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Korea Republic v Czechia team news: Son starts

12 June 2026 82 comments
TopMarx TopMarx
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Looking to follow co-hosts Mexico in getting their FIFA 2026 World Cup campaign off to a winning start are Korea Republic and Czechia.

The first of several matches in this tournament for the night owls and dead zone denizens with kick-off at yawn-tastic 03:00 BST.

TEAM NEWS

One of FPL’s greatest-ever players, Son Heung-min ($7.4m) makes his 11th World Cup appearance for Korea Republic. Renowned in FPL for his xG-busting ability, the former Spurs talisman bagged a team-leading 10 goals in qualification as well as supplying four assists.

At the back, Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae ($5.0m) carries the hopes of nearly 50,000 managers. He’ll be looking to add to his four clean sheets in his last six international outings.

Meanwhile Wolves forward Hwang Hee-Chan ($6.1m), found in only 0.1 per cent of Fantasy squads and looking to earn his 80th cap for his country, starts on the bench.

Club team-mate Ladislav Krejci ($4.4m) lines up for the opposition while another name familiar to FPL managers, Tomas Soucek ($5.6m), joins him in midfield.

Most of the Fantasy attention will be on former West Ham United full-back Vladimir Coufal, however, who at $3.6m is among the cheapest starting defenders in the game.

LINE-UPS

Korea Republic XI: Kim Seung-Gyu, Lee Han-Beom, Kim Min-Jae, Lee Gi-Hyuk, Seol Young-Woo, Hwang In-Beom, Paik Seung-Ho, Lee Tae-Seok, Lee Kang-In, Lee Jae-Sung, Son Heung-Min.

Subs: Bae Jun-Ho, J. Castrop, Cho Wi-Je, Cho Gue-Sung, Eom Ji-Sung, Hwang Hee-Chan, Jo Hyeon-Woo, Kim Jin-Gyu, Kim Moon-Hwan, Kim Tae-Hyeon, Lee Dong-Gyeong, Oh Hyeon-Gyu, Park Jin-Seob, Song Bum-Keun, Yang Hyun-Jun

Czechia XI: Kovár, Chaloupek, Hranác, Krejcí, Coufal, Soucek, Sojka, Zeleny, Sulc, Provod, Schick.

Subs: Chorý, Chytil, Darida, Douděra, Hložek, Holeš, Horníček, Jurásek, Kuchta, Sadílek, Sochůrek, Staněk, Višinský, Zima, Červ

Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026: Get involved with our coverage!

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

Join our mini-league + win prizes! | Stats Centre | FREE AI Team Rater | Fixture Ticker | Scouting Bonus tracker | Fixture calendar

TopMarx Fan of Fantasy Football and Monty Python. "Archimedes out to Socrates, Socrates back to Archimedes, Archimedes out to Heraclitus, he beats Hegel. Heraclitus a little flick, here he comes on the far post, Socrates is there, Socrates heads it in! Socrates has scored! The Greeks are going mad, the Greeks are going mad! Socrates scores, got a beautiful cross from Archimedes. The Germans are disputing it. Hegel is arguing that the reality is merely an a priori adjunct of non-naturalistic ethics, Kant via the categorical imperative is holding that ontologically it exists only in the imagination, and Marx is claiming it was offside. Follow them on Twitter

82 Comments Login to Post a Comment
  1. FOREST FOREVER 2
    • 1 Year
    1 month, 16 days ago

    It's all Korea at the moment.

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  2. MEGPAL
    • 14 Years
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Any fellow brits awake watching this?

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    1. TopMarx
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 13 Years
      1 month, 16 days ago

      A brit but in Colombia!

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    2. Mozumbus
      • 4 Years
      1 month, 16 days ago

      Not a brit but watching yes from Pakistan, 8 am here

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  3. FOREST FOREVER 2
    • 1 Year
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Very quick jersey chang for Czech No. 15.
    Bit like tyre change in F1.

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  4. FOREST FOREVER 2
    • 1 Year
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Coufal the most active Czech player.

