FotMob Daily Briefing: Four things to look out for on Day 6 at the Euros

Euro 2024 is underway and the games are coming thick and fast. In this daily feature on FotMob, which is going to run for the entirety of the tournament, here are four things you should look out for across day six of the competition as matchday two kicks off with Croatia taking on Albania, Germany facing Hungary, while Scotland entertain Switzerland as they look to put their opening day humbling behind them.

Consequences to missed chances

Croatia suffered a heavy defeat to Spain on Saturday, kicking off their Euro 2024 campaign with a 3-0 loss.

Spain scored all three goals across a 16-minute spell just before half-time and it knocked the stuffing out of Croatia. However, Zlatko Dalić’s men deserved much more from the game having finished the match with one of the highest Expected Goal hauls across matchday one.

The 2018 World Cup finalists carved out chances with an xG value of 2.4, albeit boosted by the penalty they were awarded in the second half. Still, this figure alone highlights how dangerous Croatia can be and why their defeat in their Group B opener isn’t the be-all and end-all for them. If they put together a similar performance in attack against Albania, they’ll be right back in the qualification mix.

The surprise package

Ahead of the tournament kicking off, Group A looked as though it had the potential to be the Group of Death with Germany, Hungary, Scotland and Switzerland all vying for qualification. Germany were made favourites to progress with the other three teams battling it out for the second, guaranteed spot in the knockout round.

Hungary were tipped to escape this group but it was Switzerland who surprised a lot of people on Saturday afternoon with a comfortable 3-1 win to put them in a commanding position in Group B.

They took a 2-0 lead into the break before Breel Embolo added a third in added time to really round out the performance. The Swiss finished with an xG haul of 2.3 and carved out three big chances.

If they repeat that sort of showing against Scotland, they will guarantee their place in the knockout round of fixtures before they face hosts Germany on matchday three. This is a commanding position for them to be in.

Szoboszlai stepping up

Hungary struggled in their loss to Switzerland but captain Dominik Szoboszlai still managed to catch the eye. His performance earned him a 7.6 FotMob rating, the highest of any player wearing white on Saturday.

The young captain carved out two big chances, a total no player across matchday one could better, while finishing the game with an assist.

Szoboszlai also completed 100% of his dribbles, found a teammate with 75% of his crosses and 86% of his long passes. He also won 100% of his duels to round out an all-action display.

If others could match that sort of performance in their upcoming game against hosts Germany, Hungary might have a chance of picking up a shock result. If they can’t, at least he’s leaving this competition having enhanced his reputation.

Nagelsmann-ball

Germany ran riot against Scotland in their opening game of the tournament, racking up a 5-1 victory to put themselves in a commanding position to progress.

A number of players caught the eye with a lot of the plaudits going the way of Jamal Musiala. The Bayern Munich wonderkid has the potential to rival Jude Bellingham for the Player of the Tournament award based on matchday one’s performance.

But a special shoutout deserves to go the way of Julian Nagelsmann. Under the former Hoffenheim boss, the hosts dominated the game against the Scots in what could’ve otherwise been a tricky clash. They recorded 72.8% possession and this could well be a theme across all of their games with the talent they have across their team.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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