2026 FIFA World Cup Fantasy Rankings: Best Picks for the Quarterfinals
Whether you're chasing rank, planning your knockout-round transfers or just locking a captain, these rankings give you the top overall picks for the quarterfinals.
These rankings will be updated ahead of kickoff as lineups, injuries and suspensions change.
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How These Rankings Are Built
The quarterfinals strip out the soft matchups. Eight strong teams are left, so there are no minnows to target and the projections compress accordingly. That puts the emphasis on two things: which favorite holds the clearest edge, and who is nailed on for penalties and set pieces in games where goals come at a premium. Confirm availability first, because knockout suspensions and late fitness calls can pull a projected starter out even when he's healthy. Rankings update as confirmed lineups, injuries and suspensions are released ahead of kickoff.
Top Captain Picks for the Quarterfinals
Lionel Messi ($10.0m, Argentina v Switzerland)
The clear top projection again. Argentina are the strongest favorite of the four quarterfinals against Switzerland, and Messi is on their penalties and free kicks, so he's attached to every set play in a game where chances may be scarce. In a round where the ceilings come down across the board, he's the safest high floor available.
Kylian Mbappe ($10.5m, France v Morocco)
France v Morocco is the toughest of the quarterfinal captaincy spots, since Morocco have been one of the stories of the tournament, but Mbappe is France's penalty taker and the volume shooter who can settle a tight game on one moment. He's still the most-owned player in the game at better than half the field, so captaining him is as much about not falling behind as it is getting ahead.
Mikel Oyarzabal ($8.1m, Spain v Belgium)
The value armband. Oyarzabal projects third overall at $8.1m, he's on Spain's penalties even with Lamine Yamal on the pitch, and Spain v Belgium is a game Spain should dominate the ball in. Captaining him instead of a $10m name frees up budget elsewhere, and at 16.5 percent ownership he offers a little leverage on the popular picks.
| Overall | FW | MID | DEF | GK | Player | Team | Matchup | Tact Pos | FIFA Pos | Price | Own% | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | FW | FWD | $10.0m | 18.4% | 7.80 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Kylian Mbappe | France | France v Morocco | FW | FWD | $10.5m | 50.9% | 6.76 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Mikel Oyarzabal | Spain | Spain v Belgium | FW | FWD | $8.1m | 16.5% | 6.66 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Harry Kane | England | England v Norway | FW | FWD | $10.5m | 37.9% | 6.56 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Michael Olise | France | France v Morocco | AMC | MID | $9.5m | 23.8% | 6.08 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Lamine Yamal | Spain | Spain v Belgium | AMR | MID | $10.0m | 44.3% | 6.06 | |||
| 7 | 3 | Ousmane Dembele | France | France v Morocco | AMR | MID | $10.0m | 20.3% | 5.76 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Lisandro Martinez | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | DC | DEF | $4.6m | 2.2% | 5.75 | |||
| 9 | 2 | Lucas Digne | France | France v Morocco | DL | DEF | $5.0m | 1.2% | 5.44 | |||
| 10 | 4 | Alex Baena | Spain | Spain v Belgium | AML | MID | $6.0m | 0.2% | 5.35 | |||
| 11 | 5 | Jude Bellingham | England | England v Norway | AMC | MID | $8.3m | 9.6% | 5.27 | |||
