France and Spain set up a meeting in the European Championship semi-finals with wins on Friday.
We’ve got the key Euro 2024 Fantasy notes from both of the day’s tense quarter-final ties here.
PEDRI INJURY LATEST
Pedri (€6.9m) looks set to miss the rest of Euro 2024 after sustaining a knee injury in Friday’s game.
Speculation had been rife in the lead-up to the match in Stuttgart that he would be replaced by Dani Olmo (€7.5m) in La Roja’s starting XI. While that didn’t happen, it was a substitution that had to be made anyway after just eight minutes.
Robustly tackled by the now-retired Toni Kroos (€6.5m), Pedri tried to shake off the blow to his knee before admitting defeat and hobbling off. While the timeline of recovery hasn’t officially been confirmed, it looks unlikely that he’ll be seen again in Germany.
Pedri’s expected absence looks set to hand Olmo a start in Matchday 6.
Sweeping Spain into a lead, the attacking midfielder went on to supply the cross for Mikel Merino‘s (€6.0m) late winner.
Olmo has looked a threat in whatever minutes he has been afforded. Despite the limited game-time, he’s now Spain’s top shot-taker in Germany:
Owned by just 3% of Fantasy managers, he’ll no doubt see a spike in interest in Matchday 6.
Elsewhere, Fabian Ruiz (€6.5m) was also struggling when being substituted in extra time. We’ve not heard anything more about him since but it looked more in the cramp/knock envelope at the time.
TWO BANNED – BUT MORATA NOT ONE OF THEM
Spain will also be without Dani Carvajal (€5.5m) and Robin Le Normand (€4.5m) for their meeting with France next week.
Both players picked up their second bookings of the tournament at the final hurdle; yellow cards are reset after the quarter-final stage. Carvajal actually went on to get sent off for two bookable offences but the end result is the same: a one-match ban.
It had looked like Alvaro Morata (€8.5m) had joined them on the sidelines. Originally marked down as being booked, UEFA later clarified that the caution in question was handed to someone else.
That would have been Morata’s second yellow of the Euros. As it is, he’s free to face Les Bleus.
It was another underwhelming evening for the striker, who blazed his one good chance over. It certainly hasn’t been a tournament for big-name forwards.
Luis de la Fuente again shuffled his pack during the game. This time, it was Lamine Yamal‘s (€6.5m) turn to get the hook on the hour mark.
Ruiz and the excellent Rodri (€6.5m) are clearly the men for the xMins. The Manchester City man lasted the full two hours here, making a remarkable 14 ball recoveries in the process. Were it not for a 110th-minute booking and Olmo’s second attacking return late on, he may well have been heading for yet another Player of the Match award.
Spain conceded their first Euro 2024 goal to an opposition player when Florian Wirtz (€7.5m) sent the game to extra-time. This was the first fixture of the tournament in which de la Fuente’s side looked fallable, with little betwen the two sides. Their toughest match of the Euros may now be out of the way, however. A tedious France are next, followed by whoever emerges from the weaker half of the draw.
MBAPPE WITHDRAWAL EXPLAINED
Withdrawing one of your main penalty-takers 15 minutes before a looming shoot-out looked like an odd move from Didier Deschamps.
Kylian Mbappe‘s (€11.0m) removal ultimately didn’t cost France, who defeated Portugal 5-3 on spot-kicks.
Deschamps also reasoned that his hand had been forced.
“He’s tired, obviously. Muscularly, it’s not easy with everything he’s had. I saw him struggling during the first half of extra-time. It was no use.
“Kylian has always been honest with me and the group, it was normal to bring in new blood.” – Didier Deschamps on Kylian Mbappe
Already struggling with the protective mask, Mbappe endured more nasal nuisance when he was clobbered with the ball.
He’s another big-name striker out of form in Germany, although it’s not for the want of trying: he had another five shots here, taking him to 20 to the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo (€9.9m) and Antoine Griezmann (€9.0m) were arguably worse here, too.
Ousmane Dembele (€8.0m) got the Player of the Match award for a lively cameo but goalscoring is an ongoing problem for Les Bleus. Two own-goals and an Mbappe penalty are all they’ve mustered so far.
Deschamps brought Randal Kolo Muani (€7.8m) into the attack here but, altough he and Eduardo Camavinga (€5.8m) missed good chances, there was again a real shortage of attacking flair.
It’s much better at the other end of the pitch. That’s now four clean sheets in five, their only goal concession being a penalty against Poland. Jules Kounde (€5.0m) was once again the leading man for ball recoveries, making nine of them.
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