Gaming Matters: FIFA16 England's Euro2020 Tournament
- Si Boyle
- Sep 23, 2016
- 10 min read
My last project on FIFA16 was to take the England take I'd managed during my Roma career mode through the 2020 European Championships. This is the squad I took:
Name – Positions – Age – Rating - Club
Jack Butland – GK – 27 – 81 – Watford
Jake Kean – GK – 29 – 83 – West Bromwich Albion
Kyle Walker – RB – 30 – 83 – Tottenham Hotspur
Nathaniel Clyne – RB – 29 – 85 – Liverpool
Luke Shaw – LB – 24 – 84 – Manchester United
Kieran Gibbs – LB – 30 – 82 – Arsenal
Chris Smalling – CB/RB – 30 – 85 – Manchester United
John Stones – CB/RB – 26 – 85 - Roma
Micah Richards – CB/RB – 31 – 80 – Aston Villa
Eric Dier – CB/RB/CDM – 26 – 79 – Tottenham Hotspur Dele Alli – CM/CAM/CDM – 24 – 80 – Tottenham Hotspur
Jack Wilshere – CM/CDM – 28 – 83 – Arsenal
Nathaniel Chalobah – CM/CDM – 25 – 77 – Sassuolo
Ross Barkley – CAM/LM – 26 – 84 – Everton
Jesse Lingard – CAM/LM – 27 – 77 – Manchester United
Andros Townsend – RM/LM – 28 – 82 – Tottenham Hotspur
Nathan Redmond – RM/LM – 26 – 80 – Norwich City
Raheem Sterling – LM/ST/RM – 25 – 88 – Manchester City
Michail Antonio – LM/RM/ST – 30 – 77 – West Ham United
Daniel Sturridge – ST/RW – 30 – 86 – Liverpool
Danny Welbeck – ST/LM – 29 – 84 – Arsenal
Benik Afobe – ST – 27 – 82 – Swansea City
Charlie Austin – ST – 30 – 80 – Espanyol
There were some players rated higher than the squad I took however I wanted to keep the average age of the team down as much as possible while ensuring all the players therein were 'real' and no regenerated players. The most notable exclusions are Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart and Gary Cahill who were all still playing in 2020. Rooney was 34 years old and still playing at Manchester United and with a rating of 87 would have still been the second highest rated player in the team. Unlike in real life his ratings as a striker were as high as ever despite his age but he didn't fit the dynamic that I was aiming for with this squad. The same goes for 33 year-old Manchester City keeper Joe Hart who has proven so error prone in real life that I wanted to see how England got on without him in future. Gary Cahill was still rated 84 at Chelsea but again at the age of 34 I wanted to leave him out for a younger team.
The other players left out rated 80 or higher were Phil Jones (CB 28 84 Manchester United), Jordan Henderson (CM 30 84 Liverpool), Theo Walcott (RM 31 84 Arsenal), Leighton Baines (LB 35 83 Stoke City), Joe Davis (CB 26 83 Stoke City), Saido Berahino (ST 27 82 Roma), Harry Kane (ST 27 82 Tottenham Hotspur), Ravel Morrison (CAM 27 82 Lazio), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (RM 26 82 Arsenal), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (RM 22 81 Arsenal), Danny Ings (ST 28 81 Liverpool), Tom Cleverley (CM 30 81 Everton), Jonjo Shelvey (CM 28 81 Swansea City), Fabien Delph (CM 30 81 Manchester City), Andy Carroll (ST 31 81 QPR), Ryan Bertrand (LB 31 81 Southampton), Danny Rose (LB 30 81 Tottenham Hotspur), James Milner (CM 34 81 Liverpool), Kieran Trippier (RB 29 80 Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Rodwell (CM 29 80 Sunderland), Adam Lallana (CAM 32 80 Liverpool) and Ryan Shawcross (CB 32 80 Stoke City). There were also two regen players:
Jack Roberts (RB 23 84 West Ham United) and Chris Kane (RB 20 81 Crystal Palace)
The group draw for the European Championships is below however I am not confident that the FIFA game will follow the same seeding system used by UEFA and that would be employed by a game like Football Manager for example.
