World Cup 2014

World Cup 2014 – Team Analysis – USA

The Group G analysis continues with the United States. Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad received no help in the draw – in addition to very stiff competition, the team faces a grueling travel schedule that will zigzag more miles back and forth across Brazil than any other team during the group stage.

They open on Monday June 16 at 11 pm against Ghana, then head to the sweltering Amazon port city of Manaus to face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on Sunday June 22 at 11 pm, before ending against the group’s top seed Germany on Thursday June 26 at 5 pm.

ROAD TO QUALIFICATION

Team USA finished in first place in CONCACAF’s third round of qualifying in a group with Jamaica, Guatemala, and Antigua and Barbuda. Klinsmann’s side then stepped things up a notch in the final round thanks mainly to a 100% home record which saw them register a shut-out in each of the five fixtures in front of their own fans. Winning seven wins and drawing one of their 10 group games, they secured another first place finish ahead of Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Jamaica, with 15 goals scored, eight against, and six clean sheets accrued.

Most Starts Omar Gonzalez, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore (8)

Most Goals Jozy Altidore (4), Clint Dempsey (3)

The Key Targets

While Klinsmann might prefer that this story die, the big news is that Team USA will head to the World Cup without Landon Donovan for the first time since 1998. This may put even greater pressure on the team to get off to a quick start.  Most recently, their attacking form has been relatively impressive – scoring twice in all but one of their last five friendlies. Since clinching their place in Brazil, the US have won three and drawn two of seven fixtures, emerging victorious against South Korea, Azerbaijan and Turkey from February onwards.

While clean sheets will not be easy to come by, the most secure route into the US defence is Everton’s goalkeeper Tim Howard (5.5 in FantasyiTeam), and a reasonable punt who should see plenty of opportunities for saves.

As for the backline starters, Klinsmann’s decisions and tinkering have served to create uncertainty for those trying to project lineups, and it remains a possibility that there could even be shuffling throughout the tournament. With a well-taken goal in the most recent friendly against Turkey, Fabian Johnson (who is on his way to MGladbach this summer) has emerged as the closest thing there is to a lock. Available for 5.1 in FantasyiTeam, he has started both recent friendlies at right back and has also played left back, and carries the added Fantasy bonus of still having an outside shot of being utilised as a midfielder.

Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron (5.2 and 5.3 in FantasyiTeam) have been the starting centre back duo for the two most recent friendlies and look likely to retain their starting berths ahead of Omar Gonzalez and John Brooks, though the battle for the left-back spot remains so wide open that there is no basis for projecting what Klinsmann intends to do at this point.

Turning to the midfield, Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley (5.3 and 5.4 in FantasyiTeam) should remain regulars down the spine. Both will be active defensively and, if recent friendlies are any indication, Bradley should be given sufficiently greater freedom to join in the attack to warrant the small additional cost, after Klinsmann played him at the tip of a midfield diamond against Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Two familiar Premier League names look to lead the line, Clint Dempsey (7.0 in FantasyiTeam) and Jozy Altidore (6.5). Dempsey started slowly upon joining Seattle last summer, but has been in fine form since the current season kicked off, with eight goals and three assists in only nine games – as he showed at Fulham on numerous occasions, Dempsey has a knack for being in the right place at the right time and a never-quit mentality. The US captain will look to add to a fine record against Ghana that includes scoring on a fine volley in 2006 and earning a penalty kick in 2010.

While Dempsey boasts of fine form, Altidore’s recent conversion rate has become an increasing concern for the red, white and blue. One goal and one assist in 31 appearances this past season at Sunderland will neither strike fear in the opposing Group G defenders nor excite Fantasy investors and despite notching four goals from eight starts in the second group phase, Altidore has not scored an international goal since he netted against Jamaica last October.

THE LONG SHOTS

While the US attack has regularly sought to play through Altidore in the recent friendlies and Klinsmann continues to express confidence and speak positively about him, AZ Alkmar’s Aron Johannson (6.9 in FantasyiTeam) stands waiting in the wings should Klinsmann’s patience fade. While Johannson lacks Altidore’s physical presence, he bagged 32 goals in 56 games across all competitions for AZ Alkmaar this past year and should at a minimum be a ready spark in substitute cameos, either in place of or alongside Altidore.

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi (5.2 in FantasyiTeam) was a consistent presence during qualifying and seems the surest bet for playing time on the right flank. He had registered a goal and four assists in nine league games before departing for national team duty and, having netted twice in the final two qualifiers, could be an outside option.

Further Analysis

Group A – Brazil,Cameroon, Croatia, Mexico

Group B – Australia, Chile, Holland, Spain

Group C – Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan

Group D – Costa Rica, England, Italy, Uruguay

Group E – Ecuador, France, Honduras, Switzerland

Group F –Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria,

Group G – Germany, Ghana, Portugal

Fantasy iTeam

Fantasy Football Scout is supporting Fantasy iTeam, a free World Cup game available on a number of mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPodTouch and Android. There’s a £5000 holiday to be won for the overall winner and a £500 voucher available for the winner of our official Fantasy Football Scout League.

Click here for details and here to sign up.

Our League name is Fantasy Football Scout and the pin is 4915.

Relevant Community Articles

Scouting The USA by Walsh, Fantasy World Cup Early Options by Bowstring the Trout, The World Cup – The Players by the Sarjeant, World Cup Qualifiers – Goals Scored and Conceded by Blue Lion.

da Beeeez Recognizing that it's better to be lucky than good, da Beeeez often sleeps through the early games on the weekends...

