World Cup Fantasy: Best strategy for the unlimited transfers?

FIFA World Cup Fantasy managers now get unlimited transfers to prepare their teams for the round of 16 and beyond.

How you approach your squad set-up may depend on whether you’ve still got the Wildcard yet to play, which we’ll touch on below.

But first, some of the key questions addressed.

• READ MORE: World Cup Fantasy 2022: Scout’s Matchday 4/round-of-16 picks

WHEN CAN I MAKE UNLIMITED TRANSFERS?

In short: now!

Shortly after the full-time whistles blew in the Brazil v Cameroon and Serbia v Switzerland games, the transfer window reopened for FIFA World Cup Fantasy bosses.

You can now make unlimited changes up until kick-off in the Netherlands v USA tie at 15:00 GMT on Saturday 3 December.

CAN I MAKE TRANSFERS *DURING* THE ROUND OF 16?

While the unlimited transfers period only lasts until kick-off in the Netherlands v USA tie, Fantasy managers do get to make an additional four transfers while the round of 16 is ongoing.

The quota for the rest of the tournament is given above.

HOW MANY PLAYERS CAN I PICK FROM EACH NATION?

While managers were restricted to three players per nation in the group stage, up to four assets can be selected from each country in the last 16.

The permitted allocation increases as we go through the knockout rounds.

WHAT BUDGET WILL I BE WORKING WITH?

You’ve got an extra $5m to play with now; given how fairly straightforward it was to assemble a competitive squad with $100.0m in the group stage, $105.0m should be a doddle.

STRATEGY: NO WILDCARD REMAINING

PLANNING FURTHER AHEAD

For those who have already used their Wildcards, this will be the last chance you’ll get to completely overhaul your FIFA World Cup squads for free.

Planning further ahead than the round of 16 may not be a bad idea, then, as while you get a handful of free transfers in the subsequent rounds, you don’t want your number of eliminated players to be running into double figures at any point.

Our tournament bracket above makes Argentina and especially Brazil’s paths to the semi-finals seem favourable, although the two South American nations would then meet in the last four.

Spain arguably have the best route to the semi-finals in the other half of the draw, with Morocco and Portugal not straightforward tests by any means but about as good as you could hope for in the last 16 and quarter-finals of the World Cup – and preferable to Croatia and Brazil.

The bookies actually make Brazil and France the favourites to reach the final, although there’s not much in it between Les Bleus and Spain (below image courtesy of Oddschecker).

CAREFUL OF THE QUADRUPLE-UPS

Short-term tournament format Fantasy games tend to encourage aggressive play (you almost certainly won’t win the entire thing without playing that way) but managers backing quadruple-ups on nations in the last 16 will be playing a risky game, for example, if they don’t have a Wildcard still in the locker to deal with any shocks.

Backing four players from England also might seem like a shrewd short-term play in the last 16 but the Three Lions may then face France in the quarter-finals, and they’ll be very much second favourites for that encounter.

USING FREE TRANSFERS TO PLAN FOR THE NEXT ROUND

Going for more nailed starters would seem to be the play for the Wildcard-less bosses, as you could then use your four allotted round-of-16 transfers to prepare for Matchday 5 rather than wasting them on sideways, teamsheet-led switches.

For example, say you went for Denzel Dumfries ($6.0m) for the Netherlands’ clash with the USA. If the Americans dump the Dutch out of the tournament, you could transfer Dumfries out of your side – after he’s played but before Tuesday evening – to a defender who has made it through to the quarter-finals. This won’t change your Matchday 4 points total but will leave you in a better position come Matchday 5, without touching your five-transfer allowance for the quarter-finals.

READ MORE: Which World Cup players are suspended or close to a ban

STRATEGY: WILDCARD REMAINING

If you’ve got your Wildcard remaining, you’re in a great position as you could effectively get Free Hits in three of the four remaining rounds.

By activating the chip ahead of the quarter-finals, for instance, you could use the ‘Wildcard hack’ tactics that others employed in the group stage.

The strategy would follow this approach:

• Before 3pm GMT on Saturday 3 December: Use unlimited transfers to set up for the last 16
• While the round of 16 is ongoing: Use the four free transfers to deal with any benchings or omissions after you see the round-of-16 teamsheets
• Between full-time in the Portugal v Switzerland game and kick-off in the first quarter-final at 3pm on Friday 9 December: Activate the Wildcard, set your team up for the last eight
• While the quarter-finals are ongoing: Use your unlimited Wildcard transfers to not only deal with any benchings (“unlocked-to-unlocked transfers”) but also use the ‘Wildcard hack’ to get yourself set up for the semi-finals
• After full-time in the final quarter-final, right through to kick-off in the second semi-final: Use the five permitted free semi-final transfers to further tweak your squad or even partly get players in for the final

What having the Wildcard in your locker does is encourage only short-term, bold play. You could safely go for an England quadruple-up against the USA, for instance, in the knowledge that you could get rid of some Three Lions assets on your Wildcard if you didn’t fancy them against France.

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