2026 World Cup Fantasy Rankings: Best Group Stage Picks
The group stage is where World Cup Fantasy squads are made. Across three matchdays, managers get a full slate of fixtures to bank points, and the early rounds reward getting your structure right before the field reacts. These rankings grade every projected starter over all three group games, so you can build a squad that scores from Matchday 1 and holds up through Matchday 3.
The model behind them runs the same pipeline we use all season: projected lineups, penalty and set-piece duties, and opponent strength pulled from the betting markets feed a points projection for each player, summed across their three group fixtures. That surfaces the obvious premium captains, but also the mid-priced enablers and low-owned differentials who quietly out-earn their price tag over a three-game sample.
Below are the best overall picks, position-by-position rankings, value plays and sleepers to target before your group-stage deadline.
Looking for one-match projections? Check out our Matchday 1 Rankings. The rankings below evaluate players across all three group-stage matches.
Join the RotoWire Soccer FIFA World Cup Fantasy group!
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 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.
Best World Cup Fantasy Picks for the Group Stage
The model grades every projected starter across all three group fixtures, and one name sits on top: Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain, FWD, 8.1). Spain has the friendliest run of any contender on paper, and Oyarzabal is the rare elite-ceiling forward who isn't priced like one. At just 16-percent owned, he's the closest thing to a free differential among the premium attackers, a captain-tier projection at a budget that lets you load up elsewhere.
Raphinha (Brazil, MID, 8.2) is the top midfielder on the board and the best value in the premium bracket. He takes Brazil's set pieces and possibly penalties, plays every attacking phase, and draws a group soft enough to pile up shots and chances created. At 21.5 percent owned he's far from a secret, but the combination of role, price and matchups makes him a near-essential build-around piece.
Then come the chalk forwards. Kylian Mbappe (France, FWD, 10.5) and Erling Haaland (Norway, FWD, 10.5) are the two most expensive players in the pool for a reason, elite finishers, penalty duty, and the kind of ceiling that wins a matchday on its own. The catch is ownership: Mbappe sits north of 50 percent and Haaland near 33 percent, so they're more about not falling behind the field than gaining on it. If you can only afford one premium forward, the projections give you license to pivot to Oyarzabal and bank the savings.
World Cup Fantasy Group Stage Rankings (Matchdays 1-3)
Below are the full Round 1 to Round 3 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.
| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | Price | Own% | MD1 | Adj Total | Opponents (MD1 / MD2 / MD3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikel Oyarzabal | Spain | FWD | 8.1 | 16.0% | 9.81 | 26.94 | Cabo Verde / Uruguay / Saudi Arabia |
| 2 | Raphinha | Brazil | MID | 8.2 | 21.5% | 7.06 | 24.75 | Morocco / Scotland / Haiti |
| 3 | Kylian Mbappe | France | FWD | 10.5 | 50.5% | 7.33 | 22.42 | Senegal / Norway / Iraq |
