DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Sunday World Cup Picks

MATCHES (EDT)

8:00 a.m: England v. Panama
11:00 a.m: Japan v. Senegal
2:00 p.m: Poland v. Colombia

FORWARDS

Harry Kane, ENG v. PAN ($11,000): Kane bagged a brace in England's opening match against Tunisia, and he now sets his sights on arguably the worst team at the World Cup. His goal odds are about as good as we've seen anyone have in the tournament, and with the tough matchup that Colombia and Poland have against each other in a must-win game, Kane seems to have the highest upside on the slate. Paying this much for a goal dependent forward in cash is always risky, but the path is there for Kane to have a monster game, at least much more so than Robert Lewandowski ($9,800), who I think makes for a strong GPP play because he could be really under-owned with other high-priced forwards with good matchups.

James Rodriguez, COL v. POL ($10,000): Facing off against Poland will be James' toughest task in the group stage, but he does so much for Colombia, including taking all set pieces, that paying up for him is certainly a viable option, even with Kane. He didn't start the first match because of a calf injury but still played 31 minutes, and while his one shot and two crosses don't look encouraging, it's important to remember the Colombia were playing with 10 men for 87 minutes. James' role on set pieces isn't the only reason to target him, as he is never shy to rip a shot while playing for Colombia, as we saw when he won the Golden Boot during the 2014 World Cup despite only advancing to the quarter-final.

M'Baye Niang, SEN v. JPN ($6,400): Niang took some set pieces for Senegal in their first match and was gifted a goal to help him reach 17.0 fantasy points on a $5,300 salary. The matchup against Japan should be easier than Poland, which is why is price is inflated, but if he keeps that role he could still make value. Despite struggling to pay off in the first game, Sadio Mane ($8,400) is still the upside play for Senegal, and he could take more corners if they fall on his side of the field. Paying up for Kane and James makes it very tough to fit Mane in, which is why I think some people will go with Niang or Keita ($6,500) if he gets a start.

MIDFIELDERS

Jesse Lingard, ENG v. PAN ($7,600): The midfield pool is pretty ugly, but with England such heavy favorites against Panama and both other games basically pick 'ems, I understand people using Lingard, maybe even in cash games, after he took four shots, including one on goal, and drew one foul against Tunisia in their World Cup opener. Lingard is expected to keep his starting spot but could be joined in the attack by Marcus Rashford ($8,600, forward) in place of Raheem Sterling ($8,500, midfielder/forward), while Ruben Loftus-Cheek ($5,900) starts for the injured Dele Alli ($7,700). Loftus-Cheek is a really good player who doesn't do enough for cash-game consideration, as his fantasy floor depends mostly on winning tackles and drawing fouls, but he's worth consideration for GPPs. Playing Lingard in cash only makes sense to me if you think England score at least four goals and the other matches are low scoring.

Gaku Shibasaki, JPN v. SEN ($4,000): Shibasaki took four of Japan's six corners in their match against Colombia, helping him to seven crosses while adding four tackles won. Again, Japan were up a man for nearly the entire match, so Shibasaki's attacking stats are inflated versus what should be expected against Senegal. Nevertheless, his low salary makes him an intriguing play even if Keisuke Honda ($6,800) makes his way into the starting XI. On the flip side, I'd probably stay away from Shinji Kagawa ($6,400) despite his penalty goal against Colombia, as he took just one other shot during the match, sent in no crosses and won zero tackles despite the man advantage.

Wilmar Barrios, COL v. POL ($3,300): Is a one-game sample size too small? What if the player didn't start and played 59 minutes...for a 10-man team? Pretending it's okay, Barrios came off the bench and won seven tackles in Cololmbia's opening match against Japan, with a yellow card pushing him down to 5.0 fantasy points. That was a pretty good return for $3,600 and we could roster him Sunday for even less, though theoretically the matchup will be harder. His attacking upside will be limited in the Colombia defensive midfield, but after averaging 3.0 tackles won, 2.8 interceptions and 2.0 fouls drawn per 90 minutes for Boca Juniors this past season, he could be just the punt we need to fill out our midfield spots.

DEFENDERS

Kieran Trippier, ENG v. PAN ($6,600): Trippier took all the corners on his side of the field during England's win over Tunisia, and the same role is expected against one of the worst teams in the tournament. Paying this much for partial set pieces seems a bit high, but Trippier is also an excellent open-play crosser who can help make up for the lack of set piece monopoly. Ashley Young ($5,600) is also in play because he'll take corners on the left side of the field, though I think the $1,000 difference in salary accurately reflects their fantasy-point potential. I also wouldn't necessarily stay away from center-backs John Stones ($3,800) or Harry Maguire ($4,100) because they were on the ball a ton against Tunisia and could do so again against Panama, though I'd stay away from Kyle Walker ($4,300) because of his great ability to play 90 minutes and produce relatively nothing on the DraftKings game log.

Kalidou Koulibaly, SEN v. JPN ($3,200): Koulibaly is mostly a punt play, but he's a huge target in the box on set pieces and Senegal's clean sheet chances are actually better than Colombia's despite being smaller favorites. In fact, I would definitely consider Salif Sane ($3,000) as well for the same reason, after he got off two shots against Poland in their first match. Ultimately, these are pretty much my favorite defensive punts since the English center-backs are relatively expensive and the Senegalese fullbacks aren't big crossers.

GOALKEEPER

Jordan Pickford, ENG v. PAN ($5,900): Pickford's save upside may be limited against a very overmatched Panama side, but he's the closest thing to a 10-point lock as we'll get on this slate. On the flip side, Panama's Jaime Penedo ($3,600) probably has the highest save upside, but the win and/or clean sheet is really unlikely. Similar to Friday's slate, the two pick 'em games could go either way, so I wouldn't over analyze which goalkeeper to take (if you don't want to pay up for Pickford or down for Penedo) and just take the one who fits when you build out the rest of your lineup.