World Cup

World Cup 2018 Predicted Line-ups and Team News

After weeks of research, we’ve predicted the starting line-up for every team’s opening fixture at this summer’s World Cup.

We’ve put these together using information gathered from qualifying matches, international friendlies and team news information from managers.

Some of them are more set in stone than others and ultimately they are predictions based on the interpretation of the data by our team of writers.

Hopefully it will help World Cup Fantasy managers pick their teams.

GROUP A

RUSSIA

3-4-2-1: Igor Akinfeev; Fedor Kudryashov, Ilya Kutepov, Vladimir Granat; Yuri Zhirkov, Alexandr Golovin, Roman Zobnin, Alexandr Samedov; Aleksei Miranchuk, Alan Dzagoev; Fedor Smolov

SAUDI ARABIA

4-2-3-1: Abdullah Al-Maiouf; Mansour Al-Harbi, Omar Hawsawi, Osama Hawsawi, Yasir Al-Shahrani; Abdullah Otayf, Salman Al-Faraj; Salem Al-Dawsari, Tassir Al-Jassim, Yahya Al-Shehri; Mohammed Al-Sahlawi.

EGYPT

4-2-3-1: Mohamed El-Shenawy; Mohamed Abdel Shafy, Ahmed Hegazi, Ali Gabr, Ahmed Fathy; Tarek Hamed, Mohamed Elneny; Ramadan Sobhi, Abdallah Said, Mohamed Salah; Marwan Mohsen.

URUGUAY

4-4-2: Fernando Muslera; Diego Laxalt, Diego Godin, Jose Gimenez, Guillermo Varela; Giorgian De Arrascaeta, Rodrigo Bentancur, Matias Vecino, Nahitan Nandez; Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani

GROUP B

PORTUGAL

4-4-2: Rui Patricio; Raphael Guerreiro, Pepe, Jose Fonte, Cedric Soares; Joao Mario, William Carvalho, Joao Moutinho, Bernardo Silva; Andre Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo

SPAIN

4-2-3-1: David de Gea; Jordi Alba, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Dani Carvajal; Thiago Alcantara, Sergio Busquets; Andres Iniesta, Isco, David Silva; Diego Costa

MOROCCO

4-1-4-1: Munir Mohamedi; Achraf Hakimi, Medhi Benatia, Romain Saiss, Nabil Dirar*; Karim El Ahmadi; Noureddine Amrabat, Mbark Boussoufa, Younes Belhanda, Hakim Ziyech; Khalid Boutaib

*Dirar is a fitness concern for Morocco’s opening group fixture.

IRAN

4-5-1: Alireza Beiranvand; Milad Mohammadi, Morteza Pouraliganji, Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Ramin Rezaeian; Mehdi Taremi, Ehsan Hajsafi, Masoud Shojaei, Omid Ebrahimi*, Alireza Jahanbakhsh; Sardar Azmoun

*Saeid Ezatolahi is suspended for Iran’s first game, but will possibly replace Ebrahimi upon becoming available for selection.

GROUP C

FRANCE

4-3-1-2: Hugo Lloris; Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Hernandez; Blaise Matuidi, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante; Antoine Griezmann; Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe

AUSTRALIA

4-2-3-1: Mat Ryan; Aziz Behich, Mark Milligan, Trent Sainsbury, Joshua Risdon; Mile Jedinak, Aaron Mooy; Robbie Kruse, Tom Rogic, Mathew Leckie; Andrew Nabbout

PERU

4-2-3-1: Pedro Gallese; Miguel Trauco, Alberto Rodriguez, Christian Ramos, Luis Advincula; Yoshimar Yotun, Renato Tapia; Christian Cueva, Jefferson Farfan, Andre Carrillo; Paulo Guerrero.

DENMARK

4-2-3-1: Kasper Schmeichel; Jens Larsen, Andreas Christensen, Simon Kjaer, Henrik Dalsgaard; Thomas Delaney, William Kvist; Pione Sisto, Christian Eriksen, Yussuf Poulsen; Nicolai Jorgensen.

