RADIO
The UEFA European Football Championship is just a few weeks away, and soccer fans are ready to witness the top nations in Europe battle it out for a spot in the finals at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany. Elite football stars from around the world, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and many more, will represent their nations when the contest starts on June 14, 2024.
To that end, after a three-year hiatus, Euro Fantasy returns. RotoBaller's first season covering the UEFA Euro delivers insights into the upcoming event, including game rules and top contenders to watch out for before the competition begins.
"Willkommen," which means "Welcome," is the greeting our German hosts extend to their European friends flying over for the tournament. Fellow fantasy enthusiasts, I welcome everyone to this new series. Join me, The FPL Manual, as I analyze the important things you need to know ahead of the forthcoming event.
Ready for EURO 2024! 🤩#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/Fb7WEdgJff
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) March 26, 2024
UEFA Euro: A Comprehensive History and Overview
There will be no Euro Fantasy without first considering how the UEFA Euro came to be and its rich history, so I'd like to provide a brief history of the competition itself.
The UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro, is a quadrennial tournament that showcases Europe's elite national teams competing to determine the continent's best. The upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 will mark the 17th edition of the tournament and will be hosted by Germany.
UEFA EURO 2024 logo unveiled with a spectacular light show at the Olympiastadion in Berlin! 🙌#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/9vo7RS5cfu
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) October 5, 2021
UEFA Euro - Past Winners
In the history of the tournament, Germany and Spain are tied for the most European titles, each having won three championships. France and Italy follow closely with two European championships each. Meanwhile, Russia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, and Czechia (formerly known as the Czech Republic) each hold one European title.
🇮🇹 The moment Italy lifted their second EURO title! 🏆 @azzurri | #ITA | #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/MVl5tjZoyK
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 11, 2021
Euro 2020 Recap
Top Performances in Euro 2020
Due to Covid-19 difficulties, it disrupted the competition scheduled for 2020. The previous campaign would run from June 11 to July 11, 2021, with 11 cities across Europe hosting the tournament.
However, it was Italy who was proclaimed winner after defeating England on penalties in Wembley, England, securing a second title in its cabinet. Other remarkable accomplishments and distinctions include:
Player of the Tournament: Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy finished with three clean sheets and nine saves.
Top Goalscorer of the Tournament: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal led the goal-scoring charts with five goals, setting an all-time UEFA Euro goal-scoring record of 14 goals in the contest.
Young Player of the Tournament: Pedri of Spain was voted the best young prodigy of the contest.
Goal of the Tournament: Patrik Schick of Czechia scoring a screamer during the group stage against Scotland was the best goal witnessed on television in Euro 2020.
🇨🇿🙌 After almost 800k votes, Patrik Schick's long-range stunner vs Scotland is UEFA EURO 2020 Goal of the Tournament! ⚽️💥#EUROGOTT @GazpromFootball #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/qBENMPj25b
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 14, 2021
What is Euro Fantasy? - Understanding the Game
Euro Fantasy is a platform created by UEFA that allows fantasy managers to select their favorite players for their fantasy teams, with the chance to win prizes by the end of the contest.
Understanding the technical know-how of the game is straightforward and quite similar to the UCL Fantasy game many are already familiar with. Here are the steps to take in approaching Euro Fantasy:
Pick your squad now! 🙌
Tap below to play EURO 2024 Fantasy Football 👇@VisitQatar || #EUROfantasy
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) May 21, 2024
Step 1: Register and Create an Account
Sign up on the UEFA Euro Fantasy platform or log in if you already have an account.
Step 2: Select Your Squad and Set Your Lineup
Choose your fantasy team within the allocated budget, assembling a balanced squad of goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards, as well as your starting lineup and captain, who will earn double points for your team.
Step 3: Read The Rules - Understanding Captaincy Swaps and Scoring Allocation
Familiarize yourself with the official rules and scoring system of Euro Fantasy to understand how points are awarded and deducted.
For captaincy swap, if your captain underperforms, you have the option to change your captain to another player who hasn't played yet within the same gameweek. This allows you to potentially double the points of a better-performing player.
Step 4: Don't Miss the Deadline
Be aware of the deadlines for making captaincy changes and manual substitution, as swaps can only be made before the start of the next day with a specific matchday. Managers are advised to wait until official lineups are announced for the first set of matches to get a peek at the players who will be available to start for those games.
| Gameweek | Deadline |
| Matchday 1 | 14 June 21:00 CET |
| Matchday 2 | 19 June 15:00 CET |
| Matchday 3 | 23 June 21:00 CET |
| Round of 16 | 29 June 18:00 CET |
| Quarter-finals | 05 July 18:00 CET |
| Semi-finals | 09 July 21:00 CET |
| Final | 14 July 21:00 CET |
Step 5: Develop a Chip Strategy
Euro Fantasy managers are given two chips: the Wildcard chip and the Limitless chip. Consider the fixtures and form of your players when selecting when it is best to play your chip. A good plan would be to keep your limitless chip for Matchday 3, when there appears to be frequent squad rotations.
Step 6: Join a Mini League of Your Choice
Participate in public leagues or create private leagues to compete with friends and other managers.
By following these steps, you can enhance your Euro Fantasy experience and increase your chances of winning prizes.
UEFA Euro 2024 - Top Contenders
According to statistics, England is the major favorite to win the tournament, with the best odds of 10/3. Narrowly missing out on securing its first European championship title to penalties against Italy, the UEFA Euro 2020 finalist is now backed with a plethora of attacking options and a firm defensive base, making it a strong contender.
A solid mix of youth and experience, thanks to emerging talents like Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, and Kobbie Mainoo, who all made a huge impact for their individual clubs, as well as experience from Kyle Walker, Harry Kane, and Jordan Pickford among many others, could put the Three Lions in pole position to win the UEFA European Championship this time.
Confirming the #ThreeLions' pre-#EURO2024 training squad! 🏴
— England (@England) May 21, 2024
Other leading contenders include France, with the best odds standing at 4/1. Host nation Germany is expected to maintain its position as favorites at 6/1. Spain and Portugal closely trail with odds of 8/1 to vie for the trophy.
Which team will you be supporting for UEFA Euro 2024? Personally, I'm backing Spain in this contest and hope it goes far.
Join Our League
Once again, join our Rotoballer.com league. Hit any of our writers up over the next two weeks, we will give you the code (also in the graphic below), and you'll be good to go. Good luck for UEFA Euro 2024 Fantasy, RotoBallers!
Stick around for more Euro Fantasy content coming soon. Is there a question you would like to have answered every week? Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
