FM Scout: The Hunger Games (FM18)

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Our players were beginning to become absolute stars of football, and the Euros came up in 2024.

Surprisingly, there were no real misses in this tournament, and 13 of the 14 remaining contestants made it to the Euros. Lewie Roberts & Wales were the only one of us to miss out. Hard luck.

To Play At UEFA European Championship 2024
Belgium | Hercule Pretorius
Croatia | Dick Trickle
Denmark | Mikkel Bie & Phillip Budtz
France | Han Cock & Alexandre Leblanc
Germany | Hans Down & Zander Yeks
Greece | Stam
Holland | Sybe van der Putten
Portugal | Nininho
Republic of Ireland | Harry Potter
Ukraine | Genie

Group A

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For Denmark's Mikkel Bie & Phillip Budtz, they would face a challenging Group A. Nininho of Portugal were to be their greatest rivals of the group, while Switzerland and Hungary made up the rest of the group.

Group B

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For Hans Down & Zander Yeks of Germany, one of the favourite nations, they would face rivals Holland & Sybe van der Putten. German-speaking rivals Austria, and Kosovo, also made up a tough group.

Group C

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For Han Cock & Alexandre Leblanc of France, they would face Stam of Greece, Genie of Ukraine and Sweden. France were strong favourites, while the shootout for second place was not expected to be a straight forward one.

Group D

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For Hercule Pretorius & Belgium, first place was a must. Croatia were relying on Dick Trickle to fire them above Romania and Slovakia, and claim second place.

Group E

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What a group! For Harry Potter and Republic of Ireland, bitter rivals England awaited, while Spain and Poland were also in the group. The Irish were strongly considered to finish last.

*NOTE* I may have accidentally skipped over one minor detail. Phillip Budtz completed a £57,000,000 to Manchester City in January 2024. That was the only transfer in January 2024.

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Yeah, I'm busy, hence the lack of updates. Sue me. Anyway, here's a roundup of what happened in the group stages, because detailing each group as in previous tournaments is too time consuming for me now (even though I prefer those updates).

Group A

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So yeah.... Both Portugal & Denmark qualified, along with the three related players. Mikkel Bie, Phillip Budtz & Nininho each played every minute of every game. Denmark scraped through, as Budtz struggled to find any kind of form. Bie did alright, while Nininho assisted in each game. Well done Nininho!

Group B

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So, good news for both the Germans & Dutch! Hans Down was instrumental as Germany defeated Holland and Kosovo, and drew against Austria, with Zander Yeks playing as a substitute just once. Sybe van der Putten's hat trick against Kosovo aided his side to qualification, and he also scored against Austria, but was disappointing against Germany.

Group C

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Han Cock scored twice for France as they strolled to a first place finish, and so did Alexandre Leblanc, who broke in to the France squad recently. For Genie of Ukraine and Stam of Greece, it was a disappointing tournament, as they both dropped out.

Group D

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For Hercule Pretorius and Belgium, it was a successful group stage. Hercule Pretorius scored twice as he played a key role for his side. Dick Trickle scored both of Croatia's only goals in the tournament, but his ability was not enough to save Croatia.

Group E

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For Harry Potter, it was a disappointing tournament. He was forced off with injury in Ireland's first game against Poland, and missed the rest of the tournament. The Irish suffered a heartbreaking 4-5 defeat to England, and a defeat against Spain sealed their disappointing fate.

Last 16 Draw

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What a draw! Our two Danish players will face Sweden in a Scandinavian derby, while Hans Down & Zander Yeks of Germany will face Switzerland. Belgium will face Poland, while Nininho & Portugal will play against Slovakia. The big game was expected to be France versus Holland, and Han Cock & Alexandre Leblanc versus Sybe van der Putten. I, for one, cannot wait!

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There were a few shocks in the group stage, and some very big fixtures to look forward to in the last sixteen. Let's see how our players fared.