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    1. bso
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Almost got him Happy I switched to Ordonez!

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  5. FOREST FOREVER 2
    • 1 Year
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Great chance for Son.
    Owners unlucky.

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  6. Drop Dead Tsimikas
    • 14 Years
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Coufal looks great value for 3.6M. Regretting dropping him.

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    1. SpaceCadet
      • 12 Years
      1 month, 16 days ago

      True, need Korea to score to bust the cs

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      1. Mozumbus
        • 4 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        Got him
        Your curse came true lol otherwise I'd have been over the moon (see the post right below)

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        1. SpaceCadet
          • 12 Years
          1 month, 15 days ago

          Tough luck, was looking like a mega haul for a while.

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          1. Mozumbus
            • 4 Years
            1 month, 15 days ago

            Yes, it'd have been a massive start for me
            Still in good shape when 3,665 rank, most probably I'll keep captain badge on jimenez
            Partly watched both games
            Conditions look tough for European teams

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  7. Mozumbus
    • 4 Years
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Last minute Jimenez selection worked well
    Rangel gained ownership >5% mainly due to the squad visibility before the deadline
    Coufal is here as well, a cleanie plus goal/assist will be highly welcome!

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  8. lilmessipran
    • 13 Years
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Where is the clinical Xg overperforming Son we knew about?

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  9. Thanos
    • 4 Years
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Who got the assist?

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    1. lilmessipran
      • 13 Years
      1 month, 16 days ago

      Some 3.6m defender taking corner kicks

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    2. SpaceCadet
      • 12 Years
      1 month, 16 days ago

      Coufal

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  10. lilmessipran
    • 13 Years
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Krejci knack for scoring goals for a defender.

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    1. Haa-lala-land
      • 5 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Might even be on pens

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      1. lilmessipran
        • 13 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        That would be Schick

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  11. lilmessipran
    • 13 Years
    1 month, 16 days ago

    All the Wolves players scoring in the WC so he throws on Hee Chan, very clever

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  12. FOREST FOREVER 2
    • 1 Year
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Both CS busted. I like it.

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    1. SpaceCadet
      • 12 Years
      1 month, 16 days ago

      Relief

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  13. SpaceCadet
    • 12 Years
    1 month, 16 days ago

    Schick and Son owners mudded.

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  14. Freshy
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 16 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    Coufal has a top shelf long throw

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  15. Coupes
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    Quick question about live subs: if I have Sabister in my current starting lineup, but replace him with Raphinia on my bench, can I bring Sabister back in later?

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    1. Holmes
      • 12 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      yes, as long as he has not played

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  16. Holmes
    • 12 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    Hopefully no injuries. Sane and Haaland to Olise and Mbappe is as easy as it gets.

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    1. SpaceCadet
      • 12 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Already have Olise and raphina. thinking haaland wirtz > mbappe kdb/doku.

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      1. Holmes
        • 12 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        Changed Olise to Yamal last minute

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        1. SpaceCadet
          • 12 Years
          1 month, 15 days ago

          Will Yamal even play the first match?

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          1. Holmes
            • 12 Years
            1 month, 15 days ago

            Dont know, he was back in training yesterday. Maybe a sub appearance and than a start against Saudi? Will take that. Trying to fit him in MD2 plan was more difficult.

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            1. Mother Farke
              • 2 Years
              1 month, 15 days ago

              I can't see Yamal being risked until the Uruguay game. They've got enough as a squad to navigate Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia to not take the risk. In fact, I can see rotation v Saudi. Grimaldo starting over Cucurella, for example.

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              1. Holmes
                • 12 Years
                1 month, 15 days ago

                lets see, not that I need him for captaincy. Can change him to Olise and keep Sane if there is a chance of him not starting. I think they will field their strongest side in all games to avoid any possibility of facing Argentina in R32.

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                1. Mother Farke
                  • 2 Years
                  1 month, 15 days ago

                  Uruguay will likely win their first two games, too, which will mean Spain will need their best XI for MD3. Why risk your better players when you've got the depth to rotate? We'll see.