| 4 | Erling Haaland | Norway | FWD | 10.5 | 32.9% | 9.64 | 22.38 | Iraq / France / Senegal |
| 5 | Raul Jimenez | Mexico | FWD | 7.0 | 2.1% | 8.15 | 21.16 | South Africa / Czech Republic / South Korea |
| 6 | Harry Kane | England | FWD | 10.5 | 38.6% | 6.17 | 20.97 | Croatia / Panama / Ghana |
| 7 | Matheus Cunha | Brazil | FWD | 7.3 | 3.5% | 6.35 | 20.95 | Morocco / Scotland / Haiti |
| 8 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | FWD | 10.0 | 19.2% | 6.96 | 20.39 | Algeria / Jordan / Austria |
| 9 | Bruno Fernandes | Portugal | MID | 8.5 | 49.0% | 7.22 | 20.29 | DR Congo / Colombia / Uzbekistan |
| 10 | Lamine Yamal | Spain | MID | 10.0 | 43.1% | 8.06 | 20.25 | Cabo Verde / Uruguay / Saudi Arabia |
| 11 | Hakan Calhanoglu | Turkey | MID | 7.1 | 3.5% | 8.37 | 20.18 | Australia / USA / Paraguay |
| 12 | Charles De Ketelaere | Belgium | MID | 5.6 | 0.5% | 7.20 | 19.98 | Egypt / New Zealand / Iran |
| 13 | Kevin De Bruyne | Belgium | MID | 7.5 | 5.3% | 6.84 | 19.86 | Egypt / New Zealand / Iran |
| 14 | Wesley | Brazil | DEF | 4.5 | 1.5% | 6.18 | 19.72 | Morocco / Scotland / Haiti |
| 15 | Memphis Depay | Netherlands | FWD | 7.4 | 0.9% | 7.31 | 19.65 | Japan / Tunisia / Sweden |
| 16 | Kai Havertz | Germany | FWD | 7.8 | 7.4% | 9.85 | 19.50 | Curaçao / Ecuador / Ivory Coast |
| 17 | Christian Pulisic | USA | MID | 7.0 | 4.5% | 6.41 | 19.39 | Paraguay / Turkey / Australia |
| 18 | James Rodriguez | Colombia | MID | 6.5 | 4.0% | 8.10 | 19.19 | Uzbekistan / Portugal / DR Congo |
| 19 | Joshua Kimmich | Germany | DEF | 5.5 | 26.4% | 7.91 | 19.11 | Curaçao / Ecuador / Ivory Coast |
| 20 | Alex Sandro | Brazil | DEF | 4.5 | 0.6% | 5.99 | 18.99 | Morocco / Scotland / Haiti |
| 21 | Nicolas Tagliafico | Argentina | DEF | 4.3 | 0.8% | 6.23 | 18.99 | Algeria / Jordan / Austria |
| 22 | Jeremy Doku | Belgium | MID | 7.5 | 11.6% | 5.86 | 18.88 | Egypt / New Zealand / Iran |
| 23 | Thomas Meunier | Belgium | DEF | 4.8 | 0.7% | 6.13 | 18.83 | Egypt / New Zealand / Iran |
| 24 | Dani Olmo | Spain | MID | 7.7 | 2.9% | 8.37 | 18.68 | Cabo Verde / Uruguay / Saudi Arabia |
| 25 | Breel Embolo | Switzerland | FWD | 7.5 | 2.0% | 7.85 | 18.61 | Qatar / Canada / Bosnia |
| 26 | Maxim De Cuyper | Belgium | DEF | 4.7 | 2.6% | 5.70 | 18.48 | Egypt / New Zealand / Iran |
| 27 | Luis Suarez | Colombia | FWD | 5.7 | 2.4% | 7.69 | 18.37 | Uzbekistan / Portugal / DR Congo |
| 28 | Florian Wirtz | Germany | MID | 7.5 | 21.4% | 8.04 | 18.35 | Curaçao / Ecuador / Ivory Coast |
| 29 | Nicolas Otamendi | Argentina | DEF | 4.4 | 1.9% | 6.32 | 18.26 | Algeria / Jordan / Austria |
| 30 | Nico Schlotterbeck | Germany | DEF | 5.3 | 3.7% | 7.49 | 18.20 | Curaçao / Ecuador / Ivory Coast |
| 31 | Giorgian De Arrascaeta | Uruguay | MID | 6.5 | 0.6% | 7.79 | 18.19 | Saudi Arabia / Spain / Cabo Verde |
| 32 | Lisandro Martinez | Argentina | DEF | 4.6 | 1.9% | 5.96 | 18.15 | Algeria / Jordan / Austria |
| 33 | Marc Cucurella | Spain | DEF | 5.1 | 21.2% | 6.53 | 18.05 | Cabo Verde / Uruguay / Saudi Arabia |
| 34 | Youri Tielemans | Belgium | MID | 6.1 | 0.9% | 6.19 | 18.01 | Egypt / New Zealand / Iran |
| 35 | Antonee Robinson | USA | DEF | 5.0 | 2.9% | 6.34 | 17.98 | Paraguay / Turkey / Australia |
| 36 | Jonathan Tah | Germany | DEF | 5.3 | 4.8% | 7.37 | 17.95 | Curaçao / Ecuador / Ivory Coast |
| 37 | Luka Modric | Croatia | MID | 6.2 | 2.6% | 4.97 | 17.92 | England / Ghana / Panama |