| 12 | 3 | Cristian Romero | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | DC | DEF | $4.9m | 4.9% | 5.25 | |||
| 13 | 5 | Erling Haaland | Norway | Norway v England | FW | FWD | $10.5m | 33.2% | 5.25 | |||
| 14 | 6 | Declan Rice | England | England v Norway | DMC | MID | $7.0m | 6.7% | 5.06 | |||
| 15 | 1 | Mike Maignan | France | France v Morocco | GK | GK | $5.0m | 10.4% | 5.06 | |||
| 16 | 4 | Pedro Porro | Spain | Spain v Belgium | DR | DEF | $5.5m | 8.5% | 5.03 | |||
| 17 | 7 | Bradley Barcola | France | France v Morocco | AML | MID | $5.6m | 0.3% | 4.99 | |||
| 18 | 5 | Djed Spence | England | England v Norway | DR | DEF | $4.5m | 0.2% | 4.98 | |||
| 19 | 6 | Marc Cucurella | Spain | Spain v Belgium | DL | DEF | $5.1m | 22.4% | 4.97 | |||
| 20 | 7 | Jules Kounde | France | France v Morocco | DR | DEF | $5.4m | 7.4% | 4.95 | |||
| 21 | 8 | Nahuel Molina | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | DR | DEF | $4.4m | 3.7% | 4.94 | |||
| 22 | 2 | Unai Simon | Spain | Spain v Belgium | GK | GK | $5.0m | 6.9% | 4.93 | |||
| 23 | 8 | Anthony Gordon | England | England v Norway | AML | MID | $7.0m | 1.0% | 4.91 | |||
| 24 | 3 | Emiliano Martinez | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | GK | GK | $5.0m | 22.3% | 4.91 | |||
| 25 | 9 | Alexis Mac Allister | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | MC | MID | $6.6m | 3.2% | 4.88 | |||
| 26 | 4 | Jordan Pickford | England | England v Norway | GK | GK | $4.8m | 14.4% | 4.86 | |||
| 27 | 9 | Nicolas Tagliafico | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | DL | DEF | $4.3m | 1.0% | 4.81 | |||
| 28 | 10 | Kevin De Bruyne | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | AMC | MID | $7.5m | 5.3% | 4.76 | |||
| 29 | 11 | Elliot Anderson | England | England v Norway | DMC | MID | $6.5m | 1.0% | 4.73 | |||
| 30 | 6 | Julian Alvarez | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | FW | FWD | $8.6m | 16.2% | 4.69 | |||
| 31 | 12 | Enzo Fernandez | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | MC | MID | $7.5m | 3.6% | 4.67 | |||
| 32 | 10 | Ezri Konsa | England | England v Norway | DC | DEF | $4.8m | 1.1% | 4.64 | |||
| 33 | 13 | Fabian Rieder | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | AMC | MID | $6.2m | 0.1% | 4.62 | |||
| 34 | 11 | William Saliba | France | France v Morocco | DC | DEF | $5.3m | 15.8% | 4.58 | |||
| 35 | 14 | Ruben Vargas | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | AML | MID | $6.8m | 0.5% | 4.57 | |||
| 36 | 15 | Martin Odegaard | Norway | Norway v England | MC | MID | $7.7m | 4.3% | 4.56 | |||
| 37 | 16 | Leandro Paredes | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | DMC | MID | $5.6m | 0.2% | 4.53 | |||
| 38 | 12 | Aymeric Laporte | Spain | Spain v Belgium | DC | DEF | $5.5m | 5.0% | 4.50 | |||
| 39 | 17 | Dani Olmo | Spain | Spain v Belgium | AMC | MID | $7.7m | 2.9% | 4.48 | |||
| 40 | 13 | Dayot Upamecano | France | France v Morocco | DC | DEF | $5.3m | 5.0% | 4.48 | |||
| 41 | 14 | Pau Cubarsi | Spain | Spain v Belgium | DC | DEF | $5.0m | 5.9% | 4.40 | |||
| 42 | 18 | Pedri | Spain | Spain v Belgium | DMC | MID | $8.1m | 9.9% | 4.36 | |||
| 43 | 19 | Manu Kone | France | France v Morocco | DMC | MID | $6.1m | 0.1% | 4.35 | |||
| 44 | 20 | Rodri | Spain | Spain v Belgium | DMC | MID | $7.5m | 1.7% | 4.31 | |||
| 45 | 21 | Leandro Trossard | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | AML | MID | $6.6m | 2.0% | 4.30 | |||
| 46 | 22 | Bukayo Saka | England | England v Norway | AMR | MID | $9.5m | 6.3% | 4.29 | |||
| 47 | 15 | Marc Guehi | England | England v Norway | DC | DEF | $5.1m | 8.1% | 4.22 | |||
