World Cup Fantasy 2022: Captaincy, subs + transfers

The official Fantasy game for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been all over the place since it launched earlier this month, with dozens of prominent players not priced up until late last week.

Even now, we’re still waiting for Qatar and Ecuador players’ points to be added from Sunday’s opener due to data feed issues.

However, the game is still (we think!) allowing captaincy changes, substitutions and transfers, so we thought we’d offer a quick reminder as to what you can and cannot do.

• READ MORE: November 19 update on the rules

CAPTAINCY

Once your captain has played in a ‘Matchday’ (the equivalent of a Gameweek), you are able to change your captain once more for another player who is yet to play. 

Anyone who plays UCL Fantasy will know this rule but for the uninitiated, it basically gives you a second chance at nominating a captain if you are unhappy with the points from your original skipper.

Once you have confirmed this change, you will not be able to change your captain again during the current Matchday.

For example, if you handed the armband to Enner Valencia ($6.5m) or Angelo Preciado ($4.5m) on Sunday, you’ll probably want to stick. However, if you opted for a Qatari player who blanked, you can switch and back another player who is yet to play.

SUBSTITUTIONS

There are two types of substitutions.

The first kind is what FPL managers will be used to, ie an ‘automated’ sub when one of your starting XI doesn’t play.

The second type is a ‘manual’ substitution.

Here, you are able to sub out a player in your starting XI for an asset on your bench who has not yet played in the current Matchday. 

As an example: if you have Al Sheeb in your starting XI – who will still be on negative points even when the game updates – you can replace him with your substitute goalkeeper on your bench who is yet to play.

TRANSFERS

With Matchday 1 now underway, you have two free transfers to call upon. Here’s what you can and cannot do.

SCENARIO 1: Transfer an unlocked player for another unlocked player

This transfer will be processed instantly, and your new player will begin scoring points in the current Matchday. You will not receive any points this Matchday for the player you transferred out.

This is very handy if you see a teamsheet and the player you are backing is on the bench or not involved at all.

For example, say you owned Phil Foden ($8.5m) but he’s named only as a substitute for England’s clash with Iran. So long as you make the move before kick-off, you can transfer him out with one of your two allotted moves and bring in a team-mate who does start, say Raheem Sterling ($8.5m) or Bukayo Saka ($8.0m), or a player from a different (and yet-to-play) nation altogether.

SCENARIO 2: A Transfer involving a locked player

If you do this, the transfer will only become active for the next Matchday. The locked player you sold will also keep the points they earned this Matchday.

As an example, say it’s Monday evening of Matchday 1 and Foden has already played and got you two points.

Any move for an unlocked player, say Angel Di Maria ($8.5m) as a Foden replacement, would come out of your Matchday 1 allocation but Di Maria wouldn’t start scoring points for your team until Matchday 2.

Transfers cannot be reset once they have been confirmed but you are able to roll over one unused free transfer per Matchday.

You can take hits, like in FPL, with these costing you a ‘-3’ for every additional transfer you make.

TRANSFER HACK?

To add further confusion, there is even talk of a transfer hack, although we are yet to find out if this is actually viable.