| 38 | Nahuel Molina | Argentina | DEF | 4.4 | 3.5% | 6.45 | 17.68 | Algeria / Jordan / Austria |
| 39 | Declan Rice | England | MID | 7.0 | 6.5% | 5.34 | 17.55 | Croatia / Panama / Ghana |
| 40 | Michael Olise | France | MID | 9.5 | 24.7% | 5.94 | 17.52 | Senegal / Norway / Iraq |
| 41 | Fabian Rieder | Switzerland | MID | 6.2 | 0.1% | 7.89 | 17.50 | Qatar / Canada / Bosnia |
| 42 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | FWD | 10.0 | 14.0% | 7.16 | 17.48 | DR Congo / Colombia / Uzbekistan |
| 43 | Aleksandar Pavlovic | Germany | MID | 5.5 | 0.5% | 6.92 | 17.43 | Curaçao / Ecuador / Ivory Coast |
| 44 | Sadio Mane | Senegal | MID | 7.6 | 1.8% | 4.60 | 17.34 | France / Iraq / Norway |
| 45 | Jose Rangel | Mexico | GK | 3.9 | 3.4% | 6.37 | 17.32 | South Africa / Czech Republic / South Korea |
| 45 | Camilo Vargas | Colombia | GK | 4.3 | 4.1% | 6.34 | 17.32 | Uzbekistan / Portugal / DR Congo |
| 47 | Matt Turner | USA | GK | 4.0 | 1.0% | 5.27 | 17.30 | Paraguay / Turkey / Australia |
| 48 | Maxi Araujo | Uruguay | MID | 6.4 | 0.2% | 6.95 | 17.19 | Saudi Arabia / Spain / Cabo Verde |
| 49 | Ezri Konsa | England | DEF | 4.8 | 1.1% | 4.93 | 17.11 | Croatia / Panama / Ghana |
| 50 | Manuel Akanji | Switzerland | DEF | 5.0 | 4.8% | 6.33 | 17.10 | Qatar / Canada / Bosnia |
| 51 | Nico Elvedi | Switzerland | DEF | 4.3 | 2.1% | 6.33 | 17.09 | Qatar / Canada / Bosnia |
| 52 | Ayoub El Kaabi | Morocco | FWD | 5.9 | 0.3% | 4.07 | 17.05 | Brazil / Haiti / Scotland |
| 53 | Bart Verbruggen | Netherlands | GK | 4.7 | 3.7% | 5.01 | 16.94 | Japan / Tunisia / Sweden |
| 54 | Pedro Porro | Spain | DEF | 5.5 | 9.4% | 6.82 | 16.89 | Cabo Verde / Uruguay / Saudi Arabia |
| 55 | Reece James | England | DEF | 5.2 | 4.1% | 5.41 | 16.89 | Croatia / Panama / Ghana |
| 56 | Marcel Sabitzer | Austria | MID | 6.8 | 2.5% | 7.22 | 16.85 | Jordan / Algeria / Argentina |
| 57 | Vinicius Junior | Brazil | MID | 10.0 | 13.9% | 4.90 | 16.84 | Morocco / Scotland / Haiti |
| 58 | Desire Doue | France | MID | 7.5 | 3.0% | 6.67 | 16.83 | Senegal / Norway / Iraq |
| 59 | Ayase Ueda | Japan | FWD | 7.0 | 0.7% | 4.72 | 16.81 | Netherlands / Sweden / Tunisia |
| 60 | Takefusa Kubo | Japan | MID | 7.0 | 1.0% | 4.74 | 16.68 | Netherlands / Sweden / Tunisia |
| 61 | Martin Odegaard | Norway | MID | 7.7 | 4.2% | 6.56 | 16.63 | Iraq / France / Senegal |
| 61 | John McGinn | Scotland | MID | 6.0 | 2.4% | 7.48 | 16.63 | Haiti / Brazil / Morocco |
| 63 | Remo Freuler | Switzerland | MID | 5.9 | 0.0% | 6.24 | 16.61 | Qatar / Canada / Bosnia |
| 64 | Christoph Baumgartner | Austria | MID | 6.7 | 0.7% | 7.25 | 16.59 | Jordan / Algeria / Argentina |
| 65 | Brahim Diaz | Morocco | MID | 6.4 | 1.6% | 4.20 | 16.55 | Brazil / Haiti / Scotland |
| 66 | Marcus Rashford | England | MID | 7.5 | 1.9% | 5.77 | 16.54 | Croatia / Panama / Ghana |
| 67 | Goncalo Inacio | Portugal | DEF | 4.6 | 1.0% | 5.99 | 16.54 | DR Congo / Colombia / Uzbekistan |
| 68 | Riyad Mahrez | Algeria | MID | 6.5 | 0.8% | 4.67 | 16.52 | Argentina / Austria / Jordan |
| 69 | Pau Cubarsi | Spain | DEF | 5.0 | 6.1% | 5.99 | 16.52 | Cabo Verde / Uruguay / Saudi Arabia |
| 70 | Unai Simon | Spain | GK | 5.0 | 7.0% | 5.79 | 16.51 | Cabo Verde / Uruguay / Saudi Arabia |
| 71 | Nicolas Gonzalez | Argentina | MID | 5.6 | 0.1% | 6.64 | 16.47 | Algeria / Jordan / Austria |