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  17. Holmes
    • 12 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    Australia vs Turkey will be the first game which can be watched live. Germany vs Curacao and Spain vs Cabo Verde will be next 2 followed by Portugal vs DR Congo. Guess it was worth playing fantasy afterall.

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    1. Ausman
      • 2 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      We get every game live where I am 🙂

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      1. Holmes
        • 12 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        Nice. Not that I would have watched every game but the luxury of having a choice of which game to watch is great.

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  18. DrCongo
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 15 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    I can't find reference to when the live match day deadlines are for substitutions and changing captain etc. Has anyone have any idea where I would find them / what they are?

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    1. Mozumbus
      • 4 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      You can substitute in players who have not played yet (as in their teams)
      So, you have time till the match starts, as per my understanding (now)

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  19. keefy59
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    Anyone on Max Captain in this round
    Not taking the "advice" of YouTube content creators to play it in the final ?
    I'm already on 14 points with Rangel & with all the big hitting premiums to follow .
    Plus no stress as to should I stick or twist with my captain points so far .

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    1. Holmes
      • 12 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      \o/

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    2. Camzy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 16 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Don't like using it in the final. Best time is QFs imo.

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    3. Gommy
      • 16 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      I'm on it here also.

      With so many weaker teams in the competition now and the increased chance of bigger hauls, it could mean getting a captain wrong is more punishing. Compared to the latter stages when better teams play each other.

      Of course, using in the latter stages will prevent the headache of potential captain picks playing in the same game. Like I say, I don't think see that as damaging, should you still get it wrong from 8 attempts, for example.

      Intrigued to see how it plays out.

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    4. LangerznMash
      • 10 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      GW1 = 12th man (Haaland)
      GW2 = Max Captain

      I need to get points on the board early to stay interested in the game.

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    5. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 9 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      I was considering it. But wanted Havertz so went with 12th man instead.

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    6. GreennRed
      • 14 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Yes.

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  20. JBG
    • 8 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    Welp... just found out you can't C the player you VCd. Mbappe stuck as my VC now.

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    1. Holmes
      • 12 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      are you sure? Thats ridiculous.

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      1. JBG
        • 8 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        Just tried it, no option to do it on him.

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        1. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
          • 9 Years
          1 month, 15 days ago

          You can. Change VC to someone else first.

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          1. JBG
            • 8 Years
            1 month, 15 days ago

            Oh thanks, it worked.

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    2. Mozumbus
      • 4 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Also, in mobile Web browser, you can't see dates of players which is possible for the next round
      It is important for substitution
      Or maybe I'm missing something
      Can anyone guide please if that's possible

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      1. GreennRed
        • 14 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        Try a different browser. Can see same options, price, date etc, ttl points there now when I click on transfers open MD2 page on Duckduckgo.

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    3. Mozumbus
      • 4 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Also, i have noticed my bench order was changed
      Someone here already cautioned that it changes with transfers, so that might be the case, since i brought in Jimenez last minute
      You cannot change bench order within the bench, so i had to to bring Bruno in the starting 11 and then back to change the order, lol

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  21. LangerznMash
    • 10 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    Montes suspended for GW2 so who is the best replacement?
    A) Demiral vs Paraguay
    B) De Cuyer vs Iran
    C) Varela vs Cabo Verde
    D) Molina vs Austia
    D) Belghali vs Jordan
    E) Other? (name a sub-£4.8m defender)

    I'm thinking Belghali (vs Jordan) for the super-budget option at £3.5m as he ranks in the 92nd percentile among full-backs for touches in the opposition box and the 99th percentile for attempted dribbles. Plus Algeria's 3rd fixture is okay against Austria.

    I also like De Cuyer (vs Iran) as Belgium have New Zealand the match after, but I fear he will have high volume of transfers in taking him over the 5% scouting bonus.

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    1. Mother Farke
      • 2 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Do you have an Ecuador defender already?

      What about Vuskovic (if he starts v England) or another Croatia defender v Panama?

