2026 FIFA World Cup Fantasy Rankings: Best Picks for Matchday 1

RotoWire's 2026 World Cup Fantasy rankings for Matchday 1. Captains, sleepers and value picks built on projected lineups, set-piece roles and fixtures.

Updated on May 28, 2026 11:01AM EST

2026 FIFA World Cup Fantasy Rankings: Best Picks for Matchday 1

By:

Adam Zdroik

Updated on May 28, 2026 11:01AM EST

World Cup

2026 FIFA World Cup Fantasy Rankings: Best Picks for Matchday 1

Welcome to RotoWire's 2026 FIFA World Cup fantasy rankings for Matchday 1. These rankings highlight the best World Cup fantasy players based on projected lineups, form, set-piece roles and fixture quality heading into the tournament.

Whether you're building a season-long World Cup fantasy team, preparing for a draft or searching for captaincy options, these rankings provide the top overall picks and sleepers for the opening slate of matches.

These rankings will be updated ahead of the opener as lineups, injuries and team news change.

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More 2026 World Cup Content
World Cup Predicted & Confirmed Starting XIs
World Cup Set Pieces: Penalties, Corners & Free Kicks by Team
Group Previews A to L
RotoWire World Cup Hub: Links to News, Stats, Depth Charts & More

How These Rankings Are Built

With no in-tournament data yet, our Matchday 1 World Cup Fantasy rankings combine four inputs: projected starting XIs, international stats across the last year, specifically during qualifying, set-piece responsibility (penalties, corners and direct free kicks) and fixture quality based on historical team and World Cup stats. Rankings update as final squads, injuries and pre-match lineups are confirmed.

Top Captain Picks for Matchday 1

Mikel Oyarzabal ($8.1m, Spain v Cabo Verde)

The highest projected point-scorer on Matchday 1. Spain are clear favorites against Cabo Verde, Oyarzabal handles penalties for La Roja and projects for a high attacking output at sub-premium money. The best mix of upside and price on the slate.

Kai Havertz ($7.8m, Germany v Curacao)

Curacao are arguably the weakest opponent of the opening matchday and Germany's central striker stands to benefit. The main question with Havertz will be if he starts after the Champions League final with Arsenal.

Erling Haaland ($10.5m, Norway v Iraq)

The chalk play and the highest-owned premium for a reason. Iraq are a heavy underdog and Haaland anchors every situation Norway create in the box. The safest captain but eats the largest chunk of your budget.

World Cup Fantasy Round 1 Player Rankings

Below are the full Round 1 World Cup Fantasy player rankings based on projected lineups, form and fixtures.

