Next up in our Euro 2024 Fantasy team previews is the nation that, if you believe the flag-waving bookies, are the favourites to triumph this summer: England.
The Three Lions reached the final of the last UEFA European Championship, losing to Italy on penalties.
They’ve also progressed to the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the last two World Cups.
This is the latest in a series of country-by-country guides in which we look at the best players from each nation, take a stab at predicted line-ups, review the road to Germany and more.
We’ve been asking fans from each nation to help us along the way but with the in-house editorial staff (mostly) followers of Gareth Southgate’s side, we’re doing the honours ourselves here.
All prices given are from the official Fantasy Euro 2024 game.
THE ROAD TO QUALIFICATION
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 4 | +18 | 20 |
| 2 | Italy | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 9 | +7 | 14 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 14 |
| 4 | North Macedonia | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 20 | −10 | 8 |
| 5 | Malta | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 20 | −18 | 0 |
England have been drama-free in major tournament qualifying ever since they failed to make it to Euro 2008.
Their place at this summer’s European Championship looked assured from an early stage. The Three Lions’ qualifying campaign began with victories over Italy in Naples and Ukraine on home soil, the two likeliest threats to their progression.
The first half against Italy in particular represented one of the highs of the Southgate reign, 45 minutes of control and a two-nil advantage that ought to have been greater.
Routine hammerings of Malta and North Macedonia preceded a one-all draw with Ukraine, where the criticism of that drab display against the wartorn country was as over the top as the jingoistic optimism for Euro 2024.
All was forgotten in the very next match. A Jude Bellingham (€9.5m) masterclass, perhaps his finest display in an England shirt, inspired Southgate’s troops to a 3-1 win over Italy. That assured qualification with two games to spare.
Only France and Portugal conceded fewer goals than England (four) during qualifying, with just three countries bettering the Three Lions’ 22 goals scored.
QUALIFICATION IN NUMBERS
- Most starts: Harry Maguire, Jordan Pickford (8), Harry Kane, Declan Rice (7)
- Most goals: Harry Kane (8), Bukayo Saka (4)
- Most assists: Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson, Bukayo Saka (2)
- Clean sheets: 4 from 8
RECORD SINCE QUALIFYING
| Date | Competition | Opposition | Result | Score | Goalscorers | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March | Friendly | Brazil (h) | L | 0-1 | ||
| 26 March | Friendly | Belgium (h) | D | 2-2 | Toney (pen), Bellingham | Maddison |
| 3 June | Friendly | Bosnia and Herzegovina (h) | W | 3-0 | Palmer (pen), Alexander-Arnold, Kane | Konsa, Grealish |
As was to be expected in the penultimate round of pre-tournament friendlies, there was some experimentation in the March kickabouts.
The likes of Ben Chilwell (€5.0m), Lewis Dunk (€4.0m), Jarrod Bowen (€7.0m), Ivan Toney (€6.5m), Ezri Konsa (€4.5m), Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins (€7.5m) were given chances to impress, not that a) these were completely second-string sides and b) Brazil and Belgium weren’t doing something similar.
A late Bellingham goal against The Red Devils spared the ignominy of back-to-back home defeats. The results are mostly immaterial, of course, but the familiar failings in defence – more of which below – were more of a concern.
The XI sent out against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday very much did look like a reserve side. Maybe only two of that starting line-up will be facing Serbia on June 16.
MOST RECENT INTERNATIONAL LINE-UPS
23/03/2024 – Brazil (h)
(4-2-3-1): Pickford; Walker (Konsa 20), Stones, Maguire (Dunk 67), Chilwell (Gomez 67); Rice, Gallagher (Mainoo 75); Foden, Bellingham (Bowen 67), Gordon (Rashford 75); Watkins.
26/03/2024 – Belgium (h)
(4-2-3-1): Pickford; Konsa, Stones (Gomez 10), Dunk, Chilwell; Rice, Mainoo (Maddison 74); Bowen (Gordon 80), Bellingham, Foden; Toney (Watkins 80).
