DraftKings World Cup DFS Showdown: France vs. Spain Semifinal Picks for Tuesday, July 14

A single-game Showdown for the France vs. Spain semifinal, where the captain choice and a game stack across two loaded attacks decide it.

The semifinal is a single-game Showdown on DraftKings: one Captain at 1.5 times the points and salary, five FLEX, a $50,000 cap, and at least one player from each side. France are a slight favorite at around 40 percent to Spain's 30 percent with a big draw number in between, and the total sits near two-and-a-half goals, so this projects as a tight, high-quality game rather than a blowout either way. That matters for Showdown: with neither side likely to run away with it, the winning builds usually stack both attacks and get the captain right, rather than piling onto one team.

The other through-line is set pieces. Alex Baena, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele have piled up dead-ball volume all tournament, which raises the floor on players who might not score. In a game that could hinge on one moment, the captain is where the leverage lives, so that's where I'll start. Lineups will firm up as the semifinal approaches, so confirm the XIs before lock.

Come talk lineups in the RotoWire Discord before lock. Here's how I'm attacking it.

WORLD CUP MATCHES (ET)

• 3:00 pm: France vs. Spain

For detailed stats and odds, check out the DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: World Cup Cheat Sheet.

CAPTAIN CANDIDATES

Michael Olise (FRA, $9,400)

Olise hasn't been the most productive France attacker on a points basis, but he still narrowly carries the best floor. It's unlikely one player will stand out in floor in this game with Yamal and Dembele right there rather than a runaway. Olise leads everyone with 22 corners and free kicks across the tournament, so the dead-ball workload holds his floor up even without a goal, and he has the shot upside to spike. He also comes in cheaper than Mbappe, which opens cap in the FLEX.

Kylian Mbappe (FRA, $11,000)

Mbappe is the ceiling captain and will be the most popular one. He has the best goal odds in the game at +105 and gets there on real chances at better than three shots on goal per 90, so the 1.5-times multiplier on a two-goal night is the outcome that wins tournaments. His floor lags the set-piece hubs, so treat him as the ceiling swing rather than the safe captain.

Lamine Yamal (ESP, $9,800)

Yamal is the way to captain the Spain side. He pairs a share of Spain's set pieces, 12 corners and free kicks across the tournament, with his own shots at better than two per 90, so his captain floor holds up even if the goal doesn't come. Ousmane Dembele ($9,600, 17 set pieces) has been just about even with Olise on floor and could be the lower-owned France captain, and Mikel Oyarzabal ($9,000, +195 to score) is Spain's striker if you want the goal odds over the floor.

FLEX PLAYS

The captain candidates above all make strong FLEX plays at full salary, and the best builds pair one of them with the rest of the value below.

Value. Alex Baena ($7,800) and Pedro Porro ($6,600) carry the best value floors in the game. Baena led everyone with 25 corners and free kicks across the tournament, so the dead-ball floor is real even without a goal, and Porro pushes high from right-back for crosses and chances, rare production from the back at that price. The problem with Baena is minutes after going 55 last game.

Desire Doue ($8,600) gets his own shots at two per 90 for France, and Pedri ($5,400, eight set pieces), Dani Olmo ($5,200) and Rodri ($4,200) are the cheaper Spain midfielders who see plenty of the ball.

Punts and salary savers. Aurelien Tchouameni ($4,400) and Rodri ($4,200) are the deep-lying midfielders who pad a floor through passing and defensive work at a low price. The minimum-tier defenders in Jules Kounde ($3,800), Marc Cucurella ($4,000) and Pau Cubarsi ($3,200) are pure salary savers that let you fit two studs plus a captain, with a shutout unlikely in a game this open. Mike Maignan and Unai Simon are saves-only punts if you expect a low-scoring, chance-heavy night.

SUGGESTED BUILD

One example within the $50,000 cap that stacks the game and captains the highest-floor play:

• CPT: Michael Olise ($14,100)
• FLEX: Kylian Mbappe ($11,000)
• FLEX: Lamine Yamal ($9,800)
• FLEX: Pedro Porro ($6,600)
• FLEX: Pedri ($5,400)
• FLEX: William Saliba ($3,000)

That comes to $49,900, gets both attacks in, and pairs Olise's set-piece floor as captain with the game's two best goal threats and two Spain value pieces, with Saliba the salary saver. For the pure goal ceiling, captain Mbappe instead; for the Spain-side pivot, captain Yamal.