GROUP A Spain
France
Denmark
Bulgaria
GROUP B England
Belgium
Portugal
Romania
GROUP C Netherlands
Poland
Switzerland
Greece
GROUP D Germany
Sweden Ireland
Slovenia
Here is how each group was resolved with two teams from each going into the quarter final draw. For Group B with my England team I will also put a review of each of our games. To view the YouTube video for any England goal click on the link where the scorer and minutes are ie (Sturridge 45).
GROUP A Bulgaria 1-1 France
Spain 2-1 Denmark
Bulgaria 1-0 Spain
France 4-0 Denmark
Denmark 3-0 Bulgaria
Spain 2-1 France
Spain 2-0-1 4 3 +1 6pts
France 1-1-1 6 3 +3 4pts
Bulgaria 1-1-1 2 4 -2 4pts
Denmark 1-0-2 4 6 -2 3pts
GROUP B England 3-0 Romania
Portugal 0-1 Belgium
England 1-1 Portugal
Belgium 3-0 Romania
England 0-2 Belgium
Romania 1-2 Portugal
Belgium 3-0-0 6 0 +6 9pts
England 1-1-1 4 3 +1 4pts
Portugal 1-1-1 3 3 0 4pts
Romania 0-0-3 1 8 -7 0pts
England 3-0 Romania
(Shaw 45)
Team: Butland / Walker, Smalling, Stones, Shaw / Alli / Townsend, Barkley, Sterling / Sturridge, Welbeck Subs: Austin, Afobe, Redmond
Shots – England 12 Romania 0
On Target – England 9 Romania 0
Possession – England 49% Romania 51%
Passing Accuracy – England 77% Romania 80%
England started the tournament with a convincing win over clear outsiders Romania thanks to a brace from Danny Welbeck and an quick thinking goal from Luke Shaw. Charlie Austin also had a goal ruled offside after 58 minutes and Shaw was sent off in the 77th minute for a second bookable offence, both for late sliding tackles. We started the tournament with what I believed to be our strongest team in a 4-1-3-2 formation. Raheem Sterling set up Welbeck's first goal, collecting the ball in the left back area and playing an overhead ball for the Arsenal striker on the left wing after carrying the ball nearer the half way line. Welbeck beat Vlad Chiriches and headed for goal, beating Ciprian Tatarusanu at the second attempt after the Fiorentina keeper saved his first effort. Shaw doubled the advantage on the stroke of half time with a cheeky backheel. From a corner Tatarusanu saved Sturridge's shot from outside the area and Shaw found himself facing away from goal with the ball at his feet. Rather than wasting time turning and shooting he backheeled the ball and thankfully no Romanian was able to deflect the shot. Welbeck's second came as Sturridge advanced on goal drawing Chiriches and Paul Papp towards him before releasing the ball to his unmarked strike partner. The England striker scored with a powerful first time shot. *Apologies for the Italian commentary on the goals in this match – I forgot to switch back to English from my Roma career. Any team in a tournament wants to get off to a good start and with England traditionally slow to do so it was a relief to get three points so convincingly.
England 1-1 Portugal
(Clyne 49)(Ricardo Valente 64)
Team: Butland / Clyne, Smalling, Stones, Gibbs / Wilshere / Redmond, Lingard, Sterling / Sturridge, Welbeck
Subs: Afobe, Antonio, Chalobah
Shots – England 5 Portugal 8
On Target – England 3 Portugal 4
Possession – England 48% Portugal 52%
Passing Accuracy – England 88% Portugal 89%
The key areas affected by fitness from the last match were the full backs and attacking midfielders which means I must use the wings a lot more than the middle of the park. Nathaniel Clyne and Kieran Gibbs were in at for the full backs and in came Nathan Redmond and Jesse Lingard further upfield. Clyne gave England the lead early in the second half but Portugal equalised through Freiburg striker Ricardo Valente. The 29 year-old was allowed time on the ball, advancing towards goal as the defence backed off rather than pressured him. His shot from outside the area narrowly beat Jack Butland in goal but it was enough to share the points. It would have been a different result had Benik Afobe been more accurate in injury time but his shot on the turn struck the post and bounced out rather than in. The result meant that England needed just one point against Belgium to ensure their place in the quarter finals however defeat in that match and a win for Portugal against Romania (which is very likely) and the decision will be down to goal difference. It was noticeable that Portugal were without their talisman winger Cristiano Ronaldo as the 35 year-old Roma winger was injured in the penultimate game of the league season. England took the lead at straight from the kick off in the second half with Clyne freeing Michail Antonio down the right wing who turned inside Sporting Lisbon defender Tobias Figueiredo. He fed the ball back to Clyne on an advanced run into the box who first beat Figueredo's sliding tackle then turned around Andre Gomes before beating Lyon keeper Anthony Lopes with a fierce shot. Pacos de Ferreira midfielder Ricardo Valente equalised with a long range shot after the England defence and John Stones in particular back off him more and more allowing him time to pick a spot to beat Jack Butland. Had Afobe scored with his injury time chance then England would have been in the quarter finals already. As things stood should they lose to Belgium in the next match and Portugal beat Romania then it would be down to goal difference.
