With daily captaincy changes allowed in the official Euro 2024 Fantasy game, selecting a skipper will be key to success.
Below we’ve put together a guide to the group stage calendar so you can see who the best armband candidates are every day.
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GROUP STAGE CALENDAR
| Date | Matchday | Fixtures to target |
|---|---|---|
| June 14 | 1 | Germany v Scotland |
| June 15 | 1 | Italy v Albania, Hungary v Switzerland |
| June 16 | 1 | England v Serbia, Netherlands v Poland |
| June 17 | 1 | France v Austria, Belgium v Slovakia |
| June 18 | 1 | Portugal v Czechia |
| June 19 | 2 | Germany v Hungary, Croatia v Albania |
| June 20 | 2 | England v Denmark |
| June 21 | 2 | France v Netherlands |
| June 22 | 2 | Portugal v Turkey, Belgium v Romania |
| June 23 | 3 | Germany v Switzerland |
| June 24 | 3 | Spain v Albania |
| June 25 | 3 | France v Poland, England v Slovenia |
| June 26 | 3 | Portugal v Georgia |
DAY-BY-DAY CAPTAINCY PICKS: MATCHDAY 1
JUNE 14
There’s only one match taking place on the opening day of Euro 2024: Germany v Scotland.
Kai Havertz (€7.5m) will spearhead Germany’s attack so could be a possible shout for the first captaincy. He has started all four of Die Mannschaft’s friendlies in 2024, scoring against France and Greece.
Behind false nine Havertz, Julian Nagelsmann will employ twin 10s: Jamal Musiala (€8.5m) and Florian Wirtz (€7.5m).
Musiala was limited to just 24 Bundesliga appearances in 2023/24 but chipped in with 10 league goals and six assists for Bayern Munich. He’s also made an impact at international level, coming away from the March friendlies against France and the Netherlands with a brace of assists to his name.
As for Wirtz, he is a creative force for Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen. Although he has scored just one goal in 18 appearances for Germany, he’s a special player and enters Euro 2024 as one of football’s most exciting young talents.
Ilkay Gundogan (€7.0m) will have his suitors for the armband, too, with penalties in his locker.
For those not interested in Germany’s attack, try Maximilian Mittelstadt (€4.0m). He has just four senior caps to his name but is expected to start at left-back after a decent season with VfB Stuttgart. The 27-year-old scored a brilliant goal against the Netherlands in March and with his attacking style, racked up five key passes in the recent friendly with Ukraine.
JUNE 15
There’s no stand-out player to captain on Saturday.
The Italy v Albania fixture immediately catches the eye, but the Azzurri don’t have a talisman, so there isn’t an obvious pick.
Federico Chiesa (€7.5m) has suffered from injury issues for much of the last two years, limiting him to just two qualifying starts. However, he racked up 10 shots across those fixtures and tends to step up for Italy, having played a key role in their Euro 2020 triumph.
With his attacking potential, Federico Dimarco (€5.0m) is also worth a look. During qualifying, the Inter Milan wing-back provided just one assist, but there were some strong underlying numbers: a minutes-per-shot average of 53.1 was one of the best posted by a defender. You wouldn’t be surprised to see a clean sheet for Italy, either.
Question marks over Nicolo Barella’s (€7.0m) fitness probably make him a no-go at the time of writing, however.
Hungary’s Matchday 1 opponents Switzerland are usually tough to beat, but star man Dominik Szoboszlai (€7.0m) has plenty of freedom to roam in Marco Rossi’s 3-4-2-1 formation. He also takes penalties, free-kicks and corners.
JUNE 16
England’s clash with Serbia is the headline act on Sunday.
Harry Kane (€11.0m) scored or assisted in all seven of his qualifying starts, which coincided with a stellar first campaign at Bayern Munich.
The Three Lions admittedly aren’t in great shape right now, with only one win from their last five matches, but Gareth Southgate’s squad is packed full of attacking talent, so Kane should be able to build some early momentum.
Like England, Serbia also have issues at the back. They managed just two clean sheets in their eight qualifiers, and have now registered just five in 25 competitive games under Dragan Stojkovic.
Netherlands v Poland is the other real standout fixture of Sunday’s schedule, with Memphis Depay (€7.5m), Virgil van Dijk (€6.0m) and Denzel Dumfries (€5.5m) the obvious armband candidates from the Dutch.
A defensive pick might be the way to go, with Poland talisman Robert Lewandowski (€9.5m) set to miss out because of a thigh injury.
JUNE 17
It’ll be all about Kylian Mbappe (€11.0m) for the majority of Fantasy managers on Monday, with France naturally one of the favourites to win Euro 2024.
Ralf Rangnick has greatly improved the fortunes of the Austrian national team, but Mbappe looks primed for another headline-grabbing tournament, having plundered nine goals and seven assists in qualifying.
While Mbappe will have his suitors for the armband on Monday, there’ll be plenty of interest in Romelu Lukaku (€9.0m) too.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United forward was the top scorer in Euro 2024 qualifying, having found the net 14 times. It meant his rate of 39.0 minutes per goal far exceeded Ronaldo (72.2), Mbappe (73.6) and Kane (76.6).
Slovakia have a solid spine but are unlikely to put up too much of a challenge for Belgium, so playmaker Kevin De Bruyne (€9.5m) could also come into contention.
JUNE 18
Players from Portugal are the standout options here, with Cristiano Ronaldo (€10.0m) and Bruno Fernandes (€9.0m) firmly in the mix.
Roberto Martinez’s side comfortably scored the most goals in qualifying (36) and should have too much firepower for Czechia.
Ronaldo netted 10 goals in nine qualifying appearances, whilst ranking top for goal attempts (46), shots in the box (33), big chances (15) and efforts on target (19). A further two goals were added on Tuesday, further boosting his appeal.
As for Fernandes, he scored six goals and produced seven assists in qualifying. He also created more chances and big chances (37 and 11) than any other player and should be good for ball recoveries, too, as we discussed in a recent article.
DAY-BY-DAY CAPTAINCY PICKS: MATCHDAYS 2/3
Matchday 2 runs across four days, from Wednesday 19 June to Saturday 22 June.
Similar names will no doubt crop up in our discussion, so we’ll instead take a briefer look at the most eye-catching fixtures and captains.
It’s also worth noting that qualification could be sealed for several nations by Matchday 3, so many of the go-to captains from previous rounds could be subject to rotation.
JUNE 19
- Germany v Hungary (Musiala, Gundogan, Wirtz, Havertz)
- Croatia v Albania (Modric)
JUNE 20
JUNE 21
- France v Netherlands (Mbappe)
JUNE 22
- Portugal v Czechia (Ronaldo, Fernandes)
- Belgium v Romania (Lukaku, De Bruyne)
JUNE 23
- Germany v Switzerland (Musiala, Gundogan, Wirtz, Havertz)
JUNE 24
JUNE 25
- France v Poland (Mbappe)
- England v Slovenia (Kane)
JUNE 26
- Portugal v Georgia (Ronaldo, Fernandes)