DraftKings Soccer: European Championship Daily Fantasy Helper for Tuesday 6/15/21

We only have two games on Tuesday instead of three, but it features two matchups from the "group of death". Let's look at the games, with odds from FanDuel Sportsbook:

Forwards to Target

Cristiano Ronaldo ($10,700): Ronaldo is 36 years old, but his goal-scoring did not slow down much this season. He led Serie A with 29 goals this season. He also is still able to get shots off better than nearly everyone in the world, as his 5.1 shots per game were the second-most in Europe's top five leagues, according to WhoScored.com. In past major tournaments, Ronaldo has felt like he's had to do it all himself, which overall hindered his performance. With the talent and playmaking ability in the Portuguese squad, that shouldn't be the case this time. With good service and the knowledge that he will take penalties, Ronaldo is a -150 favorite to score at any time.

This will be by far Portugal's easiest game in the group, so Portugal and Ronaldo will want to score a lot of goals in this match, not just for stat-padding but also for the goal difference which would be a tiebreaker that could decide if they make the next round. With two powerhouses playing each other and Portugal playing Hungary, it makes sense to target Portugal, and Ronaldo is probably the best way to do that.

Karim Benzema ($8,100): Benzema was frozen out of the French team for years after an off-the-field incident, but he's been recalled ahead of this tournament. This gives a loaded team another option up front, and what an option it is. Benzema played great for Real Madrid once again this season, scoring 23 goals in 34 La Liga games. He is more dynamic than Olivier Giroud, who he will replace in the starting lineup, and more dynamism for France makes them even more dangerous.

The matchup against Germany looks tough on paper, but Germany's form over the last year has not been too impressive. They've won just 6 of their last 13 games and conceded 20 goals, they also had a 6-0 defeat against Spain in November. They have questions over their defense, which is not what you want against a deadly striker like Benzema. If Benzema was in the squad earlier, his salary would probably be higher than $8,100. That makes him a good value play at forward.

Serge Gnabry ($7,300): Gnabry had 10 goals in the Bundesliga in 27 games this season, which is not spectacular but is pretty solid for a player who mostly plays like a winger. However, when he puts on a Germany shirt, he becomes more of a forward and more of a lethal finisher. He has 16 goals in 22 career games for Die Mannschaft. It won't be easy against France, but for this low of a salary, I'm willing to take a shot on someone who scores at that high of a rate for his national team.

Also consider: Kylian Mbappé ($9,400), Bernardo Sliva ($6,900), Ádám Szalai ($4,900)

Midfielders to Target

Bruno Fernandes ($8,700): Bruno Fernandes isn't quite as appealing for Portugal as he was for Manchester United, with Ronaldo likely to take any penalties that the team gets. However, that is baked into this salary as it's about $1,500 lower than what we were used to seeing when he played for United. Fernandes should have at least a role on set pieces, if not a majority. He also can score and assist from open play, especially in this matchup. If you are trying to stack Portugal, playing Fernandes and Ronaldo will take up a large portion of your available salary, but it could pay off with a few goals that could lead to a high score in a tournament.

Kai Havertz ($5,200): There aren't many pure midfielders that we want to play that aren't also eligible at forward, so we can go down to Havertz at $5,200. Funnily enough, he was playing more like a forward for Chelsea, yet he still is only midfield-eligible. He's coming off scoring the winning goal in the Champions League final for the Blues. Havertz certainly didn't have his best season in his first year at Chelsea, but playing for Germany could be a welcomed change for him. At just $5,200, he's a midfielder with goal-scoring odds of +210, so he's worth playing on this slate.

Also consider: Toni Kroos ($6,500), Joao Moutinho ($5,100), Ádám Nagy ($3,100)

Defenders to Target

Joshua Kimmich ($5,800): Kimmich slides back to his traditional role as right back when playing for his country. This gives him a lot of opportunities to cross from open play, which we saw him do a ton of in the 2018 World Cup. Even though he didn't take any corner kicks in that tournament, he still averaged 10.3 crosses per 90 minutes, according to Rotowire. That's more than he has in any season for Bayern Munich, and yet his salary is much lower than where we normally see it. This makes him a great play at defender, and $5,800 for him is better than anyone around the same salary at the other positions.

Benjamin Pavard ($4,600): Pavard was a breakout star in the 2018 World Cup for France, scoring one of the best goals of the tournament. His star has only shined brighter since, as he's joined Bayern Munich and has played well. He averaged over three crosses per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga, and that could increase with the way France will supposedly line up. They won't use any true wingers, which should allow Pavard to push forward from his right back position. He's definitely worth playing for $4,600 if things play out that way.

Also consider: Rafael Guerreiro ($5,700), Nelson Semedo ($5,100), Lucas Hernández ($4,000)

Goalkeepers to Target

Rui Patricio ($5,700): Patricio is an experienced goalkeeper who has the odds in his favor in this game. Portugal are big favorites to win and are better than even money to keep a clean sheet in this match. If you have the salary, Patricio stands out above everyone at the position.

Péter Gulácsi ($3,900): Gulasci is a solid keeper who kept 15 clean sheets in 33 matches for RB Leipzig this season. It's obviously not a great spot for him to get a win, but he could get some saves against the likes for Ronaldo and Fernandes who like to shoot from distance. On this slate, it's tough to prioritize keeper, so spending down and hoping for the best is definitely a viable strategy.

Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.