| 48 | 16 | Nico O'Reilly | England | England v Norway | DL | DEF | $4.7m | 13.3% | 4.15 | |||
| 49 | 25 | Azzedine Ounahi | Morocco | Morocco v France | AMC | MID | $6.2m | 0.1% | 4.14 | |||
| 50 | 23 | Youri Tielemans | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | DMC | MID | $6.1m | 1.1% | 4.09 | |||
| 51 | 24 | Rodrigo De Paul | Argentina | Argentina v Switzerland | MC | MID | $5.9m | 0.9% | 4.03 | |||
| 52 | 26 | Adrien Rabiot | France | France v Morocco | DMC | MID | $6.4m | 0.2% | 3.97 | |||
| 53 | 27 | Ayyoub Bouaddi | Morocco | Morocco v France | DMC | MID | $5.5m | 0.1% | 3.86 | |||
| 54 | 8 | Breel Embolo | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | FW | FWD | $7.5m | 2.2% | 3.73 | |||
| 55 | 28 | Neil El Aynaoui | Morocco | Morocco v France | DMC | MID | $5.6m | 0.1% | 3.71 | |||
| 56 | 29 | Remo Freuler | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | DMC | MID | $5.9m | 0.0% | 3.64 | |||
| 57 | 30 | Charles De Ketelaere | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | FW | MID | $5.6m | 0.5% | 3.61 | |||
| 58 | 31 | Brahim Diaz | Morocco | Morocco v France | AMR | MID | $6.4m | 1.5% | 3.60 | |||
| 59 | 7 | Soufiane Rahimi | Morocco | Morocco v France | FW | FWD | $5.6m | 0.1% | 3.57 | |||
| 60 | 32 | Denis Zakaria | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | DR | MID | $6.1m | 0.1% | 3.52 | |||
| 61 | 33 | Granit Xhaka | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | DMC | MID | $6.2m | 5.3% | 3.51 | |||
| 62 | 34 | Hans Vanaken | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | DMC | MID | $5.5m | 0.1% | 3.28 | |||
| 63 | 35 | Sander Berge | Norway | Norway v England | MC | MID | $4.7m | 0.3% | 3.21 | |||
| 64 | 36 | Antonio Nusa | Norway | Norway v England | FWL | MID | $6.1m | 3.1% | 3.10 | |||
| 65 | 9 | Dan Ndoye | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | AMR | FWD | $6.8m | 0.6% | 3.04 | |||
| 66 | 37 | Jeremy Doku | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | AMR | MID | $7.5m | 11.6% | 3.01 | |||
| 67 | 5 | Gregor Kobel | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | GK | GK | $4.7m | 6.7% | 3.00 | |||
| 68 | 39 | Bilal El Khannouss | Morocco | Morocco v France | AML | MID | $6.2m | 0.1% | 2.92 | |||
| 69 | 10 | Alexander Sorloth | Norway | Norway v England | FWR | FWD | $6.8m | 1.5% | 2.92 | |||
| 70 | 38 | Patrick Berg | Norway | Norway v England | MC | MID | $5.6m | 0.1% | 2.92 | |||
| 71 | 6 | Bono | Morocco | Morocco v France | GK | GK | $4.7m | 3.0% | 2.88 | |||
| 72 | 7 | Thibaut Courtois | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | GK | GK | $4.9m | 11.9% | 2.86 | |||
| 73 | 8 | Orjan Nyland | Norway | Norway v England | GK | GK | $4.2m | 2.8% | 2.84 | |||
| 74 | 17 | Achraf Hakimi | Morocco | Morocco v France | DR | DEF | $6.0m | 21.1% | 2.80 | |||
| 75 | 18 | Julian Ryerson | Norway | Norway v England | DR | DEF | $4.2m | 7.5% | 2.29 | |||
| 76 | 19 | David Moller Wolfe | Norway | Norway v England | DL | DEF | $4.0m | 0.6% | 2.26 | |||
| 77 | 20 | Ricardo Rodriguez | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | DL | DEF | $4.5m | 2.1% | 2.08 | |||
| 78 | 21 | Kristoffer Ajer | Norway | Norway v England | DC | DEF | $4.3m | 0.8% | 2.01 | |||
| 79 | 22 | Manuel Akanji | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | DC | DEF | $5.0m | 4.8% | 2.01 | |||
| 80 | 24 | Noussair Mazraoui | Morocco | Morocco v France | DL | DEF | $4.4m | 1.0% | 2.00 | |||
| 81 | 23 | Torbjorn Heggem | Norway | Norway v England | DC | DEF | $3.7m | 0.2% | 1.99 | |||
| 82 | 25 | Nico Elvedi | Switzerland | Switzerland v Argentina | DC | DEF | $4.3m | 2.1% | 1.94 | |||