| 72 | Cody Gakpo | Netherlands | FWD | 7.7 | 3.1% | 5.03 | 16.47 | Japan / Tunisia / Sweden |
| 73 | Ricardo Rodriguez | Switzerland | DEF | 4.5 | 2.3% | 6.37 | 16.46 | Qatar / Canada / Bosnia |
| 74 | Jorge Eduardo Sanchez | Mexico | DEF | 4.0 | 0.7% | 6.86 | 16.44 | South Africa / Czech Republic / South Korea |
| 75 | Ruben Vargas | Switzerland | MID | 6.8 | 0.5% | 7.45 | 16.44 | Qatar / Canada / Bosnia |
| 76 | Ugurcan Cakir | Turkey | GK | 4.2 | 1.0% | 5.59 | 16.44 | Australia / USA / Paraguay |
| 77 | David Raum | Germany | DEF | 4.9 | 5.6% | 7.39 | 16.43 | Curaçao / Ecuador / Ivory Coast |
| 78 | Ante Budimir | Croatia | FWD | 6.8 | 0.3% | 4.15 | 16.41 | England / Ghana / Panama |
| 79 | Pedri | Spain | MID | 8.1 | 10.0% | 5.96 | 16.40 | Cabo Verde / Uruguay / Saudi Arabia |
| 80 | Darwin Nunez | Uruguay | FWD | 7.5 | 1.5% | 6.87 | 16.39 | Saudi Arabia / Spain / Cabo Verde |
| 81 | Rodri | Spain | MID | 7.5 | 1.6% | 5.98 | 16.38 | Cabo Verde / Uruguay / Saudi Arabia |
| 82 | Kenan Yildiz | Turkey | MID | 7.0 | 3.9% | 6.87 | 16.33 | Australia / USA / Paraguay |
| 82 | Elliot Anderson | England | MID | 6.5 | 1.0% | 4.97 | 16.33 | Croatia / Panama / Ghana |
| 84 | Theo Hernandez | France | DEF | 5.0 | 3.4% | 5.73 | 16.25 | Senegal / Norway / Iraq |
| 85 | Ousmane Dembele | France | MID | 10.0 | 20.8% | 5.23 | 16.23 | Senegal / Norway / Iraq |
| 86 | Manuel Neuer | Germany | GK | 5.0 | 13.9% | 5.86 | 16.21 | Curaçao / Ecuador / Ivory Coast |
| 87 | Arthur Theate | Belgium | DEF | 4.5 | 0.3% | 4.97 | 16.17 | Egypt / New Zealand / Iran |
| 88 | Nilson Angulo | Ecuador | MID | 6.0 | 0.2% | 6.02 | 16.16 | Ivory Coast / Germany / Curaçao |
| 89 | Dayne St. Clair | Canada | GK | 3.8 | 0.6% | 5.77 | 16.14 | Bosnia / Switzerland / Qatar |
| 90 | Mehdi Taremi | Iran | FWD | 6.1 | 0.5% | 7.41 | 16.09 | New Zealand / Egypt / Belgium |
| 91 | Koni De Winter | Belgium | DEF | 4.2 | 0.1% | 4.93 | 16.08 | Egypt / New Zealand / Iran |
| 92 | Aymeric Laporte | Spain | DEF | 5.5 | 5.3% | 6.01 | 16.07 | Cabo Verde / Uruguay / Saudi Arabia |
| 93 | Emiliano Martinez | Argentina | GK | 5.0 | 22.4% | 5.48 | 16.07 | Algeria / Jordan / Austria |
| 94 | Rafael Leao | Portugal | MID | 7.8 | 2.1% | 7.30 | 16.04 | DR Congo / Colombia / Uzbekistan |
| 95 | Ritsu Doan | Japan | DEF | 5.1 | 0.7% | 3.81 | 16.04 | Netherlands / Sweden / Tunisia |
| 96 | Jonathan David | Canada | FWD | 7.0 | 1.2% | 5.94 | 16.02 | Bosnia / Switzerland / Qatar |
| 97 | Micky van de Ven | Netherlands | DEF | 5.1 | 4.7% | 4.79 | 15.94 | Japan / Tunisia / Sweden |
| 98 | Federico Valverde | Uruguay | MID | 7.5 | 6.2% | 6.03 | 15.93 | Saudi Arabia / Spain / Cabo Verde |
| 98 | Alisson | Brazil | GK | 5.0 | 5.8% | 5.21 | 15.93 | Morocco / Scotland / Haiti |
| 100 | Jesus Gallardo | Mexico | DEF | 4.7 | 0.6% | 6.28 | 15.89 | South Africa / Czech Republic / South Korea |
Final Thoughts on the Group Stage
The group stage rewards getting your structure right before the field reacts. With no in-tournament data yet, projected lineups, set-piece roles and fixture quality are your best guides, exactly what these rankings are built on. Anchor your squad with a Spain attacking core, stack two to three cheap Mexico, Norway or Switzerland defenders to fund two premiums, and captain Oyarzabal for ceiling or Haaland for floor across all three matchdays.
