In recent days, we’ve seen a few questions on the site asking whether the third/fourth-place play-off counts towards Fantasy FIFA World Cup points.
Given that we get a whopping six free transfers in the ‘Final’ round, and can own up to eight players per nation, some assumed not.
However, the opposite is (seemingly) true.
18 JULY DEADLINE + PAST PRECEDENTS
The big clue is on the ‘My Team’ page of the official FIFA Fantasy site.
The screenshot graphic we’ve included above shows the ‘Final’ deadline on 18 July.
However, that’s the day of the third/fourth-place play-off, not the final. Remember that FIFA Fantasy deadlines are at kick-off of the round’s first tie.
And looking back past precedents, the play-off counted towards scores in 2022, 2018, 2014 and 2010.
THIRD-PLACE PLAY-OFF: A GOAL-FEST?
So, we Fantasy managers will get to pick players and a captain for the glorified dead rubber.
History suggests that there is going to be plenty of goalmouth activity in the bronze medal match.
In fact, of the last 11 World Cups, only twice have there been more goals in the final than in the third-place play-off – although those were the most-recent editions in 2022 and 2018!
| World Cup | Goals in third/fourth-place play-off | Goals in final |
| 1982 | 5 | 4 |
| 1986 | 6 | 5 |
| 1990 | 3 | 1 |
| 1994 | 4 | 0 |
| 1998 | 3 | 3 |
| 2002 | 5 | 2 |
| 2006 | 4 | 2 |
| 2010 | 5 | 1 |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | 6 |
| 2022 | 3 | 6 |
The pressure being completely off in one match and the stakes being sky-high in the other is one convenient narrative to explain this, although it’s also often the case that many rusty second-string players get a run-out in the third/fourth-place play-off, resulting in a more disorganised affair.
As mentioned in the intro, FIFA Fantasy managers get six free transfers to use in the ‘Final’ round. Given that the same four teams are taking part as in the ‘Semi-final’ round, that seems on the generous side.
It does, however, allow us to see the teamsheets for the play-off, deal with any rotation, and take a few maverick punts on what will hopefully be a more open affair.
If you’ve still got your Maximum Captain chip, you’d hope to catch one haul in a Round in which the points might be tough to predict.
Before, then, however, is the ‘Semi-final’ Round – and you can read our content for that here.
