Welcome to Part 2 of our 3 Part preview of FanTeam’s Euro 2020 Fantasy game following Part 1 published yesterday. In the first part, we discussed Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland and France. For this second part of the series, we will be going over Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, North-Macedonia, Poland, Portugal and Russia and in the third and final part of the series we will cover the remaining countries: Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.
The 2020-21 season was a strange, unique year of football for all clubs in all competitions. That’s why the fact that in most countries, when the final few games of the season were played in front of (limited) crowds for the first time in more than a year they sparked such enormous enthusiasm. Now that the domestic leagues have finished though, football is immediately taking the next big step by organising the postponed 2020 European Championship which will be closely watched by online betting platforms such as Esport in 22bet. The pandemic prevented the tournament from taking place last summer, but this summer in just over a week, from June 11th to July 11th, it’s on.
Of course, as the biggest daily fantasy site in Europe, FanTeam had to get in on the upcoming footballing festivities and they did so in style. Their Euro 2020 Full Tournament offers 87,109 seats and an incredible prize pool of £1,000,000 (Yes, £1million!) with the winner taking home a cool £200,000. Tickets for participation are available at a price of £20 per ticket.
As a participant, the concept is very much similar to the regular FanTeam tournaments, like the Weekly Monsters for the Premier League, for example. Each manager needs to select a squad of 15 players from the countries participating in Euro2020, maximum 3 players from the same country, and they will get a free transfer after each round. An additional transfer will cost -4 points, but managers can also carry a maximum of 1 unused transfer over to the next round, so that they will have two free transfers then. Do check out the Euro 2020- Full Tournament for all details regarding the rules.
For the FanTeam Weekly Monster regulars, the FanTeam scoring system has undergone the following adjustments:
| What changed? | Why? |
| Players points for a win reduced from +1 to +0.3 and players points for a defeat increased from -1 to -0.3. | To reduce the impact of a team’s performance and put more focus on the selected player, making more players desirable (especially in formats with few fixtures). |
| Players will be rewarded for a shot on target: +0.4 for a forward or midfielder, +0.6 for a defender, and 1 for a goalkeeper. | To reward attacking play, while reducing the amount of ties in our tournaments. A “shot on target” is simply a shot that’s going in, but is stopped by the last line of defence. This could be a goalkeeper, an opposing player ‘on the line’, or even your own teammate if they’re goal hanging. Points for a shot on target are not awarded when a goal is scored from the shot, either if the player is the scorer or is awarded the assist. |
For the managers brave enough for the FanTeam ride during the upcoming European Championship, we have created a complete tournament guide. Consisting of three parts, we will take a look at each of the 24 participating countries and highlight two players of their squad who could, for more or less obvious reasons, be valuable additions to any FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament squad. As we said in the intro, in the first part, we discussed Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland and France. For this second part of the series, we will be going over Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, North-Macedonia, Poland, Portugal and Russia.
GERMANY
| Date | Opponent |
| June 15 | France |
| June 19 | Portugal |
| June 23 | Hungary |
The 2014 World Champions are once again one of the favourites for the title this year, especially now that coach Joachim Löw decided to recall two very experienced players after not counting on them for over two years. Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller (8.5M) are both expected to form important cogs of Germany’s formation and we believe the latter can have some serious fantasy value on FanTeam as well. Competition is fierce up front for the Germans, but Müller has shown time and time again over the past years that there are few players around with a keener eye for the target than him, whether it be in the form of a goal or an assist.
The major advantages of picking the rather expensive Joshua Kimmich (8.0M) are that he is as nailed-on as they come for a title contender, not afraid to try and force something in attack, and a very regular set-piece taker for the national team. The 26-year old midfielder/right-back once again had a good season for his side Bayern Munich with 14 assists and 6 goals from 39 games in all competitions. If the consistent Kimmich can carry this form into the Euros, he could be an interesting addition to any FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament game.