GROUP D

ARGENTINA

4-2-3-1: Willy Caballero; Nicolas Tagliafico, Federico Fazio, Nicolas Otamendi, Fabricio Bustos; Giovani Lo Celso, Lucas Biglia*; Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi, Maximiliano Meza; Sergio Aguero

*Ever Banega, another option in central midfield, is a fitness concern ahead of Argentina’s first group match.

ICELAND

4-4-2: Hannes Thor Halldorsson; Hordur Magnusson, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Kari Arnason, Birkir Saevarsson; Birkir Bjarnason, Aron Gunnarsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Johann Berg Gudmundsson; Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson, Alfred Finnbogason

CROATIA

4-2-3-1: Danijel Subasic; Ivan Strinic, Dejan Lovren, Vedran Corluka, Sime Vrsaljko; Ivan Rakitic, Milan Dadelj; Ivan Perisic, Luka Modric, Ante Rebic; Mario Mandzukic.

NIGERIA

3-5-2: Francis Uzoho; John Ogu, Leon Balogun, William Troost-Ekong; Brian Idowu, John Obi Mikel, Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Shehu Abdullahi; Victor Moses, Odion Ighalo

GROUP E

BRAZIL

4-3-3: Alisson; Marcelo, Joao Miranda, Thiago Silva, Danilo; Philippe Coutinho, Casemiro, Paulinho; Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Willian.

SWITZERLAND

4-2-3-1: Yann Sommer; Ricardo Rodriguez, Manuel Akanji, Fabian Schar, Stephen Lichsteiner; Granit Xhaka, Valon Behrami; Steven Zuber, Blerim Dzemaili, Xherdan Shaqiri; Haris Seferovic

COSTA RICA

3-4-2-1: Keylor Navas; Oscar Duarte, Geancarlo Gonzalez, Johnny Acosta; Bryan Oviedo, David Guzman, Celso Borges, Christian Gamboa; Joel Campbell, Bryan Ruiz; Marco Urena

SERBIA

4-2-3-1: Vladimir Stojkovic; Aleksandr Kolarov, Dusko Tosic, Nikola Milenkovic, Antonio Rukavina; Luka Milivojevic, Nemanja Matic; Filip Kostic, Adam Ljajic, Dusan Tadic; Aleksandr Mitrovic

GROUP F

GERMANY

4-2-3-1: Manuel Neuer; Jonas Hector, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Joshua Kimmich; Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira; Marco Reus, Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller; Timo Werner.

MEXICO

4-3-3: Guillermo Ochoa; Carlos Salcedo, Hector Moreno, Hugo Ayala, Jesus Gallardo; Hector Herrera, Miguel Layun, Andres Guardado; Hirving Lozano, Carlos Vela, Javier Hernandez

SWEDEN

4-4-2: Robin Olsen; Ludwig Augustinsson, Andreas Granqvist, Victor Lindelof, Mikael Lustig; Emil Forsberg, Albin Ekdal, Sebastian Larsson, Viktor Claesson; Marcus Berg, Ola Toivonen

SOUTH KOREA

4-4-2: Kim Seung-gyu; Kim Min-woo, Kim Young-Gwon, Jang Hyun-soo, Lee Yong; Lee Sung-woo, Jung Woo-Young, Ki Sung-yeung, Lee Jae-Sung Il; Son Heung-min, Hwang He-chan.

GROUP G

BELGIUM

3-4-2-1: Thibaut Courtois; Toby Alderweireld, Derdryck Boyata*, Jan Vertonghen; Thomas Meunier, Kevin De Bruyne, Axel Witsel, Yannick Carrasco; Dries Mertens, Eden Hazard; Romelu Lukaku

*Vincent Kompany should start if he is passed fit.

PANAMA

4-5-1: Jaime Penedo; Luis Ovalle, Roman Torres, Fidel Escobar, Adolfo Machado; Jose Rodriguez, Anibal Godoy, Gabriel Gomez, Armando Cooper, Edgar Barcenas; Blas Perez

TUNISIA

4-3-3: Aymen Mathlouthi; Dylan Bronn, Syam Ben Youssef, Yassine Meriah, Ali Maaloul; Ellyes Skhiri, Ferjani Sassi, Saif-Eddine Khaoui; Anice Badri, Naim Sliti, Fakhreddine Ben Youssef

ENGLAND

3-5-2: Jordan Pickford; Gary Cahill, John Stones, Kyle Walker; Kieran Trippier, Dele Alli, Jordan Henderson, Jesse Lingard, Danny Rose; Raheem Sterling Harry Kane

GROUP H

COLOMBIA

4-2-3-1: David Ospina; Johan Mojica, Davinson Sanchez, Yerry Mina, Santiago Arias; Carlos Sanchez, Abel Aguilar; Mateus Uribe, James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado; Radamel Falcao.

