FIFA World Cup Fantasy 2026: Expert's first draft + 12th Man!

Price Change Predictions

	Player	Club	Factors
Up	Porro	TOT	C
Up	Mavropanos	WHU	C
Up	Hill	BOU	A, £
Up	James	CHE	C
No Change	van Hecke	BHA	C
No Change	van Dijk	LIV	B
Up	Botman	NEW	B
Up	Stones	MCI	C

Risers

Fallers

Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Bowen	WHU	7.8m	59.1%	Likely
Senesi	BOU	5.2m	102.8%	Very Likely
Pedro Porro	TOT	5.2m	105.1%	Very Likely
Rayan	BOU	5.4m	109.6%	Very Likely
Flemming	BUR	5.3m	89.5%	Likely
B.Fernandes	MUN	10.4m	105.5%	Very Likely
Virgil	LIV	6.1m	60.0%	Likely
Ngumoha	LIV	4.3m	101.8%	Very Likely
M.Salah	LIV	14.0m	64.9%	Likely
Mavropanos	WHU	4.5m	57.7%	Likely
Calvert-Lewin	LEE	5.8m	92.0%	Likely
Doku	MCI	6.5m	89.7%	Unlikely
Anthony	BUR	5.0m	61.1%	Unlikely
Shaw	MUN	4.5m	87.2%	Unlikely
Mitchell	CRY	5.0m	92.8%	Unlikely
Osula	NEW	5.5m	28.6%	Unlikely
Marmoush	MCI	8.3m	29.4%	Unlikely
Gakpo	LIV	7.3m	73.0%	Unlikely
Bruno G.	NEW	6.9m	63.1%	Unlikely
Gibbs-White	NFO	7.6m	9.3%	Unlikely
M.Fernandes	WHU	5.5m	67.9%	Unlikely
Lewis-Skelly	ARS	5.0m	75.5%	Unlikely
Kroupi.Jr	BOU	4.7m	26.8%	Unlikely
Anderson	NFO	5.7m	30.3%	Unlikely
Hermansen	WHU	4.2m	63.8%	Unlikely
Bijol	LEE	3.9m	68.7%	Unlikely
Lammens	MUN	5.1m	67.6%	Unlikely
Szoboszlai	LIV	7.1m	40.1%	Unlikely
Summerville	WHU	5.4m	43.1%	Unlikely
Cunha	MUN	8.1m	53.4%	Unlikely
Tel	TOT	6.2m	48.0%	Unlikely
Bassey	FUL	4.4m	68.3%	Unlikely
Richarlison	TOT	6.5m	12.7%	Unlikely
Aït-Nouri	MCI	5.7m	63.1%	Unlikely
Robinson	FUL	4.9m	55.5%	Unlikely
Minteh	BHA	5.5m	59.8%	Unlikely
Ødegaard	ARS	7.8m	56.7%	Unlikely
Dowman	ARS	4.2m	50.6%	Unlikely
Enzo	CHE	6.5m	6.8%	Unlikely
Wan-Bissaka	WHU	4.1m	52.0%	Unlikely

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Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Sarr	CRY	6.4m	155.0%	Very Likely
Haaland	MCI	14.7m	64.3%	Likely
Schade	BRE	6.8m	99.4%	Likely
Lacroix	CRY	5.2m	97.4%	Likely
Trossard	ARS	6.6m	13.8%	Likely
Abraham	AVL	5.7m	100.4%	Very Likely
Okafor	LEE	5.5m	52.3%	Likely
Gabriel	ARS	7.3m	34.1%	Likely
Groß	BHA	5.6m	34.9%	Likely
Reijnders	MCI	5.0m	99.3%	Likely
Struijk	LEE	4.2m	51.8%	Maybe
Gyökeres	ARS	9.1m	37.8%	Maybe
Semenyo	MCI	8.0m	19.2%	Maybe
Rice	ARS	7.2m	49.8%	Unlikely
Cullen	BUR	4.9m	94.1%	Unlikely
Piroe	LEE	4.9m	92.4%	Unlikely
Konsa	AVL	4.4m	80.5%	Unlikely
Grealish	EVE	6.3m	92.2%	Unlikely
Thiago	BRE	7.2m	27.8%	Unlikely
Dalot	MUN	4.5m	77.3%	Unlikely
Obi	MUN	4.2m	86.9%	Unlikely
Johnstone	WOL	4.4m	87.9%	Unlikely
Byfield	TOT	4.0m	85.0%	Unlikely
Longstaff	LEE	4.8m	84.2%	Unlikely
Cairns	LEE	3.9m	83.8%	Unlikely
Johnson	CRY	6.5m	79.5%	Unlikely
Garner	EVE	5.2m	56.5%	Unlikely
Chalobah	CHE	5.4m	81.4%	Unlikely
Watkins	AVL	8.7m	63.1%	Unlikely
Muñoz	CRY	5.9m	62.0%	Unlikely
Caicedo	CHE	5.7m	81.0%	Unlikely
Mee	MUN	3.9m	79.5%	Unlikely
Gonzalez	WOL	4.3m	73.2%	Unlikely
Christie	BOU	4.9m	44.4%	Unlikely
Hill	BOU	4.2m	82.3%	Unlikely
King	FUL	4.4m	63.0%	Unlikely
Amissah	FUL	3.8m	74.8%	Unlikely
Rogers	AVL	7.3m	26.4%	Unlikely
Trafford	MCI	4.5m	77.6%	Unlikely
Steele	BHA	4.2m	68.8%	Unlikely

