It’s Round 1 deadline day for Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026, so it’s time to finalise our Scout Picks after earlier drafts.
Remember, it’s advisable to have a strong squad of 15 players and not just a starting XI with bench fodder.
That’s because the Fantasy FIFA World Cup game allows for manual substitutions, meaning managers can take off underperforming picks and replace them with a player who hasn’t yet played.
It’s also important to say that these Scout Picks are for Round 1 in isolation. For instance, we’ve omitted Brazil players due to their trickier-than-it-looks clash with Morocco. However, if you’re setting a team up for more than one Round/Gameweek, it’s crucial to look beyond the opening set of fixtures. Brazil meet Haiti in Round 2!
GOALKEEPERS
The goalkeepers have changed the most in our Scout Picks over the last few weeks!
There’s uncertainty over the starting ‘keepers of Mexico, Scotland and Uruguay, while Ecuador’s Hernan Galindez ($4.2m) and Canada’s Justin Crepeau ($4.0m) are hurtling towards the 5% ownership mark – so they won’t qualify for Scouting Bonus if they go past that figure:
So, we’ve turned our attentions to two more low-cost options whose nations, Austria and Colombia, both sit well over 50% in the clean sheet odds list:
Crucially, at the time of writing, both Alexander Schlager ($4.7m) and Camilo Vargas ($4.3m) are owned by considerably fewer than 5% of Fantasy managers.
It obviously helps us in the Scout Picks that Austria’s Schlager has Argentina in Round 2, hence why few Fantasy managers are considering him. We’re, of course, looking only at Round 1 in isolation in this article.
There were a few question marks over Vargas’ position in the Colombia team but he’s started both June friendlies, keeping a clean sheet in the second one, so he seems to have a grip on the shirt for now.
DEFENDERS
Germany, Spain, Norway, Switzerland and Mexico are all in the top six for clean sheet odds in the table above.
And all five have representatives in our Scout Picks.
Julian Ryerson ($4.2m) was the top defender for expected assists (xA) in UEFA qualification, helped by a role at set plays:
Above: Defenders sorted by expected assists (aka xG assisted) in UEFA qualification
Joshua Kimmich ($5.5m) is also on a share of dead-ball duty for Germany. He’s taken seven corners and created six chances in Nationalmannschaft’s two June friendlies. With David Raum ($4.9m) too much of a rotation risk, Kimmich gets the nod.
For Spain, we’d ideally have Pedro Porro ($5.5m) in there, another set-piece specialist and someone who hit double figures for key passes (11) in qualification. Positional rival Marcos Llorente ($5.5m) looms large, however, and that’s enough for us to side with the hugely owned Marc Cucurella ($5.1m).
There’s not a huge amount of upside with Switzerland’s full-backs, so Nico Elvedi‘s ($4.3m) low ownership (3.5%) gives us something the above three Scout Picks defenders can’t: Scouting Bonus potential.
Similarly, Johan Vásquez ($4.9m) is just 3% owned for Mexico. He’s scored in back-to-back friendlies for the co-hosts, and is captain material on the opening day of the World Cup.
Nuno Mendes ($5.8m) was originally in these picks but fitness concerns led us to leave him out.
MIDFIELDERS
Midfielders get rewards for tackles/key passes in World Cup Fantasy.
So, not only do Florian Wirtz ($7.5m), Bruno Fernandes ($8.5m) and Marcel Sabitzer ($6.8m) have favourable opening fixtures, they could also benefit from their playmaking abilities regardless of any orthodox attacking returns.
They were their respective sides’ leading chance creators in qualification, racking up 54 key passes between them. Again, roles at set plays boosted their output, while Sabitzer and Fernandes are in the mix for penalty-taking responsibilities with Austria and Portugal. They have to persuade the veteran penalty-hoggers to hand the ball over, of course…
A combined 54 key passes might sound impressive but James Rodriguez ($6.5m) could, remarkably, better that figure alone in South America.
Yes, there were more games to play, but he recorded more than twice the key passes (61) and xA (6.77) than any other midfielder in CONMEBOL qualification:
Above: Midfielders sorted by key passes in CONMEBOL qualification
Finally, another German attacker. There was always going to be a triple-up; it’s just a question of who.
We’ve ultimately sided with Leroy Sane ($7.4m). He was a rotation risk leading up to the tournament but Lennart Karl’s injury has cleared a path on the right flank. Sane started and scored in Germany’s 2-1 win over USA last weekend, which was their final pre-tournament kickabout.
Crucially, Sane currently qualifies for Scouting Bonus alongside Sabitzer and Rodriguez – but it looks like the latter will spill over the 5% mark!
FORWARDS
There’s no chance of this trio featuring in under 5% of squads.
But they do bring goals aplenty, and boast of favourable fixtures and penalty-taking duties. There are some strong underlying numbers, too, with Erling Haaland ($10.5m) and Mikel Oyarzabal ($8.1m) among the top three strikers for xG per 90 minutes in UEFA qualification.
Above: Forwards sorted by xG per 90 minutes in UEFA qualification
Kylian Mbappe ($10.5m) doesn’t have quite as straightforward a test; Senegal were the on-field AFCON winners in January. But the Lions of Teranga have just conceded three goals to USA in a pre-tournament friendly, and have a mistake or two in them at the rear.
ROUND 1 SCOUT PICKS
READ MORE OF OUR FANTASY FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 CONTENT
GROUP A: Mexico | South Africa | Korea Republic | Czechia
GROUP B: Canada | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Qatar | Switzerland
GROUP C: Brazil | Morocco | Haiti | Scotland
GROUP D: USA | Paraguay | Australia | Turkiye
GROUP E: Germany | Curacao | Cote d’Ivoire | Ecuador
GROUP F: Netherlands | Japan | Sweden | Tunisia
GROUP G: Belgium | Egypt | Iran | New Zealand
GROUP H: Spain | Cabo Verde | Saudi Arabia | Uruguay
GROUP I: France | Senegal | Iraq | Norway
GROUP J: Argentina | Algeria | Austria | Jordan
GROUP K: Portugal | DR Congo | Uzbekistan | Colombia
GROUP L: England | Croatia | Ghana | Panama
Round 1 Scout Picks | Round 1 best captains | Round 1 best differentials: | Sleep-friendly XV | Players to avoid | Team reveals | Best players by position + price
Predicted line-ups | Penalty + corner takers | Direct free-kick takers
How to play World Cup 2026 Fantasy | What is ‘Scouting Bonus’? | How to order your starters + subs | Can you captain, transfer or sub 12th Man? | 150 of the best, worst and funniest team names
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