What a game! Phillip Budtz opened the scoring early on for Denmark with a tidy finish. However, Sweden were more than a match in this Scandinavian derby, as Alexander Isak equalised before half time. The game went to extra time, and Simon Tibbling looked to have scored the winner for Sweden. However, Denmark struck back through Carlo Holse, sending the game to a penalty shootout. Sweden won 4-3, as Rasmus Kristensen and Christian Eriksen missed for Denmark. Bye bye Bie & Budtz.

The big boys are down! Timo Werner scored from close range to open the scoring for the Germans in the first half, and they were in cruise control for most of the game. But then, the Swiss struck back late. Christian Fassnacht came off the bench to equalise with two minutes to go, and then Fransisco Rodríguez scored a minute later to give Switzerland a surprise win.

Boring game, in truth. Big Rom scored early in the second half, before being taken off injured. Hercule Pretorius and Belgium marched on to the quarter finals.

Nininho was the star of Portugal in this game. Bernardo Silva opened the scoring in the second half, but Tomic's late equaliser looked to have sent the game to extra time. Nininho then stepped up to score a late winner, sending Portugal to the quarter finals.

It was the battle of two team mates. Manchester City strikers Han Cock & Sybe van der Putten faced off each other in the game of the round. Han Cock's moment of wonder came first, as he opened the scoring by firing in a powerful shot in to the roof of Holland's net. van der Putten struck back late in the game to send the match to extra time, and then on to a penalty shootout. However, Justin Kluivert missed from the spot as France won 5-4, sending VDP and Holland out.

None of our contestants will face each other in the quarter finals. Belgium will face Sweden, while Portugal will play Serbia. For France, they had the toughest match of the round, again, as they would play against Spain. Who would reach the semi finals, if any?

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We had quite a few of our players make it to the quarter finals of the Euros. Han Cock & Alexandre Leblanc of France were to face Spain, Hercule Pretorius and Belgium were opposed by Sweden, and Portugal's Nininho was up against Serbia. Could any of these players make it to the semis? Let's find out!

Easy game for Belgium, in truth. Sweden were no match, and a first half injury to Johan Eriksson made it mission impossible for them. While Alderweireld picked up an injury in the second half, a goal from Leon Bailey set Belgium on the way. Hercule Pretorius doubled Belgium's advantage in the last minute, sending his side to the semi finals.

France's physical prowess gave them a major advantage over a tired Spanish side. While neither Han Cock or Alexandre Leblanc performed overly well, the French strolled to victory. Varane scored the opener with a first time header, and Kylian Mbappé doubled France's advantage in the second half. France strolled to the semi finals.

What a game! Injuries to Nininho and Bernardo Silva upset Portugal's rhythm, and a goal from Serbia Aleksander Mitrovic looked to have won the game. However, Renato Sanches had other plans, with a 95th minute equaliser, sending the game to extra time. Goals from Louro and Guedes were enough for Portugal to reach the semi finals, despite conceding a goal from the other Mitrovic.

Belgium got the easier of the ties, facing England in the semi finals. France would play Portugal in the other, with a place in the final on the line. Who would prevail? Who would reach the final? Find out soon.

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Semi Final Results

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Belgium p1-1 England | 11/07/2024
Allianz Arena (Munich, Germany) | Attendance: 69,344

Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Castagne (73'), Denayer, Poiret, Bolingoli; De Bruyne, Bastien; Bailey (68'), Musonda (62'), Pretorius; Dimata
Subs Used: Pereira (62'), Origi (68'), Meunier (73')

Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Stones, Dier, White, Chilwell; Winks, Hughes (53'); Kane, Alli, Rashford (53'); Warrington (58')
Subs Used: Chalobah (53'), Sancho (53'), Sterling (58')

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France 3-1 Portugal | 10/07/2024
Westfalenstadion (Dortmund, Germany) | Attendance: 65,851

Starting XI (4-4-2): Grellier; Sidibé (75'), Varane, Upamecano, Digne; Coman, Tolisso (81'), Rabiot, Lemar (70'); Cock , Mbappé x2
Subs Used: Griezmann (70'), Pogba (75'), Georgen (81')

Starting XI (4-3-3): Moreira; Dalot (70'), Vezo, Dias, Guerreiro (63'); Fernandes, Geraldes, Sanches; Martins, André Silva (75'), Guedes
Subs Used: Pereira (63'), Pinto (70'), Louro (75')

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Final Draw

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Well, here we are! The final of the 2024 UEFA European Championship! France vs Belgium, Cock & Leblanc vs Pretorius. Who would come out on top?

