This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (EDT)
Tuesday, 2:00 p.m: France v. Belgium
Wednesday, 2:00 p.m: Croatia v. England
FORWARDS
Antoine Griezmann, FRA v. BEL ($8,500): With two games that are expected to be very close, you could build a solid cash lineup that includes all four main set-piece takers. Getting exposure to France starts with Griezmann, especially with the expectation that Ousmane Dembele ($6,200) won't be in the starting XI, leaving nearly all the set pieces to Griezmann. He's taken multiple shots in each game during the tournament, and he's found the back of the net thrice while also sending in at least three crosses in three of the last four. Kylian Mbappe ($8,200) is another possibility because of the versatility of his floor (three shots, five crosses, seven fouls drawn in the last two games), but it's also more unreliable. And, of course, Olivier Giroud ($5,700) is expected to lead the line once again, though he's failed to even get a single shot on goal over five games (four starts).
Ante Rebic, CRO v. ENG ($5,500): Rebic is one of the cheaper expected starting forwards, and his floor is decent enough to warrant serious consideration ahead of teammates Ivan Perisic ($6,800), Mario Mandzukic ($6,500) or Andrej Kramaric ($6,700). Kramaric has shown to be a decent contributor, though his salary is high enough that it pushes me off, not to mention that he may not even start. Despite a good showing against Russia, Mandzukic remains a fairly goal-dependent forward, and while Perisic
MATCHES (EDT)
Tuesday, 2:00 p.m: France v. Belgium
Wednesday, 2:00 p.m: Croatia v. England
FORWARDS
Antoine Griezmann, FRA v. BEL ($8,500): With two games that are expected to be very close, you could build a solid cash lineup that includes all four main set-piece takers. Getting exposure to France starts with Griezmann, especially with the expectation that Ousmane Dembele ($6,200) won't be in the starting XI, leaving nearly all the set pieces to Griezmann. He's taken multiple shots in each game during the tournament, and he's found the back of the net thrice while also sending in at least three crosses in three of the last four. Kylian Mbappe ($8,200) is another possibility because of the versatility of his floor (three shots, five crosses, seven fouls drawn in the last two games), but it's also more unreliable. And, of course, Olivier Giroud ($5,700) is expected to lead the line once again, though he's failed to even get a single shot on goal over five games (four starts).
Ante Rebic, CRO v. ENG ($5,500): Rebic is one of the cheaper expected starting forwards, and his floor is decent enough to warrant serious consideration ahead of teammates Ivan Perisic ($6,800), Mario Mandzukic ($6,500) or Andrej Kramaric ($6,700). Kramaric has shown to be a decent contributor, though his salary is high enough that it pushes me off, not to mention that he may not even start. Despite a good showing against Russia, Mandzukic remains a fairly goal-dependent forward, and while Perisic has been a helpful cash forward at times during the World Cup, there are enough forward-eligible players on the slate that using that much salary at the position isn't really necessary if you're looking to save money. All are decent GPP options, of course.
Nacer Chadli, BEL v. FRA ($4,400): It remains unclear whether Belgium manager Roberto Martinez will revert to his three-man back line or stay with the four-man he used in the quarterfinal against Brazil, but it seems Chadli has a path to another start because Thomas Meunier ($4,900) is suspended. If he uses wingbacks, Yannick Carrasco ($4,700) could return to the left side, and he also offers a cheap forward option. I prefer Chadli over Carrasco because he's been a little more involved in the attack, though admittedly I'm not thrilled with either. Eden Hazard ($8,300) is definitely an option too, though there's probably a Belgian midfielder worth targeting in cash games, and partnering him with Hazard means you're pretty attached to a Belgian win (which is fine, but it likely takes you off of another team/player). Not to ignore the big man in the middle, Romelu Lukaku ($7,800) continues to be a beast, even if it doesn't always translate into fantasy points, and given a choice between the two, I'd take him over England's Harry Kane ($10,600) because of the cost savings. Given that you can fit in all four set-piece takers, one Kane goal is probably not enough for him to make value because of what you're giving up. But, as always with a Kane fade, two goals and you're probably dead.
MIDFIELDERS
Luka Modric, CRO v. ENG ($8,000): Modric is one of the safest players on the slate, as he takes almost all of Croatia's set pieces, and he's willing to take shots and draw fouls. Croatia are slight underdogs to England, but the game is certainly close enough that Modric should have enough time on the ball to make value. I also wouldn't necessarily prioritize him, but Ivan Rakitic ($5,000) has been a solid contributor, for his price, taking at least three shots and/or drawing at least three fouls in each World Cup match.
Kevin De Bruyne, BEL v. FRA ($7,600): De Bruyne finally had his breakout game of the World Cup, scoring a rocket of a goal against Brazil on his way to 17.5 fantasy points. However, it's worth noting that the impeccable De Bruyne floor we're all accustomed to seeing just hasn't been there this tournament, as he's failed to score more than 10.00 floor points (fantasy points minus goals and assists) while Hazard has actually been the one hitting those scores. That being said, De Bruyne is still expected to take most set pieces, and he comes in with 16 chances created in his four World Cup games. Pairing De Bruyne and Hazard together makes sense if you think Belgium continue to roll, but it likely takes you out of rostering Griezmann or Modric.
Paul Pogba, FRA v. BEL ($5,200): What's a reasonable salary for a player who has scored 7.00, 6.00 and 7.75 fantasy points in his last three games, not including fouls committed and cards? That's what Pogba has done over that span, with one yellow card and nine fouls committed ruining his solid floor. He's only taken one shot in each of his four appearances, but his salary is now lower than it's been all tournament. I mentioned on our preview podcast that I had a good feeling about Pogba, which is about the worst fantasy advice you can give, but if he can cut down on committing fouls, his floor is pretty good versus the other options in this range, such as Rakitic and the two Belgian wingback possibilities discussed before.
DEFENDERS
Kieran Trippier, ENG v. CRO ($6,300): Trippier is one of the easiest picks on the slate, as he takes a decent number of set pieces for England, and he's a solid open-play crosser. He's scored at least 10.50 fantasy points in each of his four games (one included an assist and another a clean sheet), and he'd be an easy pick at this price even if he was a midfielder. Instead, we get the possible clean sheet upside. Teammate Ashley Young ($5,000) picked up an assist against Sweden in the quarterfinal to reach 10.00 fantasy points for the first time at the World Cup, but because he takes the non-Trippier set pieces for England, he'll always be a play (not in place of Trippier).
Jan Vertonghen, BEL v. FRA ($3,000): Vertonghen is more viable if he starts as a left-back, which obviously won't be the situation if Chadli and Carrasco start as wingbacks. It's not like there will be a plethora of crosses coming from Vertonghen if he plays out wide since he's usually a centerback, but he has played wide for Belgium a few times and his low salary at least makes him reasonable. If you don't even care about that, paying down for Vincent Kompany ($2,800) makes more sense from a price perspective.
GOALKEEPER
Jordan Pickford, ENG v. CRO ($5,000): The starting goalkeepers are likely to be within $500 of each other, so it's not like you get a huge discount for paying down at the position, or need to spend much more to get to the top of the scale. Pickford has the highest win odds on the slate and will be facing a team that should test him, giving him decent save upside. Unfortunately, you can pretty much say that about France's Hugo Lloris ($4,800) or the two underdog keepers in terms of saves.