| 83 | 26 | Timothy Castagne | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | DR | DEF | $4.7m | 0.3% | 1.94 | |||
| 84 | 27 | Chadi Riad | Morocco | Morocco v France | DC | DEF | $3.9m | 0.1% | 1.94 | |||
| 85 | 28 | Issa Diop | Morocco | Morocco v France | DC | DEF | $4.5m | 0.2% | 1.86 | |||
| 86 | 29 | Maxim De Cuyper | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | DL | DEF | $4.7m | 3.6% | 1.79 | |||
| 87 | 30 | Nathan Ngoy | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | DC | DEF | $3.7m | 0.1% | 1.73 | |||
| 88 | 31 | Brandon Mechele | Belgium | Belgium v Spain | DC | DEF | $3.9m | 0.1% | 1.69 |
Final Thoughts on the Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals are about picking the right game, not the right blowout. Argentina v Switzerland and England v Norway have the clearest favorites, while France v Morocco and Spain v Belgium look closer to coin flips, and the compressed projections reflect it. Lean your captain toward the side with the biggest edge and the penalty taker attached.
If you're setting your team, anchor with Messi or the value play in Oyarzabal, stack a cheap Argentina defender like Lisandro Martinez to bank clean-sheet upside, and use a differential like Alex Baena or Bradley Barcola to separate from the crowd. With only four games on the board, roster construction matters more than ever, so don't spread thin across teams that could be out by the weekend.
Best Premium Picks ($8m+)
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Mikel Oyarzabal headline as your captain options, and Oyarzabal ($8.1m) is again the value of the bracket. Harry Kane ($10.5m) draws Norway in one of the friendlier quarterfinal spots, and Jude Bellingham ($8.3m) is the cheaper way into that same England game. France's attack is stacked with Michael Olise ($9.5m) and Ousmane Dembele ($10.0m) alongside Mbappe, but they cannibalize each other in a tight game against Morocco, so pick one rather than paying up for two. Erling Haaland ($10.5m) and Lamine Yamal ($10.0m) round out the tier, though Haaland's ceiling is capped with Norway the underdog against England.
Best Mid-Price Picks ($6-8m)
The mid-price tier thins out at the quarterfinal stage, which is part of why the value plays sit lower. Declan Rice ($7.0m) is a reliable route into the England side in a good matchup, and Alex Baena ($6.0m) is the cheapest way into Spain's midfield against Belgium and a genuine set-piece threat.
Best Budget Picks (under $5m)
Lisandro Martinez ($4.6m) is the headline enabler, projecting eighth overall as a cheap Argentina defender with clean-sheet upside against Switzerland. Cristian Romero ($4.9m) lets you double up on that same Argentina backline, and Djed Spence ($4.5m) is the low-owned England equivalent against Norway. A defender at any of those prices freeing up budget for two premiums is close to mandatory roster construction, so fill the rest of your cheap slots from the deeper defenders in the table below.
Top Sleepers & Differentials (under 5% owned)
- Lisandro Martinez ($4.6m, 2.2% owned) projects eighth overall at a budget price and is barely owned, the best value on the board outside the captain picks.
- Alex Baena ($6.0m, 0.2% owned) is on Spain's set pieces and a near-zero-ownership route into the Belgium game.
- Bradley Barcola ($5.6m, 0.3% owned) is the cheap, low-owned way to get France attacking exposure without paying the Mbappe or Dembele price.
- Djed Spence ($4.5m, 0.2% owned) is a cheap England defender with clean-sheet and attacking upside against Norway.