Bang Boom Bing Bong! What a way to round off an incredible tournament! Goals from Theo Hernández and Antony Martial set France on their way, until Leon Bailey decided to start playing. He scored a brace for Belgium to send the game to extra time, where it all kicked off. With five minutes to go in extra time, Andreas Pereira scored what appeared to be the winning goal, until a bullet header from Alexandre Leblanc sent the game to penalties. However, France won 4-2 on penalties after Batshuayi and Pereira missed from the spot. France won the tournament, and so too did Han Cock & Alexandre Leblanc!

Portugal's Bernardo Silva was named as the tournament's best player, while France's Louis Grellier won the young best player award. Six goals for Austria's Marcel Sabitzer was enough to win the golden boot, while (unfortunately) we had no contestants in the dream team.

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Well, it has been a long time coming. Finally, here is season seven's review, as we come closer to the end of the series (still some way to go yet).

We shall go through the points earned by each player, by each team and the value of each player after season one. Bonuses to CA, PA and reputation will be awarded to the winner of each chart.

Surprise, surprise, Han Cock wins! He was head and shoulders above the rest. There were some very good performances, most notably Hercule Pretorius and Hans Down, wile the likes of Dick Trickle, Zander Yeks and Lewie Roberts had very disappointing seasons.

Once again, Han Cock & Lewie Roberts are the winners of season 7! Team Eight and Team Two look to be closing the gap at the top, but our two superstars continue to light up the show.

Unfortunately, one team most be sacrificed. For Zander Yeks and Sybe van der Putten, it is the end of the road. Commiserations to the two. While Sybe van der Putten had been putting in a shift and was winning trophies, Zander Yeks had been slacking a lot. He was the reason the team placed so low, in truth. Goodbye.

Congratulations to Han Cock for being the Most Valuable Player of the season! His value was boosted by his personal success, while a number of other players also saw their values soar. Every player now has a value over £40M, with all but one valued at over £50M!

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And now, on to the end of season 7! With another set of players eliminated from the previous season, the competition is becoming tense!

Here we take a look at the attribute profiles, season stats and transfer status of each player who played in the season just gone.

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After a thrilling European Championship, we are back to the domestic football season, with just twelve contestants remaining! Of these twelve, two of them made transfer moves, with one of them moving for over £100M!

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Midway through season 8, and we are down to just 12 players! Let's see how it has gone so far.

Here we take a look at the attribute profiles, season stats and transfer status of each player who played in the season just gone.

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On to the end of season 8, and our stars had certainly become global heroes. You know the drill.

Here we take a look at the attribute profiles, season stats and transfer status of each player who played in the season just gone.

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We edge ever closer to the end of this series, and one more team has to go this season. You know the drill at this stage.

We shall go through the points earned by each player, by each team and the value of each player after season one. Bonuses to CA, PA and reputation will be awarded to the winner of each chart.

Surprise, surprise, Han Cock wins! He was head and shoulders above the rest. Stam, Nininho, Hans Down and Hercule Pretorius all did well to receive over 300 points, while six of the contestants were poor and claimed less than 200.

Once again, Han Cock & Lewie Roberts are the winners of season 8! Team Eight saw a significant drop this season, while Team Two and Team Seven performed very well.

Unfortunately, one team must be sacrificed. For Alexandre Leblanc and Genie, it is the end of the road. Commiserations to the two. Neither player was able to perform exceptionally well, despite playing consistently good football, and as a result were eliminated.

Congratulations to Han Cock for being the Most Valuable Player of the season! His value was boosted by his personal success, while a number of other players also saw their values soar. Every player now has a value over £40M, with all but one valued at over £50M!