Although there are not as many bonus points on offer for forwards as there are for defenders and midfielders, there are still plenty of budget forwards in the McDonald’s Fantasy football game who could spring a surprise in the World Cup. Whilst bonus such as blocked shots and recovered balls are available to forwards in order to gain points, do not expect to see the attackers on display pick up many bonus points. However, some of these budget options could spring a surprise or two and score more goals than many people expect them too. Today, I will be looking at budget forwards available for 4m or less.
Park Chu-Yeung (4m)
South Korea’s Park Chu-Yeung could be a surprise package at this summer’s World Cup. Despite only playing a handful of matches while on loan at Watford this season, Park impressed during qualifying for the tournament by scoring six goals in seven games for his national team. Park will start up front in South Korea’s 4-2-3-1 formation and he will be tasked with trying to score the goals that send them through to the second round of the competition. If Park brings the form he has shown for his country and not his diabolical club form, he could prove to be great value for money.
Matthew Leckie (3.5m)
Deployed on the right side of Australia’s front-three, Matthew Leckie comes into the World Cup off the back of a successful season in the Bundesliga, where he scored 10 times for FSV Frankfurt. Despite being deployed as a second striker by his club, for Australia, Leckie will start out wide and will be tasked with using his pace and trickery in order to lead Australia on attacking forays, and could prove to be a bargain due to Australia’s extremely challenging fixtures. Leckie will not be doing much attacking and he will be tasked with covering his full-back, so expect to see him gain a few points from recovered balls and blocked shots. Although Australia have challenging fixtures, if they are to do well, expect to see Leckie play an integral role in their success.
Carlos Costly and Jerry Bengston (both 3m)
Whilst there are other options in the Honduras team who are likely to score you more points, both Carlos Costly and Jerry Bengston had hugely successful qualifying campaigns for “los catrachos”, which culminated in the duo scoring 16 of their side’s 26 goals in qualifying. Both are nailed on to start, though Bengston may prove to be the better option. The New England Revolution man has proved to be a goalscoring revelation for both club and country in the past year, and he scored nine goals in 12 qualifiers. Bengston is also on penalty-taking duties for his country and he will start as the main forward in a 4-4-1-1 formation for the Hondurans. Former Birmingham man Carlos Costly plays his club football in Honduras and will be tasked with linking the play between Bengston and the Honduras midfield.
Costly netted seven goals in 13 qualifiers, with the highlight coming when he scored the winner for Honduras against Mexico at the Azteca. Whilst Costly may not be Hondruas’ main attacking threat, he is likely to have to drop back and help his team defend when they are not in possesion of the ball. This could see Costly pick up points for blocked shots and recovered balls, something that Bengston will not accrue bonus for. Bengston may be more of an attacking threat than Costly, though Costly may ultimately pick up more points than Bengston, given his role in the team. Both men are certainly budget forwards and they could end up providing their owners with great value for money.
Islam Sliman (2m)
Sporting Lisbon and Algeria forward Islam Slimani has the potential to be one of the best value for money players in the game and will lead the line for Algeria in their 4-1-4-1 formation. Coming off the back of a hugely successful season for Sporting, where he scored eight times and provided more than half a dozen assists, Slimani could prove to be an absolute bargain. The 25-year-old also averages a goal every other game for Algeria and is their undisputed number one striker. He also scored five goals in seven qualifiers for Algeira without the aid of any set-pieces. Although he wears number 13 for his country, Slimani is a natural number 9. He is good in the air, has a quick turn of pace, and deadly finishing once he gets inside the penatly area. If Algeria are to progress to the knockout stages at this summer’s World Cup, expect Slimani’s goals to be one of the main reasons as to why they are there.
Other Options
Khorso Heydari of Iran is listed as a forward in the McDonald’s Fantasy football game, although he is deployed by his country as either a right-back or a winger. Available for 1m, Heydari will start in either of these positions for Iran. His versatility means that he should gain both attacking and defending bonus points. Being listed as a forward means that if he does play at right-back, he will gain plenty lots of points for blocked shots and recovered balls. Another budget option from Iran is the inconsistent Masoud Shojaei. Whilst the best way into the Iranian team may be through their extremely solid defence, Shojaei is certainly a budget option worth considering for his price of 1.5m. He has the potential to deliver moments of magic for his country and has had a successful season for club side Las Palmas. For Iran, he will play in behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and if Iran are to have success, Shojaei’s form will be one of the main reasons why.
At 3.5m, Algeria’s El Arabi Soudani has hit form at just the right time for this summer’s World Cup. Soudani had a hugely successful end to the season with his club side Dinamo Zagreb and he will start on the left-wing for Algeria at the World Cup. He notched three goals in seven qualifiers and scored more than a goal every other game from the wing for his club side. Whilst he may not provide as good value for money as Slimani, at 3.5m he is certainly a budget option worth considering.
I would also recommend either Vincent Aboubakar, Eric Choupo Moting or Pierre Webo, all of whom play for Cameroon. All three are priced at 4m, however it remains unclear which duo of the three will play in behind Samuel Eto’o for Cameroon. Vincent Aboubakar is most likely to claim one of the roles after scoring 16 times for Valenciens in Ligue 1 this season (only Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored more). Choupo Moting has started four out of the national team’s last five matches and also comes off the back of a successful season at club level with Mainz in the Bundesliga. Finally, Webo is a mainstay of the Cameroon national team and over the years he and Eto’o have developed a great understanding. Unfortunately for Webo, he comes off the back of a poor season at club level for Turkish Champions Fenerbahce, having mainly been used as a substitute. Despite Aboubakar and Choupo Moting having more successful seasons than Webo, it remains unclear which two will start for Cameroon behind Samuel Eto’o in their opening match against Mexico.
