | Portugal | 10 | 36 | 3.6 |
| 3 | Spain | 8 | 25 | 3.125 |
| 4 | England | 8 | 22 | 2.75 |
| 5 | Belgium | 8 | 22 | 2.75 |
| 6 | Switzerland | 10 | 22 | 2.2 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 8 | 17 | 2.125 |
| 8 | Austria | 8 | 17 | 2.125 |
| 9 | Scotland | 8 | 17 | 2.125 |
| 10 | Italy | 8 | 16 | 2 |
| 11 | Hungary | 8 | 16 | 2 |
| 12 | Slovenia | 10 | 20 | 2 |
| 13 | Denmark | 10 | 19 | 1.9 |
| 14 | Serbia | 8 | 15 | 1.875 |
| 15 | Turkey | 8 | 14 | 1.75 |
| 16 | Slovakia | 10 | 17 | 1.7 |
| 17 | Croatia | 8 | 13 | 1.625 |
| 18 | Romania | 10 | 16 | 1.6 |
| 19 | Albania | 8 | 12 | 1.5 |
| 20 | Czech Rep | 8 | 12 | 1.5 |
| 21 | Georgia | 8 | 12 | 1.5 |
| 22 | Ukraine | 8 | 11 | 1.375 |
| 23 | Poland | 8 | 10 | 1.25 |
Top Scorers and Assisters
And the individuals who performed for their teams.
| Top Scorers | Top Assisters | |||||
| Player | Country | Goals | Rank | Player | Country | Assists |
| Romelu Lukaku | Belgium | 14 | 1 | Bruno Fernandes | Portugal | 8 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 10 | 2 | Denzel Dumfries | Netherlands | 5 |
| Kylian Mbappe | France | 9 | 3 | Kylian Mbappé | France | 5 |
| Harry Kane | England | 8 | 4 | Jeremy Doku | Belgium | 4 |
| Rasmus Hojlund | Denmark | 7 | 5 | Olimpiu Moruțan | Romania | 4 |
| Scott Mctominay | Scotland | 7 | 6 | Bernardo Silva | Portugal | 4 |
| Zeki Amdouni | Switzerland | 6 | 7 | Dušan Tadić | Serbia | 4 |
| Bruno Fernandes | Portugal | 6 | 8 | Nicolò Barella | Italy | 3 |
| Aleksandar Mitrovic | Serbia | 5 | 9 | Yannick Carrasco | Belgium | 3 |
| Benjamin Sesko | Slovenia | 5 | 10 | Giorgi Chakvetadze | Georgia | 3 |
| Joselu | Spain | 4 | 11 | Christian Eriksen | Denmark | 3 |
| Andrej Kramaric | Croatia | 4 | 12 | Adam Gnezda Čerin | Slovenia | 3 |
| Khvicha Kvaratskhelia | Georgia | 4 | 13 | Dávid Hancko | Slovakia | 3 |
| Alvaro Morata | Spain | 4 | 14 | Dodi Lukebakio | Belgium | 3 |
| Marcel Sabitzer | Austria | 4 | 15 | Filip Mladenović | Serbia | 3 |
| Bukayo Saka | England | 4 | 16 | Rúben Neves | Portugal | 3 |
| Dominik Szoboszlai | Hungary | 4 | 17 | Andrew Robertson | Scotland | 3 |
| Barnabas Varga | Hungary | 4 | 18 | Xherdan Shaqiri | Switzerland | 3 |
| 19 | Andraž Šporar | Slovenia | 3 | |||
| 20 | Dominik Szoboszlai | Hungary | 3 | |||
| 21 | Nico Williams | Spain | 3 | |||
| 22 | Jonas Wind | Denmark | 3 | |||
Midfielders
At 9.5, it is only Bellingham and De Bruyne. Bellingham doesn’t feature on our tables because he barely played for England in the qualifiers but he’s obviously incredible given his season at Madrid. I’m not convinced by De Bruyne because I am not convinced he can play ninety minutes each game. But he’s De Bruyne so he merits consideration.
At 9.0, there is only Foden and Fernandes. Foden is fine but less nailed than Saka in my opinion. Fernandes is straight in my team. He had six goals and eight assists in the qualifiers for Portugal and he is a great captaincy option on the last day if you need him.
At 8.5, I think Saka is a GREAT option. I don’t understand why he is cheaper than Foden and I cannot resist him. Silva had three goals and four assists but I’d rather have Bruno.
At 8.0, the only option is Trossard. He is a great player and I like him. I don’t think he has much of a record for Belgium but he seems to becoming more and more important for them.
At 7.5, I think Wirtz is a great option after this season, especially with Germany being at home. I also like Coman who got four attacking returns in the qualifiers. However, there is a chance he doesn’t start.
At 7.0, there are loads of options. Szoboszlai isn’t much of an asset in FPL but he is more important in this Hungary team. He got four goals and three assists in the group stages. Gundogan plays 10 and takes penalties for Germany. Kvaratskhelia has hit double figures for goals in Serie A in the last two seasons as well as four goals and one assist in the European qualifiers for Georgia. The team aren’t great but he’s the talisman and I think he’s fun. Lastly there is Eriksen. I love Eriksen and this could be his last euros, which is enough of a reason for me. If you need more then he scored a goal and got three assists in the qualifiers.