These rankings can be used to guide transfers, captaincy decisions and overall squad planning ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Overall	FW	MID	DEF	GK	Player	Team	Matchup	Tact Pos	FIFA Pos	Price	Own%	Pts
1	1				Mikel Oyarzabal	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	FW	FWD	$8.1m	15.6%	10.61
2	2				Kai Havertz	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	FW	FWD	$7.8m	6.2%	9.86
3	3				Erling Haaland	Norway	Norway v Iraq	FW	FWD	$10.5m	33.3%	9.65
4	4				Raul Jimenez	Mexico	Mexico v South Africa	FW	FWD	$7.0m	2.2%	8.15
5	5				Ferran Torres	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	FWR	FWD	$7.8m	2.8%	8.05
6			1		Joshua Kimmich	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	DR	DEF	$5.5m	25.6%	7.88
7		1			Florian Wirtz	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	AML	MID	$7.5m	22.1%	7.86
8	6				Breel Embolo	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	FW	FWD	$7.5m	1.9%	7.85
9		2			Dani Olmo	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	FWL	MID	$7.7m	2.8%	7.83
10	7				Luis Suarez	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	FW	FWD	$5.7m	2.0%	7.71
11	8				Marko Arnautovic	Austria	Austria v Jordan	FW	FWD	$6.0m	0.7%	7.54
12			2		Nico Schlotterbeck	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	DC	DEF	$5.3m	3.6%	7.50
13		3			Rafael Leao	Portugal	Portugal v DR Congo	AML	MID	$7.8m	1.8%	7.48
14	9				Mehdi Taremi	Iran	Iran v New Zealand	FW	FWD	$6.1m	0.5%	7.42
15		4			Charles De Ketelaere	Belgium	Belgium v Egypt	FW	MID	$5.6m	0.5%	7.41
16		5			Christoph Baumgartner	Austria	Austria v Jordan	AML	MID	$6.7m	0.6%	7.40
17			3		David Raum	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	DL	DEF	$4.9m	5.5%	7.37
18			4		Jonathan Tah	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	DC	DEF	$5.3m	4.7%	7.37
19		6			Fabian Rieder	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	AMC	MID	$6.2m	0.0%	7.36
20	10				Kylian Mbappe	France	France v Senegal	FW	FWD	$10.5m	53.2%	7.34
21			5		Daniel Svensson	Sweden	Sweden v Tunisia	MR	DEF	$4.5m	0.6%	7.23
22	11				Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	Portugal v DR Congo	FW	FWD	$10.0m	12.6%	7.17
23		7			Kenan Yildiz	Turkey	Turkey v Australia	AML	MID	$7.0m	4.5%	7.14
24		8			Aleksandar Pavlovic	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	DMC	MID	$5.5m	0.5%	7.12
25		9			Maxi Araujo	Uruguay	Uruguay v Saudi Arabia	ML	MID	$6.4m	0.2%	7.10
26		10			Giorgian De Arrascaeta	Uruguay	Uruguay v Saudi Arabia	AMC	MID	$6.5m	1.0%	7.07
27		11			James Rodriguez	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	AMC	MID	$6.5m	2.5%	7.07
28		12			John McGinn	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	AML	MID	$6.0m	2.6%	7.05
29			6		Aymeric Laporte	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	DC	DEF	$5.5m	4.7%	7.03
30		13			Leon Goretzka	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	DMC	MID	$6.1m	0.3%	7.03
31		14			Hakan Calhanoglu	Turkey	Turkey v Australia	DMC	MID	$7.1m	3.5%	7.01
32	12				Darwin Nunez	Uruguay	Uruguay v Saudi Arabia	FW	FWD	$7.5m	1.4%	6.89
33			7		Jorge Eduardo Sanchez	Mexico	Mexico v South Africa	DR	DEF	$4.0m	0.6%	6.86
34		15			Ruben Vargas	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	AMR	MID	$6.8m	0.6%	6.85
35		16			Mehdi Ghayedi	Iran	Iran v New Zealand	FWR	MID	$5.9m	0.0%	6.82
36			8		Silvan Widmer	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	DR	DEF	$4.2m	0.5%	6.81