POLAND

3-4-3: Lukasz Fabianski; Michal Pazdan, Jan Bednarek*, Lukasz Piszczek; Jakub Blaszczykowski, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Karol Linetty, Maciej Rebus; Piotr Zielinski, Kamil Grosicki, Robert Lewandowski

*Kamil Glik, first choice centre-half for Poland, is injured for his country’s first two group matches.

SENEGAL

4-2-3-1: Abdoulaye Diallo; Lamine Gassama, Kalidou Koulibaly, Salif Sane, Youssouf Sabaly; Idrissa Gueye, Cheikhou Kouyate; Ismaila Sarr, Sadio Mane, M’Baye Niang; Diafra Sakho

JAPAN

4-2-3-1: Eiji Kawashima; Yuto Nagatomo, Yomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Gotoku Sakai; Makoto Hasebe, Hotaru Yamaguchi; Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa, Genki Haraguchi; Yuya Osako.

Further Analysis

Our comprehensive World Cup guide can be found here.

Group A Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay

Group BIran, Morocco, Portugal, Spain

Group CAustralia, Peru, France, Denmark

Group DArgentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria

Group EBrazil, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Serbia

Group FMexico, Germany, Sweden, South Korea

Group GBelgium, Panama, Tunisia, England

Group HSenegal, Japan, Poland, Colombia

Our editor’s Fantasy World Cup tips as told to Proper Sport

Fantasy iTeam

Fantasy Football Scout is supporting Fantasy iTeam, a free World Cup game available on a number of mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPodTouch and Android. We have an official Fantasy Football Scout League open to UK users only, with a £1000 of Amazon vouchers to give out, split between the top three performers. There’s also the small matter of £10k worth of prizes available in the main competitions: Overall World Championship and Manager of the Gameround.

Click here for details and here to sign up.

Our League name is Fantasy Football Scout and the pin is 1887.

Please note, users must be over 18 and based in the UK to join our league.

World Cup Data
We’re delighted to offer World Cup data as an early addition to our regular season offering to help those playing Fantasy games over the summer.

We’ve secured Opta data, not only for the tournament itself, which begins on June 14 but also from the Qualifying Rounds for Europe and South America and for international friendlies involving the participating nations. This includes all the matches played right up to the tournament kick-off.

Just to stress, this World Cup offering comes packaged with the regular Fantasy Football Scout membership.

Check out this new trailer previewing the World Cup content below…

3,555 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Pirlø's Pen
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    I need 2, 4.5 midfielders.

    Who do I pick?

    1. edgardavids
      • 12 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Where is all your money?

      1. Pirlø's Pen
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 10 months ago

        Defence & attack

    2. shotgunnufc - MANIAC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      some other defenders/strikers

      1. Pirlø's Pen
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 10 months ago

        El Kajoui Ozoho
        Meunier Danilo Trippier Varela Pavard
        J. Rodriguez Eriksen Ziyech 4.5 4.5
        Neymar Lukaku Werner.

        I’m happy with it I just need the 4.5 mids.

        1. edgardavids
          • 12 Years
          5 years, 10 months ago

          You could have actually a bench if you downgrade Neymar to Jesus.
          Rest of the team lovely
          Sorry I just can’t rate anyone below Belhanda

    3. Freshy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      A. HAKIMI(MOR)4.5

      1. Pirlø's Pen
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 10 months ago

        Midfielder*

        1. Rihanovic
          • 6 Years
          5 years, 10 months ago

          Inui
          A. Ndiaye
          I'm exactly thinking like you.
          I have those two, can't think of any other options.

