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Fantasy picks
Italy vs Austria: Italy took the field against the Austrians competing for a chance at European glory, but this game was not as eventful as their previous encounter of this magnitude. This game did not present any of Italy’s fantasy assets in glowing terms, with Insigne (19% ownership), Immobile (30%), and Berardi (15%) mustering up only 2 shots on target and none from inside the box between them.
With a matchup against Belgium or Portugal to come, their defensive options don’t look too appealing either. However it is worth taking a punt on Domenico Berardi with his bargain price making him all the more appealing. He can be a differential captain pick in the quarter-finals with the option to switch elsewhere if he don’t deliver.
Wales vs Denmark: The much more enticing encounter of the two, Denmark’s thrashing of Wales provided Managers with a new player to look out for. Kasper Dolberg stole the show with brace as he came in for the injured Youssuf Poulsen. He is still at 0% ownership but you can expect that to rise quite steadily.
Fantasy-wise Joakim Mæhle (10% ownership) was the top point getter of the day with his 12 points. Denmark go into the next round against one of Netherlands or Czech Republic in great goal scoring form, and as they ride this tidal wave of optimism Dolberg (7.0m) and Mæhle(4.7m) can be expected to be great picks given their low ownership and cheap price.
Social Media Moments of the day
It was another good day for the record books as Italy set a new world record, by going over 1,144 minutes without conceding a goal. A small consolation for a rather drab encounter.
Denmark also etched their names in the record book becoming the first side to score 4 or more goals in consecutive games at the European Championships.
This was also Denmark’s first win in the Knockout stages of the Euros since their win against Germany in the finals of Euro ’92
Player of the day
Need we look further than Kasper Dolberg. He came in for the injured Yussuf Poulsen and made sure his absence was never felt. Scoring 2 brilliant goals, including and eye-catching rocket from 25 yards out. Dolberg was one of the highly touted talents, making his breakthrough on the big stage during Ajax’s run to the Europa League Final in 2017. He is a very crafty striker and ran riot against Wales.
Tactics corner
Wales looked very good for the 14 minutes of the game. Gareth Bale was consistently finding driving lanes that directly lead to some good opportunities for Wales. But as if by magic, their superiority in those areas vanished after the 15-minute marks. Unsurprisingly, this wasn’t magic but a very subtle tactical change from Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand. Denmark moved Andreas Christensen into midfield and switched to a back 4. Bale’s influence early in the game was largely down to the dilemma faced by the the Danish centre-backs, Janik Vestergaard in particular.
He was often caught between a rock and a hard place, having to choose between ceding the ground behind him to move up the pitch and mark Bale allowing Ramsey to make his trademark runs, or dropping off and allowing Bale plenty of space to operate in. Christensen has the characteristics on the ball to play in midfield and when moved further up the pitch his impact was rather immediate. His presence in that space blocked off the space that Bale had. These types of changes are very rare mid-game let alone in a game of this magnitude. This subtle masterstroke by Hjulmand was one of the big reasons for such a dominant Danish display.
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