37		17			Desire Doue	France	France v Senegal	AML	MID	$7.5m	2.5%	6.75
38			9		David Moller Wolfe	Norway	Norway v Iraq	DL	DEF	$4.0m	0.6%	6.74
39		18			Raphinha	Brazil	Brazil v Morocco	MR	MID	$8.2m	21.4%	6.71
40				1	Orjan Nyland	Norway	Norway v Iraq	GK	GK	$4.2m	3.1%	6.71
41			10		Pedro Porro	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	DR	DEF	$5.5m	9.4%	6.62
42		19			Bruno Fernandes	Portugal	Portugal v DR Congo	AMC	MID	$8.5m	53.9%	6.62
43			11		Marc Cucurella	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	DL	DEF	$5.1m	20.7%	6.57
44		20			Leroy Sane	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	AMR	MID	$7.4m	0.8%	6.53
45		21			Ben Gannon Doak	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	AMR	MID	$4.9m	0.2%	6.52
46		22			Billy Gilmour	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	DMC	MID	$5.1m	0.2%	6.49
47		23			Romano Schmid	Austria	Austria v Jordan	AMR	MID	$6.0m	0.2%	6.48
48		24			Remo Freuler	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	DMC	MID	$5.9m	0.0%	6.47
49				2	Alexander Schlager	Austria	Austria v Jordan	GK	GK	$4.6m	0.4%	6.47
50			12		Guillermo Varela	Uruguay	Uruguay v Saudi Arabia	DR	DEF	$4.2m	0.6%	6.45
51		25			Marcel Sabitzer	Austria	Austria v Jordan	AMC	MID	$6.8m	2.3%	6.44
52	13				Lautaro Martinez	Argentina	Argentina v Algeria	FW	FWD	$8.8m	3.8%	6.43
53			14		Ricardo Rodriguez	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	DL	DEF	$4.5m	1.9%	6.38
54			13		Joao Cancelo	Portugal	Portugal v DR Congo	DR	DEF	$5.3m	6.8%	6.38
55		26			Bernardo Silva	Portugal	Portugal v DR Congo	AMR	MID	$7.8m	1.7%	6.37
56				3	Jose Rangel	Mexico	Mexico v South Africa	GK	GK	$3.9m	2.8%	6.37
57			15		Antonee Robinson	USA	USA v Paraguay	ML	DEF	$5.0m	3.0%	6.35
58			16		Manuel Akanji	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	DC	DEF	$5.0m	4.8%	6.34
59			17		Nico Elvedi	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	DC	DEF	$4.3m	1.9%	6.34
60	14				Matheus Cunha	Brazil	Brazil v Morocco	FW	FWD	$7.3m	3.5%	6.34
61				4	Camilo Vargas	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	GK	GK	$4.3m	2.3%	6.34
62				5	Angus Gunn	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	GK	GK	$3.6m	1.3%	6.34
63		27			Jhon Arias	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	AMR	MID	$6.3m	0.2%	6.32
64			18		Gideon Mensah	Ghana	Ghana v Panama	ML	DEF	$3.9m	0.0%	6.31
65			19		Jesus Gallardo	Mexico	Mexico v South Africa	DL	DEF	$4.7m	0.6%	6.28
66			20		Aaron Hickey	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	DR	DEF	$4.3m	0.2%	6.27
67			21		Nahuel Molina	Argentina	Argentina v Algeria	DR	DEF	$4.4m	3.4%	6.27
68		28			Gabriel Martinelli	Brazil	Brazil v Morocco	ML	MID	$6.5m	0.5%	6.25
69		29			Ryan Christie	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	DMC	MID	$5.6m	0.1%	6.23
70		30			Jamal Musiala	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	AMC	MID	$8.0m	11.4%	6.23
71	17				Dan Ndoye	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	AML	FWD	$6.8m	0.6%	6.21
72	15				Alexander Sorloth	Norway	Norway v Iraq	FWR	FWD	$6.8m	1.5%	6.19
73		31			Kevin De Bruyne	Belgium	Belgium v Egypt	AMC	MID	$7.5m	5.5%	6.19
74			22		Wesley	Brazil	Brazil v Morocco	DR	DEF	$4.5m	1.1%	6.19
75	16				Harry Kane	England	England v Croatia	FW	FWD	$10.5m	42.2%	6.17
76				6	Fernando Muslera	Uruguay	Uruguay v Saudi Arabia	GK	GK	$4.1m	0.6%	6.17
77			23		Thomas Meunier	Belgium	Belgium v Egypt	DR	DEF	$4.8m	0.6%	6.15