  2. edgardavids
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    10 to pick 2 (Def: FRA, BEL, ENG, GER and URU):

    6 - Courtois
    Lloris
    Patrício
    Muslera

    5,5 - Subasic
    Schmeichel
    Ospina
    Pickford
    Ochoa
    Polish
    Akinfeev

    5 - Navas
    Olsen
    Sommer
    Stojkovic

    4,5 - Caballero
    Halldorsson
    Gallese

    4 - Uzoho

  3. UNDERSCORE
    • 5 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Is Milinkovic not a starter? Why is he not in the article above!!!

    1. Nascimento
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Think you've answered your own question.

      1. UNDERSCORE
        • 5 Years
        5 years, 10 months ago

        he is too good not to be a starter - that’s why the surprise

    2. UNDERSCORE
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      pls help with this

      1. Tempestic
        • 5 Years
        5 years, 10 months ago

        It’s wrong, he will start ahead of Milivojevic or Ljajic.

  4. Richd
    • 11 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    The risk with Inui is he is week 6, so might not start and if you need him you're facing a lovely blank

  5. Sean.
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Bottomed out,
    Mojica not in the predicted line -ups ?

    1. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
      • 14 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      There is a few that I'm not sure about

    2. Prøfeßör …
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      He is. It's just not his full name.

    3. UNDERSCORE
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      he is the Johan Palacio guy

      1. Sean.
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        5 years, 10 months ago

        Thanks, was getting worried there.

    4. michudagawd
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      He is. They have him down as Johan Palacio. His full name is Johan Andrés Mojica Palacio, so it's needlessly confusing.

  6. el polako
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Caballero
    Hakimi - Pavard - Meunier
    Eriksen - J Rodriguez - Willian - Carrasco - Samedov
    Lukaku - Cavani

    Uzoho Mojica Dalsgaard Mitrovic

    bench boost GW 1

  7. Jatt
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Werner mbappe or cavani???

    1. Collie01
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      I've gone Cavani

    2. EmreCan Hustle
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Cavani

  8. The Mighty Hippo
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    How's this looking?

    Muslera
    Danilo I Kimmich I Umtiti I Meunier
    Paulinho I James Rod I Carrasco
    Lukaku I Cavani I Jesus

    Uzoho I Bentancur I Hegazy I C. Sanchez

    1. edgardavids
      • 12 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Umtiti > Pavard
      C. Sanchez > somebody else
      Maybe Paulinho > some set piece threat

  9. Collie01
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Thought it'd be August before I did another RMT but this WC has me in a tizzy. Any help appreciated. Thinking of bench boost in the first round.

    Muslera (Uzoho)
    Danilo, Walker, Advincula, Meunier
    JRod, Muller, Cueva
    Cavani, Lukaku, Jesus

    (Uzoho, Tagliafico, Aldawsari, Nandez)

    Have 0.5itb, anywhere for an easy upgrade?

    1. Klopptomist Scott Jelly
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Nandez to either Meza or Belhanda

  10. EmreCan Hustle
    • 11 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Miranchuk or Belhanda?

    1. Whats the Mata?
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Bell

      1. EmreCan Hustle
        • 11 Years
        5 years, 10 months ago

        Cheers.

  11. Woy_is_back
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Giroud only 1% ownership O_0

  12. Whats the Mata?
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Coutinho or Willian or paulinho

    1. edgardavids
      • 12 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Only Brazilian asset?

      1. Whats the Mata?
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 10 months ago

        Yes

        1. edgardavids
          • 12 Years
          5 years, 10 months ago

          I like the idea of William, but Coutinho is the best

    2. michudagawd
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Paulinho

    3. Midlands Saint73
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      I went Willian

    4. Klopptomist Scott Jelly
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      What can you do with the 0.5? They're all good options, not much between them!

  13. Johnny Drama
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    What’s the newest on Pavard?

    1. EmreCan Hustle
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Expected to start.

      https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dfkt5CfWkAA3b1_.jpg

      Also according to this article.

  14. Atimis
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    1. Best option for 4.5 def here?
    2. Ljajic of Carrasco?
    3. Any other issues?

