They say you never know what you’ve got til it’s gone.
After two gruelling weeks sat on my sofa / in various bars around the city, watching almost every game, something I never thought could happen was coming to pass. I was approaching my football limit.
Then Fifa went and took my football away from me, and a gaping hole of time suddenly opened up in my life. Two whole days without World Cup football… it’s felt like an eternity.
Thankfully, the Lord of Football himself – Don Gianni Infantino – is breaking our football fast on Friday. We’ve got four genuinely tasty games on the menu, and – most importantly of all, by miles – loads of Fantasy World Cup decisions to make.
Fantasy World Cup Tips – Quarter Finals Preview
Fifa have chosen to give us four matchups – played by eight teams in total – in the quarter final stage. Some would call this approach old fashioned, but I respect it.
Here’s a reminder of what’s in store:
(Times are GMT +1)
Here are the most important Fantasy World Cup rules to bear in mind:
- You get 5 free transfers ahead of the quarter finals
- You can have 5 players per nation
Five of everything, basically. Apart from that, it’s business as usual.
With that cleared up, let’s crack on with the match previews. I’m getting excited already!
Croatia vs Brazil
Croatia are boring, IRL and in Fantasy World Cup.
They have a good defence and midfield, and no pace, incision, or threat up front. They keep showing Mandzukic on the coaching bench – could we not throw him on for half an hour and see what happens?
Leave aside the 4-1 against (worst team at the tournament) Canada, and here are their results:
- 1-0
- 0-0
- 0-0
- 1-1
Yup. Two goals scored in those four games, and one conceded. That’s Knockout Football for you.
In short, we’re definitely not backing them to score goals.
Their defence has been great, in fairness. Unfortunately, they now play Brazil, who just declared on four goals at half-time against South Korea. I’m sure Croatia will defend well again, but we definitely can’t back them for a clean here.
TLDR: nothing to see here, let’s move on!
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Brazil were obviously brilliant against South Korea. They got a soft matchup, finally took the handbrake off, and duly looked amazing.
It’s highly unlikely they’ll take this approach against Croatia, but – in the context of all these matchups looking pretty close – there are still some intriguing players here.
Vini is getting close to must-own. He’s been world class for Real Madrid for a couple of years now, and was great against the Koreans. He’s expensive, but we have to spend our money somewhere, and – especially since he’ll be cutting inside on Lovren’s side of the defence – he’s as good a shout as any.
The Brazil defence also looks tasty, since – as noted – Croatia’s attack is rubbish. They’ve rotated a bit back there, but we can probably back Marquinhos and Thiago Silva to start at centre-back. The full-backs obviously offer more attacking potential, but they’ve been rotated/injured. Marquinhos looks the safest and best value pick here, at 5.5.
Netherlands vs Argentina
I was really impressed with the Netherlands against Murica. They let the US pass and run around a lot… then just kept pinching the ball and scoring goals.
The defence is the best unit here. They rode their luck a little bit in the last game, but the goal they actually conceded (to ruin my double clean sheet – grr) was absurd.
Argentina have looked better going forward in the past couple of games. But – considering there are so few good defensive matchups in this round – I’ll have at least one Dutch defender. Dumfries is spenny, at 6.0, but also has the highest upside, and was a constant menace against the US. He’s in. Van Dijk and Ake are nailed as well, with Ake being good value at 5.0.
I’m not interested in any midfielders here. There are two very nice forward options though.
Gakpo wasn’t at his best against the US, but he was fine, and let’s not forget his form in the group stage. He’s also super cheap at 7.0. Memphis looked somewhere back to his best, and is still a decent price at 8.5.
I guess I’d back Gakpo, since he’ll be cutting inside against Otamendi and whatever auxiliary LB Argentina are playing, but both are fine.
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Messi isn’t quite set-and-forget, but I’ll have him anyway. He’s on pens (even if he misses them), and has delivered the goods in both of Argentina’s true must-win games now, against Mexico and Australia. And again, while the Dutch defensive record is very good, they didn’t always look super-convincing against the USA.
Alvarez is better value, at only 6.5. I just think there are way too many good forward options this round to consider him.
The Argentina defence isn’t the worst shout… we need some defenders in our team this round. I don’t trust Acuna to start, so Otamendi is the cheapest nailed option at 5.0. I definitely wouldn’t double-up though – the Dutch have good attackers, and are lethal on the counter.
Morocco vs Portugal
Morocco put in another warrior-like display against Spain. They created almost nothing, but they weren’t really trying to, and I assume they’ll park the bus again here.
Morocco’s defensive record is ridiculous under Walid Regragui. They’ve conceded one goal in the whole World Cup. If we go further back, they’ve conceded one goal in their last eight games.