78			24		Mathias Olivera	Uruguay	Uruguay v Saudi Arabia	DL	DEF	$4.3m	0.2%	6.14
79			25		Nicolas Otamendi	Argentina	Argentina v Algeria	DC	DEF	$4.4m	1.7%	6.13
80		32			Luis Diaz	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	AML	MID	$8.1m	20.7%	6.10
81		33			Joao Neves	Portugal	Portugal v DR Congo	DMC	MID	$6.5m	3.1%	6.08
82			26		Nicolas Tagliafico	Argentina	Argentina v Algeria	DL	DEF	$4.3m	0.6%	6.07
83		34			Youri Tielemans	Belgium	Belgium v Egypt	DMC	MID	$6.1m	1.0%	6.07
84			27		Johan Mojica	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	DL	DEF	$3.9m	1.0%	6.06
85			28		Gabriel Gudmundsson	Sweden	Sweden v Tunisia	ML	DEF	$4.2m	1.2%	6.05
86			29		Kristoffer Ajer	Norway	Norway v Iraq	DC	DEF	$4.3m	0.9%	6.03
87	18				Memphis Depay	Netherlands	Netherlands v Japan	FW	FWD			6.03
88		35			Jeremy Doku	Belgium	Belgium v Egypt	AML	MID	$7.5m	13.1%	6.02
89		36			Alexis Mac Allister	Argentina	Argentina v Algeria	AMC	MID	$6.6m	2.6%	6.01
90			30		Alex Sandro	Brazil	Brazil v Morocco	DL	DEF	$4.5m	0.6%	6.00
91			31		Goncalo Inacio	Portugal	Portugal v DR Congo	DC	DEF	$4.6m	0.9%	5.99
92		37			Pedri	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	MC	MID	$8.1m	8.4%	5.96
93			32		Cesar Montes	Mexico	Mexico v South Africa	DC	DEF	$4.7m	1.2%	5.96
93			33		Johan Vasquez	Mexico	Mexico v South Africa	DC	DEF	$4.7m	0.9%	5.96
95	19				Jonathan David	Canada	Canada v Bosnia	FW	FWD	$7.0m	1.3%	5.94
96			34		Leo Ostigard	Norway	Norway v Iraq	DC	DEF	$4.1m	0.2%	5.94
97			35		Ruben Dias	Portugal	Portugal v DR Congo	DC	DEF	$5.0m	4.9%	5.91
98		38			Marcus Rashford	England	England v Croatia	AML	MID	$7.5m	2.1%	5.89
99		39			Nilson Angulo	Ecuador	Ecuador v Ivory Coast	ML	MID	$6.0m	0.2%	5.89
100			36		Phillipp Mwene	Austria	Austria v Jordan	DL	DEF	$3.9m	0.1%	5.88
101			37		Ronald Araujo	Uruguay	Uruguay v Saudi Arabia	DC	DEF	$5.0m	3.7%	5.87
102			38		Kevin Danso	Austria	Austria v Jordan	DC	DEF	$4.3m	0.9%	5.87
103			39		Pau Cubarsi	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	DC	DEF	$5.0m	6.5%	5.87
104				7	Manuel Neuer	Germany	Germany v Curaçao	GK	GK	$5.0m	14.5%	5.86
105			40		Marco Friedl	Austria	Austria v Jordan	DC	DEF	$4.3m	0.0%	5.86
106		40			Timothy Weah	USA	USA v Paraguay	MR	MID	$5.8m	0.3%	5.86
107			41		Jhon Lucumi	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	DC	DEF	$4.3m	0.2%	5.85
108			42		Seol Young-Woo	South Korea	South Korea v Czech Republic	MR	DEF	$4.2m	0.1%	5.85
109		41			Federico Valverde	Uruguay	Uruguay v Saudi Arabia	MR	MID	$7.5m	6.1%	5.85
110		42			Rodri	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	MC	MID	$7.5m	1.2%	5.83
111		43			Fabian Ruiz	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	MC	MID	$6.8m	1.0%	5.83
112			43		Jose Maria Gimenez	Uruguay	Uruguay v Saudi Arabia	DC	DEF	$4.4m	3.2%	5.82
113			44		Tae-Seok Lee	South Korea	South Korea v Czech Republic	ML	DEF	$3.7m	0.0%	5.82
114		44			Antonio Nusa	Norway	Norway v Iraq	FWL	MID	$6.1m	2.6%	5.81
115			47		Zeki Celik	Turkey	Turkey v Australia	DR	DEF	$4.3m	0.1%	5.81
116			45		Lisandro Martinez	Argentina	Argentina v Algeria	DC	DEF	$4.6m	1.6%	5.81
117				8	Unai Simon	Spain	Spain v Cabo Verde	GK	GK	$5.0m	6.9%	5.79
118		45			Xaver Schlager	Austria	Austria v Jordan	DMC	MID	$5.5m	0.0%	5.79
119		46			Martin Odegaard	Norway	Norway v Iraq	MC	MID	$7.7m	4.1%	5.78
120			46		Arya Yousefi	Iran	Iran v New Zealand	DR	DEF	$3.5m	0.1%	5.78
121				9	Dayne St. Clair	Canada	Canada v Bosnia	GK	GK	$3.8m	1.0%	5.77
