With another few hours still left for Fantasy managers to tinker with their World Cup squads, we take a look at the standings in the FantasyiTeam game after the group stage came to a close on Thursday night. One of the first Fantasy games to get up and running ahead of Brazil 2014, it’s become a popular option amongst many managers on the site thus far:
A free-to-play Fantasy football app, FiT is available on a number of mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPodTouch and Android. We’re supporting FiT throughout the summer and have an official Fantasy Football Scout League, with a £500 Amazon voucher available to the winner. There’s also the small matter of a £5k holiday available as the prize to the overall FiT World Cup winner.
Fantasy Football Scout League
Just three points separates the top three Fantasy managers as we cast an eye over events in the official Scout League. Dimi Papamichael sits at the summit on 278 points, having previously finished Matchday 2 in third position. Dimi used all of his three free trades in the previous round, drafting in Brazil pair Oscar and Neymar for the 4-1 rout of Cameroon and also acquiring Karim Benzema for France’s draw with Ecuador, and also used the option to purchase a fourth (which costs 100 FiT Credits) to draft in Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal’s win over Ghana. He’s currently in the midst of restructuring his squads for the knockouts and, at present, clearly favours the Dutch, with four Holland players in his starting XI.
Former leader Stefano Van Meedows slips to second, just a single point behind Dimi. He also decided on four trades in Matchday 3, with Neymar, Messi, Daniel Sturridge and Adnan Januzaj all finding their way into Stefano’s XI – he’s also a fan of Louis Van Gaal’s side and currently has four Holland players in his starting 3-4-3 formation.
In third spot is David Grant on 274 points. Lining his side up in a 3-5-2 system, David drafted in Neymar, Granit Xhaka, Luis Suarez and Ronaldo in Matchday 3 but has yet to take advantage of his unlimited transfers ahead of this evening’s deadline.
Climbing into fourth spot is Dansen Low, who currently sits on 266 points. Dansen made just three trades last week, with Neymar, Ross Barkley and Miralem Pjanic drafted into his starting XI, while Meng Kuan Chan completes the top five, having slipped down from second last time around.
If you haven’t joined already, we’ve already set up an official Fantasy Football Scout league. The league name is Fantasy Football Scout and the pin is 4915.
Top Scorers
Intriguingly, four of the five top scoring players in the FantasyiTeam game are classified as midfielders. Germany’s Thomas Muller sits at the summit on 33 points, with four goals and an assist over the group stages. Handed a place in Joachim Low’s front three, Muller has risen from a low of £7.5m to a current price of £8.3m and with a game against Algeria up next, looks set to earn plenty of new investors for Monday night’s encounter.
Colombia’s James Rodriguez is next in line with 29 points. Climbing off the bench in the final group game, he delivered a goal and two assists in just 45 minutes and has scored in all three of his appearances for Jose Pekerman’s side – an upcoming game against a Luis Suarez-less Uruguay affords the £6.8m-priced playmaker of further returns.
Despite blanking against Ecuador last time around, Karim Benzema is the top scoring frontman on 27 points. The France striker has three goals and three assists to his name already and with a showdown against Nigeria on the horizon, many will be looking to snap him up – at present, he sets you back £10.5m.
Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri rocketed up the rankings after firing a hat-trick in the final group game against Honduras. Available for £6.3m, he also picked up an assist against France in Matchday 2 but with a showdown against Argentina up next, could struggle to make an impact.
Joining Benzema and Shaqiri on 27 points is Holland’s Arjen Robben. The Dutchman has flourished in a central role up front and delivered an assist in the 2-0 win over Chile, taking his taking to three goals and an assist for th tournament – setting you back £8.2m, he’ll fancy his chances of delivering the points for the fourth consecutive match tomorrow evening as Louis Van Gaal’s free-scoring side take on Mexico.
Tucked in just behind on 26 points apiece are Lionel Messi and Neymar, after both bagged a brace in Matchday 3. Both players scored four times across the group stages, though Messi was the most consistent of the two – he notched in all three of his appearances, whereas Neymar has produced two goals on a couple of occasions by comparison. Available for £11.0m and £10.5m, major investment in both players looks a certainty as they prepare to face Switzerland and Chile respectively.