England 0-2 Belgium
(Benteke 45, 62)
Team: Butland / Walker, Dier, Richards, Shaw / Townsend, Alli, Barkley, Antonio / Austin, Welbeck
Subs: Afobe, Chalobah, Sturridge
Shots – England 11 Belgium 5
On Target – England 6 Belgium 4
Possession – England 45% Belgium 55%
Passing Accuracy – England 83% Belgium 89% It was the nightmare result for England as defeat left the fans watching for the result in Portugal's game against Romania. The formation switched to a more conservative 4-4-2 from the previous 4-1-3-2 to better protect the defence, especially with Eric Dier and Micah Richards coming in to replace Chris Smalling and John Stones who needed a rest. The fatigue was certainly taking its toll on the squad already with Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge also needing rest, replaced by Michail Antonio and Charlie Austin. Christian Benteke gave Belgium the lead on the stroke of half time with a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty box and then doubled the score in the second half with a delicately placed header. Although Benteke was the name on the score sheet the best player for Belgium was Kevin de Bruyne who ran the England defence ragged especially full back Kyle Walker. Thibaut Courtois was also fantastic in the Belgium goal denying England great chances as they had six shots on target to Belgium's four. Portugal won their match 2-1 but thankfully could not find the extra goal they needed to tie with England on both goal difference and goals scored.
GROUP C Greece 2-1 Netherlands
Poland 1-1 Switzerland
Greece 1-1 Poland
Netherlands 1-1 Switzerland
Poland 2-0 Netherlands
Switzerland 2-1 Greece
Poland 1-2-0 4 2 +2 5pts
Switzerland 1-2-0 4 3 +1 5pts
Greece 1-1-1 4 4 0 4pts
Netherlands 0-1-2 2 5 -3 1pt
GROUP D
Germany 2-1 Slovenia
Ireland 0-0 Sweden
Ireland 1-3 Germany
Sweden 0-0 Slovenia
Germany 5-0 Sweden
Slovenia 2-1 Ireland
Germany 3-0-0 10 2 +8 9pts
Slovenia 1-1-1 3 3 0 4pts
Sweden 0-2-1 0 5 -5 2pts
Ireland 0-1-2 2 5 -3 1pt
QUARTER FINALS
Poland 3-1 Slovenia
Belgium 2-1 France
Germany 2-0 Switzerland
England 2-1 Spain
(Redmond 41)(Vitolo 51) (Redmond 58)
Team: Butland / Clyne, Smalling, Stones, Gibbs / Wilshere, Chalobah / Redmond, Lingard, Sterling / Afobe
Subs: Shaw, Antonio, Dier
Shots: England 6 Spain 8
On Target: England 6 Spain 4
Possession – England 49% Spain 51%
Passing Accuracy – England 81% Spain 81%
So after eliminating the 2016 reigning champions Portugal we now faced the 2008 & 2012 winners Spain. Fatigue was still affecting the team and although Smalling and Stones were back in defence the strikers were still suffering. Afobe therefore played as the lone striker. It was Norwich City winger Nathan Redmond that was England's man of the match though with a goal either side of half time to secure the win. His first came from great work by Clyne and Chalobah on the right flank with the Sassuolo midfielder playing the ball across Real Sociedad's Raul Navas into Redmond's path and he beat Kiko Casilla with a first time shot. Spain did get back on level terms for seven minutes in the second half thanks to Sevilla left winger Vitolo after a poor clearance from Smalling was easily headed in. Ten minutes into the second half Afobe was tackled by Javi Martinez on the edge of the box and Redmond picked up the loose ball. He muscled away from Sergio Busquets, twisted into the box and restored England's lead by beating the Real Madrid keeper.
