It may have only been a few weeks since the end of a gruelling Fantasy Premier League season, but it’s already time for football fans to put their manager hats back on.
Whether you got pummelled in your FPL mini-leagues or basked in the glory of champion status, attention now turns to fantasy football for Euro 2024 this summer. With the tournament kicking off on 14 June, time is running out to finalise your team.
Of course, much like FPL, the tournament’s biggest stars will reside in the majority of teams, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo likely to be among the most popular choices. However, things work a little differently in Euro 2024 fantasy football, with tactical changes required for managers across the globe.
Here is your guide to Euro 2024 fantasy football.
Much like the Premier League launches its own official fantasy football game, UEFA have done the same for Euro 2024. This will be where the bulk of players flock to ahead of the tournament, with UEFA having done similar for previous European Championships.
Fantasy football is accessible on the official UEFA website via the ‘Gaming’ tab, but it’s also available on the Euro 2024 app.
Euro 2024 fantasy football has similarities with FPL, with managers selecting a team of 15 players – two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielder and three forwards. An initial budget of €100m is handed out, but this figure rises to €105m after the group stage.
Initially, only three players can be selected from the same nation, but this increases as the tournament progresses, eventually reaching up to eight players from one country by the final.
However, elsewhere there are greater similarities with UEFA Champions League fantasy football than FPL. For example, managers are able to change captains and make substitutions during a matchday, giving them greater flexibility to react to team news and poor performances. Managers can swap their captain – who scores double points – to another player yet to play, while four substitutions can be made throughout the matchday.
Scoring is similar in terms of key categories, with goals earning defenders six points, five for midfielders and four for forwards. However, players also get points for a range of other actions, including ball recoveries and goals outside the area.
The full list of rules is available on the UEFA website.
Having now secured his long-awaited switch to Real Madrid, Mbappe is likely to be a favourite among managers. The Frenchman costs €11m, the most expensive player in the game alongside England captain Harry Kane.
Ronaldo is next up in terms of price at €10m for Portugal, while the likes of Robert Lewandowski (€9.5m), Romelu Lukaku (€9m) and Antoine Griezmann (€9m) are not far behind. Kai Havertz and Cody Gakpo could be better value picks at €7.5m up top, while Spain’s Lamine Yamal is currently a popular option at just €6.5m.
In midfield, Kevin De Bruyne and Jude Bellingham are the standout picks for Belgium and England respectively at €9.5m, while Bruno Fernandes and Phil Foden are extremely popular shouts at €9m. Florian Wirtz is one of the top owned players for hosts Germany, especially with a surprisingly low price tag of just €7.5m.
No defender comes in at more than €6m, with Virgil van Dijk, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Kieran Trippier all available for that price. After a brilliant season with Arsenal, William Saliba will be popular at €5.5m, with the Bayer Leverkusen wing-back duo of Jeremie Frimpong (€5.5m) and Alejandro Grimaldo (€5.0) also finding themselves in a large portion of teams.
Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Donnarumma are the two most expensive goalkeepers at €6m, the latter not a particularly encouraging option given he faces Croatia and Spain in the group stages. Jordan Pickford sits at just €5m, behind the likes of Mike Maignan and Unai Simon at €5.5m.
Managers will have to be a lot more hands-on in their approach to Euro 2024 fantasy football, making changes throughout the matchday as opposed to simply setting and forgetting. Selecting players who play earlier in a matchday for your initial starting XI makes sense given you are able to substitute them with your bench players who are yet to play should they blank.
The group stage is a crucial time for fantasy managers too, offering you a chance to profit from some big mismatches. For example, going big on Portugal is smart given they face Czech Republic, Turkey and debutants Georgia in their opening three matches, while Spain, Croatia and Italy players will have difficult games against one another in Group B.
There are chips to take advantage of too, including a wildcard and limitless boost. The wildcard allows you to change your entire team without taking any points hits, while limitless acts similar to a free hit and allows you to alter your squad for a single matchday. However, limitless also gives you an unlimited budget, which could offer a massive advantage to managers.
READ THE LATEST EURO 2024 NEWS, PREVIEWS & PLAYER RATINGS
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
90 Mins