HUNGARY
| Date | Opponent |
| June 15 | Portugal |
| June 19 | France |
| June 23 | Germany |
In a qualification group with Azerbaijan, Croatia, Slovakia and Wales, Hungary finished fourth, but they managed to clinch a Euro 2020 spot by clinching a place in the tournament play-offs, in which Iceland were denied in dramatic last-minute fashion. The Hungarians are one of the big underdogs this summer and as a result, their squad boasts some budget/differential value. As a matter of fact, every Hungary player on FanTeam is priced at 4.5M. In a group with France, Germany and Portugal though, the Magyars will be up against some of strongest opposition possible.
Having said that, we did pick two players who could be outfield selections for your squad. Hungary are not expected to claim any clean sheets in the group stage, but there could be save points on the table for their goalkeeper, especially knowing that Peter Gulasci (4.5M) is their man between the sticks. The giant RB Leipzig goalie is undisputed as his country’s #1 and could be a decent choice as second keeper for your squad. At the other end of pitch, the same pretty much goes for Adam Szalai (4.5M). The 33-year Mainz man has not had the best of seasons, but he is always important for his country. Just over the last international break, he scored in back-to-back games against Poland and San Marino to bring him to 23 goals in 70 games for Hungary. At his price, he could be good bench material and should play all 3 group games (whereas some star players could be rested for their final group match).
ITALY
| Date | Opponent |
| June 11 | Turkey |
| June 16 | Switzerland |
| June 20 | Wales |
The Azzuri qualified for Euro 2020 with relative ease, winning all of their ten qualifiers with only Belgium scoring more than their 37 goals. Italy can be considered a bit of a dark horse for this summer and one of the men in the spotlights will undeniably be Lorenzo Insigne (8.0M). In the Italian offensive line, he is probably the most nailed-on option, which can be even more valuable when you remember that the Napoli man is registered as a midfielder on FanTeam. Combine that with a favourable group and it becomes hard to ignore Insigne.
With our second fantasy pick from Italy, we are staying on their left flank with Leonardo Spinazzola (5.5M). The AS Roma left-back played 39 games this season (2 goals, 8 assists) and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, practically all of it as a starter for his team. Group A looks like a low-scoring one, so a tireless, very forward-thinking full-back from the group’s favourite for the victory sounds like a shrewd choice. His price tag is not the lightest, but we think he could definitely be worth it.
THE NETHERLANDS
| Date | Opponent |
| June 13 | Ukraine |
| June 17 | Austria |
| June 21 | North-Macedonia |
After an embarrassing absence at two consecutive major tournaments, the Dutch are back for Euro 2020 and ready to announce themselves. Though serious doubt surrounds the appointment of Frank de Boer as national team coach, the Holland squad does boast a lot of world-class talent. Stand-out fantasy pick for us Memphis Depay (8.5M), who is their most expensive player on FanTeam, but also their central man in attack. The striker is classified as a midfielder on FanTeam, which only adds to his appeal, as he is a nailed-on starter either as number nine or on the wing. The Netherlands are expected to win their group and Depay is supposed to be one of the players leading that effort.
The second Dutchman we’re recommending to put on your watchlists is Steven Berghuis (6.5M). The Feyenoord talisman with the velvet left foot is De Boer’s first choice on the right side, where he gets the freedom to cut inside and have a go at goal quite often. The combination of his very acceptable price tag and the seemingly favourable group stage fixtures has us thinking that Berghuis has the potential to become one of the major differential picks for the FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament.
NORTH-MACEDONIA
| Date | Opponent |
| June 13 | Austria |
| June 17 | Ukraine |
| June 21 | The Netherlands |
In Part 1 of this series, we mentioned that Finland were one of two teams making their debut at a major international tournament. Well, North-Macedonia is the other. In a qualification group with Austria, Israel, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia, the Red Lynxes finished third (behind Austria and Poland), but they managed to clinch their first ever European Championship participation via the play-offs and their Nations League performances, overcoming Kosovo and Georgia in the process.
