DREAM TEAM EUROS managers should be drawn to Portugal when building their XIs for Matchday 1.
Roberto Martinez’s side cruised through qualifying with ten wins from ten; boasting the best defensive record and the most goals scored among all 53 European teams – albeit against a favourable set of opponents.
The 2016 European champions boast a well-balanced, deep squad but who are the top stars, bargain options and players to avoid?
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TOP STARS
Cristiano Ronaldo (£6m) will always be the standout name but this current Portugal team belongs to Bruno Fernandes (£6m).
The Manchester United midfielder scored six goals and provided an unmatched tally of eight assists during qualifying – he’s very much the talisman these days.
Plus, he finished the domestic season in fine form, averaging a shade under nine points-per-game in Dream Team’s season game after the turn of the year.
That’s not to diminish the pedigree of Portugal’s Legendary No7.
Ronaldo heads to Germany having plundered 50 goals in as many games for Al-Nassr this term.
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Only Romelu Lukaku (£5.5m) scored more goals than the five-time Ballon d’Or winner during qualifying and it’s always worth remembering that the 39-year-old is the top goalscorer in the history of international football.
Having been dropped during the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo has been emphatically reinstated as first-choice striker under Martinez.
Elsewhere, Bernardo Silva (£4.5m) is a guaranteed starter and a permanent class act who has multiple avenues to points in the realm of Dream Team – he even gets through his fair share of tackles.
Between the sticks, Diogo Costa (£4m) will be hopeful of clean sheets against Czechia, Turkey and Georgia in Group F – he kept more (six) than any other goalkeeper during the qualification campaign.
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BARGAIN OPTIONS
Such is the strength in depth available to Martinez this summer, not a single Portugal player is priced below £3m in Dream Team Euros.
But there’s certainly value for money on offer, perhaps from Vitinha (£3m) who may well start in midfield after an impressive campaign with PSG.
Some gaffers may feel Joao Palhinha (£3.5m) is reasonably priced as the combative 28-year-old is surely the front runner to make more tackles than anyone else at the tournament, as he did comfortably in the Premier League once again this season.
Remember, Dream Team Euros assets earn one point for every two tackles once the action is underway – Palhinha is capable of picking up three, four or even five points in a single fixture this way if he’s in the mood.
In defence, it’s not inconceivable that 41-year-old Pepe (£3.5m) will start at centre-back.
If that’s the case, the grizzled veteran would have to be considered very affordable.
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PLAYERS TO AVOID
At the time of writing, Diogo Dalot (£4m) is the tenth-most selected defender in the game but backing him from the get-go is fraught with risk.
The Manchester United defender tends to collect plenty of points when on the pitch but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Martinez opted for Joao Cancelo (£4.5m) and Nuno Mendes (£4m) in the full-back positions, at least initially.
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Similarly, Rafael Leao (£4.5m) would be a hugely tempting option if he was guaranteed to start but Joao Felix (£4.5m) and Diogo Jota (£4.5m) represent stiff competition in his position.
It might be worth waiting until Matchday 2 before making a decision on the skilful Milan winger’s viability – to those taking a punt on him from the start, good luck!
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