122				10	Alireza Beiranvand	Iran	Iran v New Zealand	GK	GK	$4.2m	0.2%	5.75
123			48		Theo Hernandez	France	France v Senegal	DL	DEF	$5.0m	3.1%	5.74
124				11	Kim Seung-gyu	South Korea	South Korea v Czech Republic	GK	GK	$4.1m	0.1%	5.74
125		47			Granit Xhaka	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	DMC	MID	$6.2m	5.5%	5.73
126			49		Julian Ryerson	Norway	Norway v Iraq	DR	DEF	$4.2m	8.6%	5.72
127			50		Maxim De Cuyper	Belgium	Belgium v Egypt	DL	DEF	$4.7m	3.2%	5.71
128			51		Scott McKenna	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	DC	DEF	$3.8m	0.2%	5.69
129		48			Caleb Yirenkyi	Ghana	Ghana v Panama	MR	MID	$4.7m	0.0%	5.69
130		49			Aurelien Tchouameni	France	France v Senegal	DMC	MID	$6.5m	0.7%	5.68
131			52		Davinson Sanchez	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	DC	DEF	$4.3m	0.6%	5.68
132	20				Che Adams	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	FW	FWD	$5.4m	0.2%	5.68
133				12	Diogo Costa	Portugal	Portugal v DR Congo	GK	GK	$4.9m	9.8%	5.63
134		50			Enzo Fernandez	Argentina	Argentina v Algeria	DMC	MID	$7.5m	3.5%	5.62
135				13	Hernan Ismael Galindez	Ecuador	Ecuador v Ivory Coast	GK	GK	$4.2m	1.7%	5.61
136		51			Christian Pulisic	USA	USA v Paraguay	AMC	MID	$7.0m	4.1%	5.59
137				14	Ugurcan Cakir	Turkey	Turkey v Australia	GK	GK	$4.2m	1.1%	5.59
138				15	Kristoffer Nordfeldt	Sweden	Sweden v Tunisia	GK	GK	$3.9m	0.7%	5.59
139		52			Adrien Rabiot	France	France v Senegal	DMC	MID	$6.4m	0.2%	5.56
140				16	Gregor Kobel	Switzerland	Switzerland v Qatar	GK	GK	$4.7m	8.4%	5.56
141			53		Merih Demiral	Turkey	Turkey v Australia	DC	DEF	$4.0m	0.7%	5.55
142		53			Malik Tillman	USA	USA v Paraguay	AMC	MID	$6.1m	0.3%	5.54
143		54			Richard Rios Montoya	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	DMC	MID	$4.7m	0.5%	5.52
144		55			Julian Quinones	Mexico	Mexico v South Africa	ML	MID	$5.6m	0.3%	5.51
145		56			Scott McTominay	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	AMC	MID	$6.5m	14.0%	5.51
146			54		John Souttar	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	DC	DEF	$3.8m	0.1%	5.50
147		57			Konrad Laimer	Austria	Austria v Jordan	DR	MID	$5.8m	0.5%	5.50
148		58			Erik Lira	Mexico	Mexico v South Africa	DMC	MID	$5.6m	0.0%	5.49
149		59			Ali Ahmed	Canada	Canada v Bosnia	ML	MID	$4.9m	0.1%	5.49
150		60			Arda Guler	Turkey	Turkey v Australia	AMC	MID	$7.0m	9.7%	5.48
151				17	Emiliano Martinez	Argentina	Argentina v Algeria	GK	GK	$5.0m	21.0%	5.48
152			55		Nuno Mendes	Portugal	Portugal v DR Congo	DL	DEF	$5.8m	46.2%	5.46
153		61			Michael Olise	France	France v Senegal	AMR	MID	$9.5m	26.2%	5.45
154			56		Daniel Munoz	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	DR	DEF	$4.6m	15.3%	5.44
155			57		Reece James	England	England v Croatia	DR	DEF	$5.2m	4.5%	5.42
156			58		Dayot Upamecano	France	France v Senegal	DC	DEF	$5.3m	4.8%	5.41
157				18	Mike Maignan	France	France v Senegal	GK	GK	$5.0m	10.2%	5.41
158	21				Cyle Larin	Canada	Canada v Bosnia	FW	FWD	$6.2m	0.1%	5.38
159			59		Marquinhos	Brazil	Brazil v Morocco	DC	DEF	$5.2m	4.4%	5.36
160	22				Folarin Balogun	USA	USA v Paraguay	FW	FWD	$6.0m	0.8%	5.35
161		62			Ismail Yuksek	Turkey	Turkey v Australia	DMC	MID	$4.6m	0.0%	5.34
162	23				Viktor Gyokeres	Sweden	Sweden v Tunisia	FW	FWD	$7.8m	8.2%	5.34
163			60		Milad Mohammadi	Iran	Iran v New Zealand	DL	DEF	$3.8m	0.0%	5.31
164	24				Lionel Messi	Argentina	Argentina v Algeria	AMR	FWD	$10.0m	18.2%	5.29