    El Kajoui
    Meunier/Trippier/Danilo
    James/Eriksen/Ziyach/6.5mid
    Jesus/Cavani/Lukaku

    Uzoho/G.Varela/Meza/4.5def

    1. Tempestic
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      This is pretty much my team.
      1) Dalsgaard, Mojica or Pavard.
      2) I literally cant decide between these 2, i’m having the same issue!
      3) Some people are saying TAA May start ahead of trippier in one of the next 2 games. You may want to look into that. You could go Pickford and Hakimi over kajoui and trippier?

  15. Gilbo88
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Ljajic a better option than Kostic? Seems as though Kostic did better in qualifying, but Ljajic in friendlies. Could use the extra 0.5m!

  16. michudagawd
    • 11 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    El Kajoui the best 4.5 goalkeeper?

  17. 1912 F.A Cup Winners
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Re-post......PRMT......
    what do we think to this lot???
    advice welcomed...
    Caballero
    Trippier Meunier Varela Danilo
    Meuller J.Rod Eriksen
    Jesus Griezmann Lukaku (C)
    Uzohu C.Sanchez Kvist Sabaly
    Cheers all...

  18. Magic Hamster
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Based on what I've read and various sites predicted lineups why isn't Carlos Sanchez likely to start for Uruguay... Am I missing something?

    1. Klopptomist Scott Jelly
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      It's all educated guesswork 🙂

  19. Sweetboi
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    A or B?

    a) Paulinho + Werner

    b) Muller + Jesus

    1. edgardavids
      • 12 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      B

  20. Viiksisika
    • 9 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    I'm getting dangerously close on picking Kolarov for atleast GW1. Please help me and convince me not to!

    1. Midlands Saint73
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Reasonable shout, good chance of clean sheet and attacking returns.

  21. nekatie
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    RMT :
    Pickford, Uzoho
    Meunier, Danilo, Varela, Dalsgaard, Akanji
    Eriksen, James, Ziyach, Gudmundsson, Al-Dawsari
    Lukaku, Lewandowski, Cavani
    Q: Could bring in Kimmich for Meunier?

    1. Scout
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Bring in kimmich

  22. LewanGOALski
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Nailed it? 😉

    Muslera - Uzoho
    Meunier - Danilo - Pavard - Varela - Dalsgaard
    Muller - J-Rod - Carrasco - Ljajic - C.Sanchez
    L.Suarez - G.Jesus - Lukaku

  23. vandebeek
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Choose three from these for the next two rounds :
    Lukaku (PAnama, Tunisia)
    Sterling( Tunisia, Panama)
    Jesus (Sui, Costa Rica)
    Cavani(Egypt, Saudi Arabia)

    1. edgardavids
      • 12 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Lujeca

    2. dunas_dog
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Jesus
      Lukaku

    3. Rihanovic
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Lukaku
      Jesus
      Cavani

  24. Cok3y5murf
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Best 2 midfielders for 12m total?

    1. Belalugozi78
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Ziyech and Aldawsari
      or Carrasco/ Ljajic and Meza

  25. Scout
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Pick one ?
    Trippier
    Piszczek
    Gimenez

  26. Gustavo
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Which five players do you think will score the most goals during the whole tournament? And who do you think will be the top scorer?

    I'm in a league where my topscorer will give me 4pts for every goal he scores and the rest will give me 2pts per goal

    1. Collie01
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Nobody knows really.

      Could see Brazil posting some big scores in the group stages.

  27. Ibra
    • 5 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    RMT

    Lloris - Uzoho
    Kimmich - Danilo - Meunier - Trippier - Varela
    Muller - JRod - Lo Celso - Cueva - Carrasco
    Cavani - Griezmann - De Arrascaeta

    1. Collie01
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      With so many great options up front, I think any team that doesn't have a power top 3 is not going to look too appealing to me.

  28. Gustavo
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Griezmann on pens?

    1. Collie01
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 10 months ago

      Yeah think so

  29. Delph & Safety
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Any form of template/common formation for the World Cup fantasy?

  30. Ragabolly
    • 14 Years
    5 years, 10 months ago

    Egypt lineup in the article is wrong in one place, Sobhi won't start if Salah is fit, Trezeguet will.