SEMI FINALS
Germany 2-1 Belgium
England 2-0 Poland
Team: Butland / Clyne, Smalling, Stones, Shaw / Redmond, Wilshere, Alli, Sterling / Sturridge, Welbeck Subs: Barkley, Townsend, Antonio
Shots – England 11 Poland 5
On Target – England 8 Poland 1
Possession – England 49% Poland 51%
Passing Accuracy – England 76% Poland 83%
After Redmond's fantastic display in the quarter final he had to keep his place over Townsend. Sturridge and Welbeck were fit enough to return up front and we returned to a more standard 4-4-2 formation with Alli joining Wilshere in the middle of the park. We dominated the game and allowed them only one shot on target whereas at the other end we were unlucky to only get two goals from our eleven shots. Man of the match in the last round, Redmond set up Welbeck for England's opener. He stole the ball from Olympic Lyon left back Maciej Rybus and squared the ball across goal for an unmarked Welbeck to tap in from inside the six yard box. Clyne was the provider of the goal that settled English nerves on the stroke of full time, first winning the ball from Kamil Glik then beating Mateusz Klich of FC Twente on the wing. He cut inside and spotted Sturridge unmarked on the penalty spot as the Polish defence was all over the place and the England striker's first time left foot shot beat Wojciech Szczesny all too easily. England had reached their first tournament final since 1966 where they would once again face the Germans.
FINAL
ENGLAND 2-0 GERMANY
Overall Highlights Team : Butland / Clyne, Smalling, Stones, Shaw / Redmond, Wilshere, Alli, Sterling / Sturridge, Welbeck
Subs: Barkley, Townsend, Afobe
Shots – England 4 Germany 6
On Target – England 4 Germany 4
Possession – England 46% Germany 54% Passing Accuracy – England 80% Germany 81%
As the stats show this was a tough, tight game with most of the game focussed in the middle of the park as neither side wanted to allow the other a chance on goal. In the end the difference was Sturridge who left it late to score his first goal of the tournament in the last minute of the semi-final but added a brace to his tally in the final. The lead came midway through the first half when Jack Wilshere passed to Sturridge on the right hand edge of the box. He turned and skipped over the lunging tackle of Jerome Boateng before shooting across Manuel Neuer into the top left corner of the goal with a powerful shot. It was a goal worthy of any final and rounded off with his trademark celebration. In a tight second half Townsend turned inside Cologne left back Jonas Hector, breaking into the box where Sturridge had been left dangerously unmarked just as he had been by Poland in the semi-final. The result was the same as Sturridge ran onto the ball and beat Neuer with a left foot shot that meant business. As the highlights show Jack Butland made three fantastic saves to keep England in the lead not least of all a full length diving save in the dying minutes. In my final challenge of FIFA16 I managed to lift tournament silverware with England.
Name – Starts – Sub Appearances (in brackets) – Goals
Jack Butland – 6 (0)
Danny Welbeck – 5 (0) – 3 goals
Chris Smalling – 5 (0)
John Stones – 5 (0)
Raheem Sterling – 5 (0)
Daniel Sturridge – 4 (1) – 3 goals
Nathan Redmond – 4 (1) – 2 goals
Luke Shaw – 4 (1) – 1 goal
Nathaniel Clyne – 4 (0) – 1 goal
Dele Alli – 4 (0)
Jack Wilshere – 4 (0)
Andros Townsend – 2 (2)
Ross Barkley – 2 (2)
Kyle Walker – 2 (0)
Kieran Gibbs – 2 (0)
Jesse Lingard – 2 (0)
Michail Antonio – 1 (4)
Benik Afobe – 1 (3)
Nathaniel Chalobah – 1 (2)
Charlie Austin – 1 (1)
Eric Dier – 1 (1)
Micah Richards – 1 (0)
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