Are Portugal a more dangerous team than Spain? Absolutely. They’ve realised you have to actually shoot to score goals, for one thing. With that track record, however, we’ve got to back the Morocco defence with at least one player. Hakimi technically has the most attacking threat, not that we’ve seen it this tournament, and is fairly-priced at 5.0. Saiss is your budget pick, at 4.5.
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Portugal probably have the best defensive matchup this round, since Morocco will almost certainly try and grind it out again.
There’s been a bit of rotation back there, with Cancelo stunningly (to me, at least) getting benched against Switzerland. Dias is the only nailed defender, at 5.5. We’ll definitely have the goalkeeper Costa too, at 5.0. After that, Guerreiro is probably the most tempting option – he looked very dangerous against the Swiss, and is only 5.0 – but there’s some risk of rotation with Joao.
I’ll keep Bruno in my team. He’s not cheap, at 9.5, and the Morocco midfield is hard as nails. He’s passed the eye test though, delivered consistent fantasy points… and, quite simply, midfield is rubbish in Fantasy World Cup and he’s as good an option as any.
If Goncalo Ramos goes off again, he’s obviously ridiculous value at 6.5. The matchup is terrible, but the Swiss were supposed to be tight at the back, and he obliterated them. I wouldn’t back him in this situation in regular FPL, but – with my Super Fun Fantasy World Cup hat on – he’s a cool gamble.
England vs France
Even if you strip away all our inherent biases and the constant hype we’re suggested to, England have – by any measure – been impressive so far. They’ve won three and drawn one, and – for a team which supposedly had question marks at the back – have now kept three clean sheets on the bounce.
The massive caveat, of course, is that they haven’t played anyone that good yet… and now face probably the best team in the tournament.
Even with the three cleans, it’s impossible to feel confident in the England defence. The French attack is just too scary. I don’t hate Shaw for 5.0, just in case England do grind it out and it goes to extra-time (as is their wont in these types of games), but it’s hopeful at best.
Saka is probably the best value pick in midfield or attack. He’ll surely start, based on his current form, and is reasonably-priced at 8.0.
Kane is on pens, and tends to get a lot of them. Plus, if England do score, he’ll probably be involved. He’s definitely a contender for one of our two (or three) premium forward spots.
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France are great. They finally seemed to kick into gear against Poland, and played absolutely brilliantly.
Mbappe is as must-own as must-own can be. He’s the outstanding player of the tournament thus far, is basically undefendable, and just bullied poor Poland.
Giroud is a decent value pick, at only 7.5. You can definitely see the England defence making a mistake now that they’re finally being tested properly, and he’s most likely to snaffle up that kind of chance. He’s in good goalscoring form, always has a chance at an assist too, and keeps trying bicycle kicks, which is fun in itself.
(Griezmann and Dembele are also great. Unfortunately all these guys are forwards, and we can only have three.)
I don’t love the French defence. They still haven’t kept a clean sheet, Lloris has looked a little shaky, and England are really good at counter-attacking (which they’ll be doing a lot of here). Theo Hernandez is your budget pick if you do want to go there, at 5.0.
FWC Quarter Finals – My Team, and Final Thoughts
So, what does all that genius-level analysis get us? This, my friends!
I already had the Dutch and Portuguese goalkeepers, and they’re easy holds. Costa is my main hope for a clean here, but if Noppert gets one first he can stay right where he is.
The defenders I’m keeping are Ake, Otamendi, and Theo Hernandez.
I’m bringing in Dumfries for the attacking potential (with a slim chance at a clean), and Saiss (for the ridiculous Moroccan defence). I like this combo a lot.
Midfield is just a nightmare. I genuinely don’t like a single player on the entire list.
So, I’m going budget, and saving my money for forwards. I had Bruno and Saka anyway, and they’re at least in good form, even if they have bad fixtures. I also had Ziyech, and am holding because… there’s nobody else. I’ve also brought in Klaasen as an enabler, and because he plays on the first night (so I can swap him out if and when he blanks). Paqueta is cheap, and seems to be nailed in a good attack… let’s chuck him in there. Again, we’re not exactly spoiled for choice here.
Forwards are where the party’s at, and I’m going threemium.
Mbappe is a lock. I had Messi already, and he’s an easy keep – partly because he’s great, also because I like having Lionel Messi in my fantasy team.
The third spot is the biggest challenge. It basically comes down to Kane or Vini for me, and I’ve gone Vini. I prefer the matchup with Argentina, he’s looked better when you watch the games… and finally, he’s just more fun.
Captaincy seems pretty easy this round. Give it to Messi as usual and hope he gets another dodgy pen, then chuck the armband on Mbappe if he doesn’t.
Right, that’s your lot. Good luck in the quarters, see you again in the semis, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter – @Full90FPL – and retweet all James’s hilarious content.