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World Cup preview and fantasy soccer roundup. Martin Konstantinov provides his recommended lineup picks for the Semi-final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Target these players in your fantasy lineups.
Perhaps the most viewed global sporting event, the World Cup brings more than a billion fans to their television screens to watch a month of the world's most popular sport. With this comes the inevitable fantasy variant of the sport - a month-long competition that pits you against the rest of the planet. The most popular site for World Cup fantasy is the McDonalds sponsored World Cup Fantasy competition on FIFA's own website. Although it has some different rules to traditional fantasy soccer games (roll-on roll-off substitutions, unique formations, and different boosts), the basic premise of the game is the same: score as many points as you can and beat your opponents.
Here at RotoBaller, we will try to give you the best analysis possible so that you can beat your friends and take on the rest of the world by managing your team in the fantasy version of the beautiful game.
Here is the team analysis and lineup picks for fantasy drafts heading into the Semi-finals. At the end of the day, remember to make the decision you feel is best for the team. Good luck, and enjoy!
Six Names To Look At - Fantasy World Cup
Harry Kane - F, England (Price: 11.2M)
Still the top goalscorer of the tournament, Kane's form in front of goal has cooled off slightly. With three of his goals coming from the penalty spot, Harry Kane is locked in as the team's penalty taker as well as being the starting forward and talisman for his team. Kane has a favorable matchup against Croatia in the Semi-final, meaning that he could propel England into their first World Cup final in a very long time. If the team wants to reach its goals of advancing past Croatia, then utilizing Kane and getting him involved early and often is probably their key to success, making the England striker a fantastic option even with the high price.
Romelu Lukaku - F, Belgium (Price: 10M)
Alternatively, if you are buying into the narrative that Belgium will beat France (or it will be a high-scoring game), then having Lukaku as one of your forwards is a very good idea. With four goals in the tournament, Lukaku is one of the players who could challenge Kane for the Golden Boot when all is said and done. Therefore, having Lukaku in your lineups for the Semi-final match is a good idea if you are trying to maximize upside in the event that France loses as well as go against the trend of Kane owners in your fantasy leagues.
Marouane Fellaini - M, Belgium (Price: 7M)
Surprisingly, Marouane Fellaini has featured quite heavily for Belgium since they almost were knocked out in the Round of Sixteen by Japan. With just one goal to his name, Fellaini started the team's Quarter-final matchup against Brazil and was one of the key distributors and ball-winners in the center of midfield. With the chance of Fellaini being involved in the team's offense increasing as they play France (where set pieces may be the key to victory), his $7M price makes him a bargain for fantasy owners who need alternative options at center mid.
Paul Pogba - M, France (Price: 8.8M)
If there is one French player who has disappointed from a fantasy standpoint up to this point in the tournament, it is definitely Paul Pogba. The center mid has not contributed with any stats thus far in the tournament, even though he has played quite well overall. However, this could change in a do-or-die clash with Belgium in the Semi-final. This may be Pogba's breakout game, meaning that you have some serious upside if you can afford to bring him into your lineups for the upcoming match.
Benjamin Pavard - D, France (Price: 4.5M)
With an absolute thunderbolt goal from outside the box, Pavard became an unlikely French hero in the Round of Sixteen. Now, the French center-back turned right-back is a locked-in starter with the team who can produce when called upon and is available for a bargain bin $4.5M. Make sure you have Pavard in your team as he has offensive upside as well as clean sheet upside despite the difficult matchup with Belgium.
Harry Maguire - D, England (Price: 4.9M)
With England being the on-paper favorites to beat Croatia, buying into Harry Maguire's performances this World Cup may be the way to go if you are looking for a cheaper defensive option with goal-scoring upside. Maguire has shown his skill at scoring headers from set piece crosses; with set pieces potentially being the deciding factor in the match against Croatia, Maguire may be called upon to produce. A goal and a clean sheet is too much upside to ignore from a defender who is one of the lower priced options at the position this round.
RotoBaller Weekly XV
Team:
GK: Thibaut Courtois (6M), Lovre Kalinic (4.4M)
DF: Thomas Meunier (6M), Kieran Trippier (5.6M), Benjamin Pavard (4.5M), Harry Maguire (4.9M), Dejan Lovren (5.1M)
MF: Marouane Fellaini (7M), Jesse Lingard (7.6M), Paul Pogba (8.8M), Luka Modric (9.1M), Kevin De Bruyne (9.8M)
FW: Eden Hazard (10.1M), Harry Kane (11.2M) , Romelu Lukaku (10M)
Analysis:
With this team, you are mitigating your downside and maximizing the chance of breakout performances. Regardless of the result, Mignolet is expected to have several saves, making his points total one of the highest at the position this round. With defenders from each team in the Semi-final, you can substitute out whoever doesn't perform from Day 1 and ensure that you have the highest chance of collecting clean sheets throughout the round. In the midfield, you are banking on breakouts from the likes of Fellaini and Pogba while balancing out the position with team leaders Modric and De Bruyne. Finally, up top, having Hazard and Lukaku could prove to be a deadly combination, while the upside of Harry Kane is too much to ignore this late in the tournament and with so few options to choose from.
That's all for this week - good luck!