165		63			Gilberto Mora	Mexico	Mexico v South Africa	MC	MID	$4.5m	0.5%	5.28
166		64			Rodrigo De Paul	Argentina	Argentina v Algeria	DMC	MID	$5.9m	0.7%	5.26
167			61		Ferdi Kadioglu	Turkey	Turkey v Australia	DL	DEF	$4.3m	2.2%	5.23
168				19	Matt Freese	USA	USA v Paraguay	GK	GK	$4.2m	0.5%	5.23
169	25				Chris Wood	New Zealand	New Zealand v Iran	FW	FWD	$6.5m	1.0%	5.22
170				20	Alisson	Brazil	Brazil v Morocco	GK	GK	$5.0m	5.0%	5.21
171			62		Alistair Johnston	Canada	Canada v Bosnia	DR	DEF	$4.0m	0.5%	5.21
172				21	Yahia Fofana	Ivory Coast	Ivory Coast v Ecuador	GK	GK	$4.2m	0.2%	5.21
173		65			Nicolas Seiwald	Austria	Austria v Jordan	DMC	MID	$5.6m	0.0%	5.21
174			63		Jules Kounde	France	France v Senegal	DR	DEF	$5.4m	7.1%	5.20
175			64		Richie Laryea	Canada	Canada v Bosnia	DL	DEF	$3.9m	0.1%	5.20
176				22	Benjamin Asare	Ghana	Ghana v Panama	GK	GK	$3.8m	0.1%	5.19
177			65		Andrew Robertson	Scotland	Scotland v Haiti	DL	DEF	$5.0m	5.1%	5.18
178			66		Ali Nemati	Iran	Iran v New Zealand	DC	DEF	$3.5m	0.1%	5.16
179			67		Gustaf Lagerbielke	Sweden	Sweden v Tunisia	DC	DEF	$3.7m	0.3%	5.12
180	27				Kerem Akturkoglu	Turkey	Turkey v Australia	FW	FWD	$6.2m	0.3%	5.12
181			68		David Jurasek	Czech Republic	Czech Republic v South Korea	ML	DEF	$3.9m	0.0%	5.11
182			69		Vladimir Coufal	Czech Republic	Czech Republic v South Korea	MR	DEF	$3.6m	3.1%	5.10
183		66			Jefferson Lerma	Colombia	Colombia v Uzbekistan	DMC	MID	$4.9m	0.2%	5.07
184				23	Matej Kovar	Czech Republic	Czech Republic v South Korea	GK	GK	$4.1m	0.5%	5.07
185		67			Ousmane Dembele	France	France v Senegal	AMC	MID	$10.0m	20.5%	5.06
186		68			Elliot Anderson	England	England v Croatia	DMC	MID	$6.5m	1.3%	5.06
187		69			Amadou Onana	Belgium	Belgium v Egypt	DMC	MID	$5.9m	0.2%	5.06
188		70			Alan Franco	Ecuador	Ecuador v Ivory Coast	MR	MID	$5.6m	0.0%	5.06
189		71			Thomas Partey	Ghana	Ghana v Panama	MC	MID	$6.2m	0.1%	5.05
190	26				Jordan Ayew	Ghana	Ghana v Panama	AMC	FWD	$5.3m	0.2%	5.05
191		72			Lee Kang-in	South Korea	South Korea v Czech Republic	AMC	MID	$6.1m	0.4%	5.05
192		73			Tijjani Reijnders	Netherlands	Netherlands v Japan	AMC	MID	$6.5m	1.6%	5.04
193			71		Abdulkerim Bardakci	Turkey	Turkey v Australia	DC	DEF	$4.0m	0.4%	5.03
194			70		Shoja Khalilzadeh	Iran	Iran v New Zealand	DC	DEF	$3.8m	0.0%	5.02
195				24	Bart Verbruggen	Netherlands	Netherlands v Japan	GK	GK	$4.7m	4.3%	5.01
196	28				Cody Gakpo	Netherlands	Netherlands v Japan	AML	FWD	$7.7m	3.2%	5.00
197			72		Arthur Theate	Belgium	Belgium v Egypt	DC	DEF	$4.5m	0.3%	4.97
198		74			Amar Memic	Bosnia	Bosnia v Canada	ML	MID	$4.7m	0.1%	4.97
199			73		Joel Ordonez	Ecuador	Ecuador v Ivory Coast	DR	DEF	$3.9m	0.5%	4.96
200				25	Jordan Pickford	England	England v Croatia	GK	GK	$4.8m	15.6%	4.94

Final Thoughts on Matchday 1

Matchday 1 sets the tone for your entire World Cup Fantasy campaign. With no historical tournament data to lean on, projected lineups, set-piece roles and fixture quality are your best guides, exactly what these rankings are built on.

If you're locking things in now: anchor your squad with a Spain or Germany attacking core, stack two to three cheap Mexico, Norway or Switzerland defenders to free budget for two premiums, and captain Oyarzabal if you want the ceiling or Haaland if you want the floor. Avoid going three-deep on France or Argentina at full price since both have tougher openers than the public ownership suggests.