Let’s look at which players are most heavily involved in goals of their nations. Let’s call them “talismans” (based on the Talisman Theory from WGTA), because when their nation scores a goal, they are very often involved.
The Talisman is a key player from a certain team – and he is the most likely source of fantasy points from that team.
Let me explain it in more detail.
For example, Harry Kane scored 14 goals and registered 6 assists for England in three competitions (EURO 2020 Qualification, the last Nation League, World Cup 2022 Qualification).
England scored 37+7+9 = 53 goals in these three competitions. It means that Harry Kane was involved in (14+6)/53 = 38 % of all England goals in these three competitions – more than any other England player. So, Harry Kane is The Talisman of England.
Basically, you could expect that when England scores a goal in EURO 2020 that Harry Kane will be involved (goal or assist) in that goal with 38 % probability.
So, if England scores for example 10 goals in the group stage, Harry Kane should register approximately 10 * 0.38 = 3.8 goal involvements.
Let’s look at Talismens from all EURO 2020 teams (based on the combined data from EURO 2020 Qualification, the last Nation League and World Cup 2022 Qualification).
The Talismans for EURO 2020
| Player | Team | Price | G+A | Team Goals | % Involvement in team goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pukki | Finland | 7 | 18 | 26 | 69 % |
| Depay | Netherlands | 10 | 20 | 42 | 48 % |
| Lewandowski | Poland | 11 | 14 | 31 | 45 % |
| Griezmann | France | 11 | 15 | 34 | 44 % |
| Dzyuba | Russia | 8.5 | 21 | 48 | 44 % |
| McGinn | Scotland | 7.5 | 12 | 28 | 43 % |
| Kane | England | 11.5 | 20 | 53 | 38 % |
| Bale | Wales | 9.5 | 7 | 19 | 37 % |
| James | Wales | 6.5 | 7 | 19 | 37 % |
| Ronaldo | Portugal | 12 | 14 | 40 | 35 % |
| Arnautovic | Austria | 7 | 10 | 33 | 30 % |
| Eriksen | Denmark | 9 | 13 | 45 | 29 % |
| Calhanoglu | Turkey | 8.5 | 10 | 34 | 29 % |
| Schick | Czech Republic | 8 | 8 | 29 | 28 % |
| Jankto | Czech Republic | 6 | 8 | 29 | 28 % |
| Malinovski | Ukraine | 7 | 7 | 25 | 28 % |
| Perisic | Croatia | 8.5 | 8 | 30 | 27 % |
| Gnabry | Germany | 9.5 | 12 | 45 | 27 % |
| Lukaku | Belgium | 11 | 18 | 68 | 26 % |
| Embolo | Switzerland | 8 | 8 | 32 | 25 % |
| Elmas | North Macedonia | 6 | 7 | 30 | 23 % |
| Alioski | North Macedonia | 4.5 | 7 | 30 | 23 % |
| Hamšík | Slovakia | 8 | 5 | 22 | 23 % |
| Mak | Slovakia | 7 | 5 | 22 | 23 % |
| Szalai | Hungary | 6 | 5 | 25 | 20 % |
| Claesson | Sweden | 7 | 6 | 32 | 19 % |
| Berg | Sweden | 8.5 | 6 | 32 | 19 % |
| Larsson | Sweden | 5.5 | 6 | 32 | 19 % |
| Belloti | Italy | 8 | 9 | 50 | 18 % |
| Insigne | Italy | 8.5 | 9 | 50 | 18 % |
| Moreno | Spain | 6.5 | 9 | 50 | 18 % |
Pukki is leading the table with amazing 69 % goal involvement in Finland’s goals in EURO 2020 Qualification, the last Nation League and World Cup 2022 Qualification.
But how many goals can Finland score in EURO 2020? Well, honestly, I do not expect more than 2 or 3 goals from them. But if they manage to score 3 goals, Pukki will likely be involved in 3*0.69=2.07 of them.
Based on The Talisman Theory, Depay, Dzuyba and McGinn should also be heavily involved in the goals of their teams. They all three are relatively cheap and low-owned by Fantasy managers, so they could be really differential players for your EURO 2020 Fantasy team.
Also the not overlook players like Calhanoglu, Jankto, Perisic or Alioski when picking players into your squad. Their teams will not score a lot of goals. But when they score some, these players will be involved in them.
The Talisman Fantasy Team EURO 2020
So, if you decide to go for talismans when selecting players for your fantasy team, we have an inspiration for you. This is how “talismans” fantasy team could look like.