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FPL Fixture Ticker

Watchlists

	Player	Club	Factors
Up	Hermansen	WHU	C
Up	Sanchez	CHE	C
No Change	Verbruggen	BHA	C
Up	Kinsky	TOT	C, £
Up	Petrovic	BOU	B

Last updated: 23 May, 2026 11:34pm

	Player	Club	Factors
Up	Porro	TOT	C
Up	Mavropanos	WHU	C
Up	Hill	BOU	A, £
Up	James	CHE	C
No Change	van Hecke	BHA	C
No Change	van Dijk	LIV	B
Up	Botman	NEW	B
Up	Stones	MCI	C

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Bruno Fernandes	MUN	B
Up	Hinshelwood	BHA	A, £
Up	Fernández	CHE	A
Up	Szoboszlai	LIV	A
Up	Rayan	BOU	A, £
Up	Summerville	WHU	C, £
No Change	Dewsbury-Hall	EVE	B, £
No Change	Bruno Guimarães	NEW	B

Last updated: 24 May, 2026 12:06am

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Haaland	MCI	A
No Change	Bowen	WHU	B
Up	Richarlison	TOT	B
No Change	Welbeck	BHA	C
Down	Thiago	BRE	C
Up	Kroupi	BOU	B, £
No Change	Calvert-Lewin	LEE	A
No Change	João Pedro	CHE	B, Inj
Up	Osula	NEW	A, £

Last updated: 24 May, 2026 12:13am

The countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup ramps up a notch now with the official Fantasy game going live.

In this article, international fantasy whizz @FPLReaction will share his current first draft team for FIFA World Cup Fantasy 2026.

He discusses some of the key players catching his eye, the nations he’s targeting early on and the initial strategy he’s considering for the group stage.

Of course, this is only an early draft, and plenty could still change before the deadline with friendlies, injuries and confirmed line-ups all still to come. But for now, this is where his thinking currently stands ahead of the tournament start.

READ MORE: FIFA World Cup Fantasy 2026: 150 of the best, worst + funniest team names
READ MORE: How to play the FIFA World Cup Fantasy 2026 game

EARLY THOUGHTS ON BOOSTER/CHIP STRATEGY

I could talk at length about chip (or ‘booster’) strategy but my initial thought is that there does seem to be a standout path to take, although there are alternative approaches.

My thinking, as with all international Fantasy games, is that the best time to use chips is in the group stage. This is down to the fact that the best teams face the worst teams, thus offering more value from the chips.

My provisional plan for the tournament ahead is to use:

12th Man in Round 1
Max Captain in Round 2
Wildcard in Round 3.

Ultimately, I think rotation in the third round dictates a Wildcard in Round 3, although I will continue to weigh up the pros and cons of Wildcarding in Round 2, also.

With that in mind, most of the players I have included in my first draft have two good fixtures early on.

FPL REACTIONS’ FIRST WORLD CUP FANTASY DRAFT

This content is restricted to Chief Scout Members. Click here to register and get access to industry-leading stats from Opta and StatsBomb including Defensive Contributions data, the Rate My Team tool, Points Projections, 150+ Member-only articles, exclusive Team Reveals, a customisable Season Ticker, two Transfer Planners... and more!

The Bandit

3 hours, 19 mins ago

Nuno staying on. I’m glad he has been given the chance to get the back to the Prem.

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JBG

2 hours, 34 mins ago

https://x.com/EtihadPapers/status/2059357240818020451

"JUST IN: Erling Haaland could consider leaving Manchester City following Pep’s departure."

That makes reason nr.116 for him to leave City....

JBG
1 hour, 44 mins ago
Nevermind... satire account -_-
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Dubem_FC
1 hour, 40 mins ago
Man signed an extra 6+ years contract. He knew Pep was going soon, yet signed. He's not leaving and neither is 115 going to cost City more than fines.
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1. JBG
  1 hour, 17 mins ago
  He didn't know Pep was going. Players wouldn't been in shock last week with the news, if they knew.
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SpaceCadet

2 hours, 28 mins ago

Fifa world cup fantasy first draft!

verbruggen ochoa
mendes kimmich minoz ryerson coufal
bruno raphina wirtz mctominay doku
mbappe messi oyarzabal

The Knights Template
1 hour, 58 mins ago
Where are the Socceroos?
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1. SpaceCadet
  1 hour, 56 mins ago
  Plan to get them in the knockout rounds.
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  1. The Knights Template
    1 hour, 33 mins ago
    Niiiiice!
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JBG
1 hour, 21 mins ago
Looks good, this is my first draft.

Taffarel-Seamen
Aldair-Eggen-Desailly-Kovac
Zidane-Rekdal-Bebeto-Prosinecki
Suker-Ronaldo-Owen
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1. JBG
  1 hour, 14 mins ago
  Forgot Thuram, he's in my draft as well
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  1. The Knights Template
    48 mins ago
    Where are the Subway Socceroos?
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    1. JBG
      31 mins ago
      Did they play in 98? Genuine question haha.
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      1. The Knights Template
        10 mins ago
        No, we got pipped at the post by Iran.
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Bobby Digital

40 mins ago

Can you change your 12th man midweek?

Bobby Digital
39 mins ago
Think I'll play it in GW1
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Bobby Pires
just now
No, once picked that's it, boom or bust!
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29 mins ago

Just realised that I will be missing plenty matches this WC, because of the kick-off times.

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FIFA World Cup Fantasy 2026: FPLReactions’ first draft + 12th Man

EARLY THOUGHTS ON BOOSTER/CHIP STRATEGY

FPL REACTIONS’ FIRST WORLD CUP FANTASY DRAFT