Euro 2020 Fantasy Football Tips – England
Euro 2020 Fantasy Football Tips by the Hub’s Euros’ expert @CoysFPL.
In this team preview series, Dan reviews all 24 teams participating in Euro 2020 and details their route from qualification, expected lineups, best player picks, under the radar gems and players to avoid.
England are in Euro 2020 Group D with: Croatia, Scotland and Czech Republic.
Find all our other Euro 2020 Team Previews here which will be updated daily as the competition draws closer!
Route from qualification
England won their group very comfortably, winning seven and losing once in their eight qualifying games. They scored 37 goals in their eight games which was the best of all teams in the qualification process.
Furthermore, they only conceded six, which was comfortably in the half of qualified teams’ defensive records. However, England were given a kind draw, underlined by the fact minnows Kosovo finished in third.
Since qualification, England disappointed in the Nations League, only finishing third in a group with Belgium, Denmark and Iceland. They did however, keep three clean sheets.
Since the Nations League campaign, England have switched to a four at-the-back system, inspired by underwhelming performances and the upcoming stream of exciting attacking players. England improved in the World Cup qualifiers, defeating Poland, Albania and San Marino without too much of a struggle.
In my opinion, England come into this major tournament with a much better squad than they did for the World Cup. Unfortunately that brings added pressure that they have not been able to cope with in recent major tournaments. Playing the majority of the games at Wembley will help, and anything less than a semi-final finish will come as a disappointment.
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Euro 2020 England Expected lineup:
Pickford
Walker – Stones – Maguire – Chilwell
Henderson – Rice
Foden – Mount – Sterling
Kane
World Cup hero Jordan Pickford faces a tough task from Dean Henderson to keep him place in-between the sticks, although I think Southgate will favour Pickford for his major tournament experience and ball-distribution expertise.
I expect Kyle Walker to be preferred to Reece James and Kieran Trippier due to Southgate’s safety-first approach. Once again, Walker provides the international experience the other two don’t.
John Stones and Harry Maguire will almost certainly be the centre-half partnership, should Maguire be passed fit after picking up a season-ending injury for Manchester United. I would expect left-footed Tyrone Mings to deputise for Maguire should he not make it back.
The left-back spot is the toughest to call. After a fine season, Luke Shaw was called up to the England side after three years out of the picture. However, Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell is a favourite of Southgate’s and the evidence from the last International Break suggests he might take the spot after playing more minutes. Both are worth avoiding from a fantasy perspective.
Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice should be the partnership in the centre of midfield, but Kalvin Phillips (who is also struggling with an injury) will replace Henderson if he doesn’t recover in time from his long-term injury. Mason Mount is locked into the team just ahead of them.
Youngster Phil Foden looks to have cemented his place in the side after a fine season for Manchester City. Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling should keep his place in the line-up despite a poor domestic season. Sterling’s spot is under huge pressure from Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho.
Captain Harry Kane will undoubtedly lead the line.
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Euro 2020 England Best player picks:
World Cup golden-boot winner Harry Kane is the stand-out pick. He comes into these championships in better form than he did for the World Cup.
He was unbelievable in qualifying, scoring in every game including two hattricks, totalling to 12 goals and five assists in just eight games. There is no doubt he is a prime contender for the Golden Boot again. He will also continue his penalty duties.
Central defenders John Stones and Harry Maguire are the securest ways into the defence, whilst providing some legitimate set-piece threat.
Stones has five goals in all competitions this season and scored twice in the World Cup. Maguire is struggling with an injury but should make it. He has scored twice this international season and scored and assisted in the World Cup.
England have 11 clean sheets in their last 17 matches – a very impressive record. Both are among the best defensive options in the game.
Under the radar players:
Phil Foden gets a share of set-pieces with Mason Mount and Kieran Trippier (should he start). Questions over Trippier’s minutes diminish his prospects as a fantasy option.
On the other hand, Foden looks likely to find a spot in the starting XI. He has proven he can do it in big games, with goals in both legs of the Champions League quarter final, an assist in the semi-final and memorably a goal and two assists in Man City’s key away tie against Liverpool in this seasons’ Premier League.
He has two goals and two assists in his six England caps: a promising record. Meanwhile, Mount has enjoyed a successful season in a Chelsea shirt. He is a more likely starter than Foden and has two goals and an assist in his last four England caps.
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Players to avoid:
I’m not tempted by Raheem Sterling. His club form has been far from his best and that hinders his chance of a starting spot.
He did score nine and assisted nine goals in seven qualifying games, albeit against weak-opposition and when he was in better domestic form. He started seven games in the World Cup, but failed to score.
The goalkeeper battle makes Jordan Pickford a risky option. The risk doesn’t justify the reward for me, given the likes of Stones and Maguire have undeniable goal threat.
As previously mentioned, the left-back minefield between Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell mean neither come into my thinking. It is highly likely that neither will play all three group games.
Kyle Walker doesn’t provide the attacking threat that Maguire and Stones do, and probably won’t play all three group games either.
Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson are not fantasy assets.
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