03/06/2024 – Bosnia and Herzegovina (h)
(4-2-3-1): Pickford; Konsa, Dunk (Gomez 73), Guehi (Branthwaite 62), Trippier (Wharton 62); Alexander-Arnold, Gallagher; Bowen, Palmer (Maddison 62), Eze (Grealish 62); Watkins (Kane 62).
UPCOMING FRIENDLIES
| Date | Competition | Opposition |
|---|---|---|
| 7 June | Friendly | Iceland (h) |
GROUP FIXTURES
- 16 June: Serbia
- 20 June: Denmark
- 25 June: Slovenia
HOW FAR WILL THEY GET?
The quarter-finals should be the absolute bare minimum for England, given the relatively favourable draw. Should all go swimmingly in the group stage, an eminently beatable side like Romania, Austria or Poland will await in the round of 16.
Thereafter, it gets tricky. How streetwise and tournament-savvy is this promising young side? Has Southgate learned from the near-misses of the last six years? Or will England again capitulate as soon as they cross paths with a team as well-fancied as they are?
Italy or Croatia may provide the opposition in the quarters. It’d be France, if everything plays out as the bookies expect, in the semis. These are the countries who have brought England’s run to an end in the last three tournaments. Time for a redemptive arc… or to be found wanting yet again.
STRENGTHS
You don’t need to be a chest-thumping patriot to acknowledge the array of attacking midfield talent that Southgate has at his disposal. Many of them are coming into the tournament off the back of excellent seasons, too.
Bellingham has just secured a league and Champions League double off the back of a sensational year with Real Madrid. Phil Foden (€9.0m) scooped the Premier League’s Player of the Season award en route to another title with Manchester City. Bukayo Saka (€8.5m), Gordon and Cole Palmer (€7.5m) contributed a combined 90 attacking returns in FPL this season, the latter finishing as the top points scorer in the game.
Spearheading the frontline is one of the few world-class strikers who will be strutting their stuff in Germany, Golden Boot co-favourite Harry Kane (€11.0m).
For all the question marks that we’re about to address about the defence, the Three Lions have also proven adept at shutting out the also-rans. There were five successive clean sheets at the beginning of Euro 2020, three in four to begin the 2022 World Cup.
Set pieces have been a forte under Southgate. Five of England’s last six goals, indeed, have come from dead-ball situations or penalties (as of June 4).
WEAKNESSES
Against the real top-level teams, England’s backline can sometimes leave a lot to be desired. You’d be hard-pushed to describe any of the rearguard as elite, save for maybe Kyle Walker (€5.5m) and, when he’s fully fit, John Stones (€5.0m).
The matches against Brazil and Belgium highlighted the cracks at the back, as well as the lack of strength in depth.
The concern ahead of the Euros is as much about fitness than ability. Harry Maguire (€5.0m) and Luke Shaw (€5.0m) missed the end of Manchester United’s season, while Stones barely featured in Manchester City’s run-in and didn’t convince when he did.
Those three and Walker, who Southgate would ideally like to use in unison, haven’t been part of the same starting XI for almost a year.
A midfield partner for Declan Rice (€6.5m) is also proving hard to find. Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips are now off the radar. Trent Alexander-Arnold (€5.5m) was trialled there against Bosnia and Herzegovina, to some effect, although it’s not his natural position. If the idea is to partly free Rice up, like Thomas Partey does at Arsenal, then neither he nor Conor Gallagher (€6.5m) or the exciting Kobbie Mainoo (€5.5m) really fit the bill as anchors. The highly rated duo of Mainoo and Adam Wharton also have just three caps between them, so we’re asking a lot of these rookies in Germany.
BEST EURO 2024 FANTASY PLAYERS: ENGLAND
STAY TUNED FOR MORE EURO 2024 COVERAGE!
A reminder that we’ll be covering the European Championship in great detail this summer.
Part of that coverage will be the usual team-by-team guides on all competing 24 nations in Euro 2024.
But we’ll also have team reveals, strategy guides and much more. The official UEFA Fantasy game will be the main game we’re covering, which you read about below:
There’ll also be £500+ worth of prizes if you join our mini-league! Click the below to sign up:
If you want to be part of our coverage and are a fan of one of the countries competing, do get involved via the below:
