EURO 2024 FANTASY: SPAIN – KEY PLAYERS, GOALSCORERS AND HIDDEN GEMS
After having a tough start in their group, Spain managed to qualify for EURO 2024 and will be aiming to make themselves undisputed champions with what could be their fourth European Championship, the most a country has ever won.
With a young and talented squad (and an all-french backline) Spain has a great opportunity to be crowned champions the 14th of July in Berlin, especially after being the current holders of the UEFA Nations League, but as we don’t know what will happen, we can just predict.
SPAIN’S ROUTE TO EURO 2024
A MISERABLE START THAT TURNED OUT WELL
Although Spain was able to qualify as leaders of their group, that wasn’t the case for most of the qualifiers. It all started well for the Spaniards who had to face world-class striker Erling Haaland and Norway in the first match. There, unexpected hero, Joselu, on his debut, scored a brace to give Spain three points.
But the happiness didn’t last too long as the visit to Hampden Park and the match against Scotland turned out to be a nightmare. In a match where Spain wasn’t able to do anything offensively, two goals from Manchester United’s Scott McTominay gave the Scottish a shocking three points.
After the match against Scotland, Spain lifted the UEFA Nations League after beating Croatia on penalties in the final, they also beat Italy in the semifinals thanks to a late winner by Joselu. Consequently, both teams are playing Spain in the group stage of this year’s EURO.
Returning to qualifying action, big victories against Georgia and Cyprus (7-1 and 6-0 respectively) gave Spain hope that they could lead the group, and so they did as the 12th of October (Spanish heritage day) of 2023, Scotland was beaten and the ticket to Germany was secured.
QUALIFIERS STATS: GOALSCORERS, THREATS AND DEFENSIVE WALLS
Spain’s qualifying campaign had a diversity of players from squad to squad, meaning that the team varied consistently and there wasn’t a player that stood out offensively amongst others.
When it comes to goals, out of the 23 goals scored by Spain all 23 were scored inside the box (showing their attacking style of slowly building opportunities and securing shots), with the top-goal scorer being shared by two different players: Joselu and Morata, both with 4 goals.
But Spain’s offensive danger comes from their wingers as Nico Williams was the player with the most assists during the qualifiers (for Spain) whilst also creating quality chances for his teammates, same happens with Barça’s Lamine Yamal who, although not playing much, showed how much of a threat he is.
Defensively, Spain is lucky to have one of the most in-form midfielders on the planet, Rodri. The Manchester City player is the backbone of the Spanish National Team, helping with construction from the back and creating space for his teammates, whilst also having 38 balls recovered in 7 qualifying games.
TIKI-TAKA? BUT CREATING FROM THE WINGS?
It’s been quite some time since Spain’s tiki-taka made an appearance, and ever since, even with different managers, it seems that the style of play hasn’t changed with slow-paced construction play still being characteristic of the Spaniards. Or is it the same?
Luis de la Fuente plays a 1-4-3-3 formation where the goalkeeper acts as a third defender when having the ball and one of the midfielders, usually Rodri, has a more defensive position, leaving space for more creative players such as Pedri. Defensively there aren’t many “surprising” things to be found.
It’s on the attacking side of things that there have been some variations. During their glory days, Spain was able to create space in the middle and find its opportunities from there, however, with the appearance of agile and fast-paced wingers, Spain’s chances usually come from a cross or a pass from the wing.
It’s the wingers, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, who seem to be, alongside Rodri, the biggest strength of the team, however, we mustn’t forget goalkeeper Unai Simón who, although hasn’t ever really performed with the National Team, is one of LaLiga’s best goalies.
SPAIN EXPECTED SET PIECE TAKERS ON EURO 2024
- Penalty taker: Álvaro Morata
- Backup penalty takers: Rodri and Mikel Merino
- Short-range free kicks: Pedri, Rodri or Mikel Merino
- Long-range free kicks: Rodri, Laporte or Le Normand
- Corners: Pedri, Nico Williams or Lamine Yamal
- Aereal threat from set pieces: Laporte, Morata, Le Normand and Joselu
EXPECTED FORMATION AND LINE-UP
Luis de la Fuente Will use a 1-4-3-3 formation with one midfielder having a more defensive role as explained before. The predicted line-up for Spain on this year’s EURO 2024 is the following:
- Goalkeeper: Unai Simón
- Defenders: Dani Carvajal, Robin Le Normand, Aymeric Laporte and Alejandro Grimaldo
- Midfielders: Rodri, Pedri and Mikel Merino
- Forwards: Nico Williams, Álvaro Morata and Lamine Yamal
GROUP-STAGE ANALYSIS, HIGHEST POINT-POTENTIAL GAMES
Spain has a very tough group on this year’s EURO. Considered the group of death, the Spaniards will have to face some old foes and try not to fall against potential “dark horse”.
The fixtures against Italy and Croatia are some of the toughest matches a team could face in such a tournament, hence why, if one of Spain’s players performs well, he could potentially sum a good amount of points.
But the match to watch is against Albania who, on paper, is a much weaker side, and, offensively, Spain could score various goals which would eventually lead to various players gaining a high-point score in just a single game.
BEST SPANISH PLAYERS TO PICK FOR EURO 2024 FANTASY
- Star players: when picking your fantasy EURO 2024 side, you must take into consideration the likes of Rodri, Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Unai Simón, key for the team and elite performers who will make a good amount of points.
- Budget players: many times, the budget becomes a big limitation when building a squad. In Spain, there a some budget players who could get some minutes and give you those much-needed points. These players are such as Joselu, Le Normand, and Mikel Merino.
- Hidden gems: there are some hidden gems amongst the Spanish squad that, if given minutes (and selected for the squad) could be game-changers. Good examples of hidden gems are the likes of Fermín, Alex Baena, and Dani Vivian.