In terms of interesting players for FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament squads, there is no way around Goran Pandev (4.5M). At 37 years old, the striker currently playing for Serie A side Genoa, is still going very strong for his country and he can now prepare himself for a European Championship in the autumn of his career. The former Lazio Roma and Inter Milano man is a living football legend in his country, which makes sense considering he is both the national team’s top scorer and the most-capped North-Macedonian player of all time. At 4.5M and with relatively favourable opposition coming up, the old fox Pandev might be worth a punt. Another North-Macedonia FanTeam asset worth considering is Leeds left-back Ezgjan Alioski (4.5M). We don’t expect him to record a clean sheet in the group, but his constant bombing forward might just result in an attacking return. Over the past three years, he scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists for his club, while he already has 7 goals and 12 assists from 42 games for his country.
POLAND
| Date | Opponent |
| June 14 | Slovakia |
| June 19 | Spain |
| June 23 | Sweden |
For many years, when you think of the Polish football team, you think of Robert Lewandowski (9.0M). The Bayern Munch striker is probably the best Polish footballer ever, which really is saying something considering the country’s long and rich footballing history, but the numbers speak for themselves. For Bayern, he has scored 294 goals and given 65 assists in 329 games, while he has 66 goals and 23 assists from 118 games for Poland to his name. At 9.0M, and with Slovakia and Sweden in the group, we’re not sure you can omit Lewandowski from your team.
Poland are a team that aims to lean on its attack on its way to success, which is why we have opted for Piotr Zielinski (5.0M) as our second Polish fantasy pick. The Napoli midfielder, who played 47 games (10 goals, 13 assists) for the Italian side this season, is largely responsible for feeding cute balls to the men in front of him. Though Poland are not expected to walk over any of their opponents in this group, qualification for the knock-out stages looks like a more than realistic goal, which means that Zielinski could make a mockery of his price in the first games of the tournament.
PORTUGAL
| Date | Opponent |
| June 15 | Hungary |
| June 19 | Germany |
| June 23 | France |
We just wrote that it’s impossible getting around Lewandowski when talking about Poland, so what about Portugal then? The defending European champions drew a difficult group, but everything is possible when you have Cristiano Ronaldo (10.0M). The Juventus superstar is now 36 years old, but there is no way he’s going to slow down now. He is Portugal’s all-time top scorer, all-time most-capped player and their current captain, and despite the strength of their group for the upcoming Euros, we dare say that 10.0M could very well turn out a bit of a bargain.
Those fantasy managers looking for a decent set-and-forget goalkeeper should probably put Portugal shot stopper Anthony Lopes (5.5M) on their scouting lists as well. The Lyon number one is currently preferred over Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio by national team coach Fernando Santos and could represent good value despite the difficulty of Portugal’s group. Lopes leads a pretty sturdy defensive set-up of a team where attacking-wise, everything runs through Ronaldo, which is why a defensive Portuguese pick could be a good idea. In that case, Lopes looks like a dependable choice that doesn’t ruin your budget plans.
RUSSIA
| Date | Opponent |
| June 12 | Belgium |
| June 16 | Finland |
| June 21 | Denmark |
Despite not being the strongest Russian roster in recent years, there is some good value to be found among Russian fantasy assets, especially when looking at the group. On a good day, Russia can put each of these teams to the test, though Belgium did outclass them twice in the qualification group stage. In any case, the stand-out option in terms of Russian fantasy assets is probably striker Artem Dzyuba (5.5M). He is involved in practically any attacking Russian move, which largely explains how he got to 29 goals and 15 assists in 51 games. That’s quite an average and at his price on FanTeam, he could represent extraordinary differential value.
Attacking midfielder Aleksandr Golovin (6.0M) is another key man for the Russian national eleven. The AS Monaco man played 21 games for the French side this season, and managed to make a mark by scoring 6 times and providing 9 decisive passes. For Russia, the 25-year old currently sits on 37 caps (5 goals, 12 assists), and 2 of those goals and 7 of those assists were recorded during the qualifying phase for Euro 2020. Golovin is one of the team’s major creative outlets and his regular set-piece duties add to his appeal as a differential, budget-friendly pick.
Join the discussion on FanTeam’s Euro 2020 Fantasy Game on this fiso forum topic.