This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
It's the first four-game day for the World Cup, though only the three later contests are in the main FanDuel slate. As a reminder, you'll need to employ the all-important late swap. In the World Cup, all games are staggered start times until the last group-stage matches. As such, we won't have lineups for each game until around an hour before the start, so you need to be extra cautious and at the very least make sure all your players have the green check mark. You may also need to have contingencies in case a player you have in your lineup isn't starting so you can swap efficiently.
MATCHES (ET)
- 8:00 am: Denmark vs. Tunisia
- 11:00 am: Mexico vs. Poland
- 2:00 pm: France vs. Australia
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Kylian Mbappe, FRA vs. AUS ($22): France come into this matchup as heavy favorites with an expected goal total of 2.17. Mbappe is the most expensive player on the slate but should be the focal point of the attack, especially with Karim Benzema out for the entire tournament. You could still get some pieces of the French attack with Olivier Giroud ($18), who we project as the center-forward, with Kingsley Coman ($17) and Antoine Griezmann ($18) the other options.
Robert Lewandowski, POL vs. MEX ($20): If you prefer to spend money elsewhere, Poland and Mexico should be evenly matched with both sides fielding a world-class striker. It's unlikely you can get Mbappe with both of these guys, but both Lewandowski and Hirving Lozano ($16) are worthy choices that shouldn't be overly popular. Looking at the third matchup, Denmark are favored versus Tunisia which makes Kasper Dolberg ($17) a decent play, though that position seems to be a revolving door for the Danes.
Jamie Maclaren, AUS vs. FRA ($13): If you want to find a way to separate yourself in tournament play, you may want to consider targeting strikers from either Australia or Tunisia. While the Aussies are the bigger underdogs, Maclaren is expected to be the penalty taker for his team, which might be Australia's best chance to score a goal. Similarly, Wahbi Khazri ($16) should fill a similar role for Tunisia, which has slightly better odds to get past Denmark.
Christian Eriksen, DEN vs. TUN ($16): While Eriksen may not have the goalscoring odds as some of the aforementioned strikers, he's poised to be the primary option for both penalties and corners, which should allow him to create plenty of chances. Again, Australia are heavy underdogs but Aaron Mooy ($13) should fill a similar role for his team and could offer some value if his team can at least avoid a blowout and spend some time on the front foot.
DEFENDERS
Dayot Upamecano, FRA vs. AUS ($9): One option is to go clean-sheet hunting with France and Denmark. The Danish defenders are more likely to register some clearances to give you additional value, which means looking at Andreas Christensen ($9) or Simon Kjaer ($9), or going with with Upamecano or William Saliba ($9) for France.
Montassar Talbi, TUN vs. DEN ($11): Both Tunisia and Australia figure to be under significant pressure on their backline. With the Aussies so heavily skewed against, targeting the Tunisia central defenders as a slight contrarian play is worth considering. If you really want to go all in on clearances, Milos Degenek ($11) and Harry Souttar ($9) should be pretty busy.
GOALKEEPER
Hugo Lloris, FRA vs. AUS ($14): It's going to be hard to avoid using Lloris in this one with his team having a ridiculous 50.82-clean sheet percentage and 75.12-win percentage. Still, he's a pricey option when you consider Kasper Schmeichel ($12) as a modest discount with similar clean-sheet chances. It probably would be too risky of a play to warrant utilizing Guillermo Ochoa ($10) or Wojciech Szczesny ($11), as both keepers could concede a couple of goals and suffer a defeat. If you really want to fade the top end, Tunisia's Aymen Dahmen ($8) might be the best look and should face some shots.