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      1. LangerznMash
        • 10 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        Yes I have Mojica (hoping he remains under 5%). I hadn't considered Croatia so Vuskovic could be a great shout if he starts. If not then there's always Josip Stanišić who got 3 goals and 7 assists this season.

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        1. Mother Farke
          • 2 Years
          1 month, 15 days ago

          Mojica is Colombia, mate?

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          1. LangerznMash
            • 10 Years
            1 month, 15 days ago

            Oh yes silly me, I always confuse those two! No I don't have any Educator players. Granted they likely get a CS against Curacao, but then they play Germany so think i'll avoid. Thanks for the suggestion though 🙂

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    2. Camzy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 16 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Ngoy is 3.7m for Belgium. Frees up 1m for upgrades with your 2nd transfer.

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      1. LangerznMash
        • 10 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        Ngoy is a good super-budget if he starts. Only started 3 matches though (all friendlies) and lots of competition = Theate, Mechele, Debast.

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        1. Camzy
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 16 Years
          1 month, 15 days ago

          He has started every game since he got called up to the team. And his competition are all old. He's in the predicted lineups on here as well. I'm confident he starts.

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  22. TheBiffas
    • 5 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    Only watched the highlights but South Korea looked really exciting.... I nearly picked Lee Kang-In, but Lee Jae-Sung looks just as good

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    1. LangerznMash
      • 10 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Who would have thought a deep-lying midfielder would haul.

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      1. PartyTime
        • 5 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        I had Sonny until yesterday when I realized South Korea aren't a free scoring side

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  23. Gizzachance
    • 11 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    A bank Rangel 7 pts
    B twist Crepeau under 5% needs cs

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    1. Camzy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 16 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Nah. Canada to keep a cleanie vs Bosnia is not likely enough that it's worth risking it.

      I have Nyland vs Iraq and that's a much closer decision imo.

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    2. PartyTime
      • 5 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Surely A

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    3. Mother Farke
      • 2 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      I'd bank. Alajbegovic is very good and will make something happen for Bosnia imo.

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    4. Christina.
      • 16 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Bank
      Easy

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  24. PartyTime
    • 5 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    Has anyone here gone without Bruno as well? I think he isn't essential for the first game vs DR congo who are pretty solid in defense. I do, however, see them gifting Ronaldo a penalty in that game.

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    1. LangerznMash
      • 10 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      Congo have never kept a clean-sheet against a Top 20 ranked nation (conceded 3 vs Morocco and Senegal).

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  25. PartyTime
    • 5 Years
    1 month, 15 days ago

    FIFA so stingy. They can't even offer prizes in their fantasy football game yet they are happy to demand over $1000 in ticket price. Heck! No point downloading the app

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    1. Holmes
      • 12 Years
      1 month, 15 days ago

      I dont understand how can someone pay 1000$ for a sports game, must be some ultra rich humans?

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      1. PartyTime
        • 5 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        Well... people are paying more to watch Australia vs Turkey. It is the new sports world order. UEFA 23 final for instance was random selection via lottery based system for the usual €50 -€450 depending on situation allocation preference. Likelihood of getting picked is 1/1000 unless he pays €2000

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        1. Holmes
          • 12 Years
          1 month, 15 days ago

          Guess its a cultural or upbringing difference. People do pay such crazy amount to watch cricket here. I just can't imagine paying that much for 2-3hrs show.

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        2. PartyTime
          • 5 Years
          1 month, 15 days ago

          Sit allocation preference*

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      2. GreennRed
        • 14 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        Corporate dudes trying to impress cucumber sandwich eating clients.

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      3. LangerznMash
        • 10 Years
        1 month, 15 days ago

        That's why there were large patches of empty seats in the Korea/Czech match, and Canada vs Bosnia is expected to be half empty.

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        1. JBG
          • 8 Years
          1 month, 15 days ago

          Ah they really captured the magic and beauty of the WC. Expensive tickets and water breaks to force in commercials. Also all the travel visa stuff... oh and the ref being denied. Lovely stuff this.

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