At 6.5, I think there are a lot of fun options but we are looking at good players on not great teams here. McTominay got seven goals and an assist in the qualifiers. It’s surely not repeatable but it would be fun. McGinn also got five attacking returns in the qualifiers. Probably neither are worth a shout in the first game against Germany though. Sabitzer is another one that probably overperformed in the qualifiers with fours goals and two assists but still worth considering. Shaqiri is a guy we all know who got two goals and three assists in the qualifiers.
The alternative to good players on not great teams is good players on good teams with low ceilings. And that is Rodri at 6.5 for Spain. I actually hate Rodri with a passion so I won’t have him in my team. But
There are a couple of cheaper enabler options too. Morutan at Romania is only 6.0 with four assists in the qualifiers. Guler is here because he plays for Real Madrid and scored six goals in ten games for them. He’s not really done it for Turkey but they play Georgia on the first day which is fun. Bijol is only 5.0 and averaged 6.8 ball recoveries per game in the qualifiers. Jorginho is 5.0 and is the penalty merchant for Italy. Chakvetadze would be the last man on your bench and last option (playing last) and he got a goal and three assists in the qualifiers and only costs 4.5.
Forwards
Have you heard of Mbappe and Kane? They are quite good. 9 goals and 8 goals in qualifiers respectively. They both cost 11.0 but they are probably the two best strikers in the tournament for two good teams and well worth paying for.
At 10.0, Ronaldo could be a bargain. You save 1.0 on Mbappe and Kane and get a guy that scored 10 goals in the qualifiers. There is only one way to beat that… You can save 2.0 on Mbappe and Kane and get a guy that scored 14 goals in the qualifiers. Lukaku is the man and he only costs 9.0.
I’d try and have at least two of these four (I currently have three of them in my draft). So, if you need another forward try one of these guys, all of whom scored more than four goals in qualification:
- Hojlund – Denmark – 7.5
- Havertz – Germany – 7.5
- Kramaric – Croatia – 7.5
- Sesko – Slovenia – 7.0
- Mitrovic – Serbia – 7.0
- Amdouni – Switzerland – 6.5
- Varga – Hungary – 6.0
The only other guy I want to mention is Ramos for Portugal. At 7.0 the guy has scored seven goals in seven starts for Portugal. Ronaldo was late to join the camp and has been benched by Martinez in the past, and if Ronaldo gets dropped then this guy replaces him and is a bargain.
The Euros Fantasy Shortlist
Here it is. In all its glory. Can’t wait for it to be ripped to shreds!
| Goalkeepers | Defenders |
| Pick both of Pickford and Costa for 5.0.
Or Costa and one of these: · Gunn – Scotland – 4.5 · Mamardashvili – Georgia – 4.5 · Verbruggen – Netherlands – 4.5 · Schlager – Austria – 4.5 · Gulacsi – Hungary – 4.5 · Milinkovic-Savic – Serbia – 4.5 · Dubravka – Slovakia – 4.5 · Berisha – Albania – 4.0
| Pick Mittelstadt (4.0) and four of these: · Cancelo – Portugal – 6.0 · Hernandez – France – 5.5 · Dumfries – Netherlands – 5.5 · Maehle – Denmark – 5.5 · Gvardiol – Croatia – 5.5 · Akanji – Switzerland – 5.0 · Dalot – Portugal – 5.0 · Stones – England – 5.0 · Castagne – Belgium – 5.0 · Tah – Germany – 4.5 · Schar – Switzerland – 4.5 · Konoplia – Ukraine – 4.5 · Guehi – England – 4.5 · Faes – Belgium – 4.0
|
| Midfielders | Forwards |
| Pick Fernandes (9.0) and four of these: · Bellingham – England – 9.5 · De Bruyne – Belgium – 9.5 · Foden – England – 9.0 · Saka – England – 8.5 · Trossard – Belgium – 8.0 · Wirtz – Germany – 7.5 · Szoboszlai – Hungary – 7.0 · Gundogan – Germany – 7.0 · Kvaratskhelia – Georgia – 7.0 · Eriksen – Denmark – 7.0 · McTominay – Scotland – 6.5 · McGinn – Scotland – 6.5 · Sabitzer – Austria – 6.5 · Shaqiri – Switzerland – 6.5 · Rodri – Spain – 6.5 · Morutan – Romania – 6.0 · Guler – Turkey – 6.0 · Bijol – Slovenia – 5.0 · Jorginho – Italy – 5.0 · Chakvetadze – Georgia – 4.5
| Pick Mbappe (11.0) and two of these: · Kane – England – 11.0 · Ronaldo – Portugal – 10.0 · Lukaku – Belgium – 9.0 · Hojlund – Denmark – 7.5 · Havertz – Germany – 7.5 · Kramaric – Croatia – 7.5 · Sesko – Slovenia – 7.0 · Mitrovic – Serbia – 7.0 · Amdouni – Switzerland – 6.5 · Varga – Hungary – 6.0 |
That’s It.
We will be doing a limited amount of Fantasy Euros 2024 content over the course of the tournament. Check the website or follow us on Reddit to keep up to date.
Otherwise, good luck and I hope you smash your leagues! Unless you’re in a league with me of course.