571 Comments Post a Comment
  1. pompeyfan
    • 14 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    So Moyes wants to go to CL club. He better start sending his CV out to the likes of Banants, HB, FC Santa Coloma & La Fiorita.

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    1. iCon
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Surely he's looking for the Celtic gig?

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      1. iCon
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        Good morning fellow Oranje btw 😀

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        1. pompeyfan
          • 14 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          morning!

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      2. pompeyfan
        • 14 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        they're in the same category

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        1. iCon
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 13 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          Absolutley!

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      3. Kings of Lyon ★
        • 13 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        Dont think Celtic will be able to afford his wages.

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        1. pompeyfan
          • 14 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          think they may struggle to qualify this time

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  2. TorresMagic™
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 14 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    What do you guys think of the 2nd Hot Topic picking teams 1-32?

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    1. iCon
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Sounds interesting and no stress involved - Is it going to go ahead?

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      1. TorresMagic™
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 14 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        Guess it depends on the ease of running it. I might run a Last Man Standing where you can only pick each team once. 7 teams to win and can't pick the winner in the semi final etc. maybe too hard to win through.

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  3. parkerdip
    • 10 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    Does the mcdonalds game usually get more members before the start? It's only at 250K so far and it is the official game right?

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    1. Hamstergod
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      I'd think a lot of people will register, when it actually opens.

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      1. parkerdip
        • 10 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        yeah I guess since you can't actually select a team yet. Surprised they only give you 4 days. I mean all the teams are announced so why not let us choose earlier

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        1. Hamstergod
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 11 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          yeah, it's quite weird. I guess they wanted to wait for the finalized squads to save themselves some work.

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      2. Funkyav
        • 14 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        and the website will inevitably crash.

        FIFA really are a bunch of corrupt morons, if it really was the people's game they would have opened earlier.

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        1. Parm
          • 12 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          I bet Sepp Blatter will win it and all...

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    2. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Aye. Though I bet they've lost themselves a lot of players this year.

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      1. parkerdip
        • 10 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        yeah i've heard people complaining about the ball recovered stat, although doesn't bother me too much being more unpredictable

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    3. Mo Mané Mo Problems
      • 9 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      The Euro version had at least 2 million playing.

      I cannot see them getting 1 million..

      How can you ruin something so flamboyantly is beyond me.

      They didn't need to think up anything new...just use the Euro system, add new players...press start...

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      1. Funkyav
        • 14 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        They were probably paid a load of money by some unknown company to set up a new one.

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      2. parkerdip
        • 10 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        may not be a bad thing having less players, better chance of winning

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      3. Pork Pie Sausage Roll
        • 13 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        Was the Euro version run by FIFA? Surely UEFA no?

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        1. Hamstergod
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 11 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          Yep UEFA but also sponsored by McD.

          Generally UEFA has at least experience with Fantasy games on a seasonal basis (and they get it wrong fairly often) , with FIFA it's more questionable.

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  4. Parm
    • 12 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    There have been 5 players that i've picked in all 3 fantasy games(iTeam, Sun Dream Team & FOX) thus far, Rojo, James Rodriguez, Muller, Messi & Neymar. Anyone else got any players that've made the cut in every format?

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    1. GoonerByron
      • 12 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Neymar, Messi, Dzeko, Rodriguez (Swiss)

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    2. roscola
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 12 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Fox and Mirror are quite similar formats so my teams share a lot of players. Neymar, Higuain, Muller and Di Maria are my main guys.

      If FFS UEFA goes ahead with McD then I'm not sure how much overlap there will be. Depends on RB rule, I guess.

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      1. wood is good
        • 11 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        oooh whats the deal with the mirror game?

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        1. roscola
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 12 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          Very similar to FPL but no bonus points. Generous budget (which I quite like but others don't). Brazil and Mexico have a 'DGW' to spice things up.

          But the website is flakey. Slow loading and frequently logs me out for no good reason.

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          1. wood is good
            • 11 Years
            9 years, 9 months ago

            think il check it out. suprised there hasnt been more talk of it.

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          2. Epic Fail
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 13 Years
            9 years, 9 months ago

            I don't like that it tells everyone that there is a DGW. Should leave people to figure it out their self.

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            1. roscola
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • Has Moderation Rights
              • 12 Years
              9 years, 9 months ago

              Damn straight

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            2. Mo Mané Mo Problems
              • 9 Years
              9 years, 9 months ago

              My friends are so bad at the game, I doubt they'll even take that on board...even though its right in front of their eyes...

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              1. roscola
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • Has Moderation Rights
                • 12 Years
                9 years, 9 months ago

                Ditto. One of my 'rivals' freely admits that he only knows three footballers, and one of them is Beckham 😆

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      2. GoonerByron
        • 12 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        I wanted to play the Mirror game but the list of players seemed dreadful.. Think I counted at least 2 countries that didnt even have a single keeper listed.

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        1. roscola
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 12 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          Really? I noticed it was a bit slim but I haven't found it to be a problem. No-one I really wanted was missing.

          The website is kinda flakey though. Slow to load and frequently logs me out. Wish I wasn't playing it for that reason but it's a mega-casual mates league and we're all committed now.

          I do quite like the generous budget, makes a refreshing change for a more relaxed game.

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        2. Mo Mané Mo Problems
          • 9 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          Oh...

          They are going to add more players right? I just presumed they were being a bit slack?

          I'd find it annoying if every player available wasn't available in the game...

          Wish I hadn't chosen it for my super casual friends league now...

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          1. Epic Fail
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 13 Years
            9 years, 9 months ago

            I know on the Sun site they have blatantly said that not all the players are going to be in the game, because nobody will want or care about the Iran right back or something like that. Maybe the Mirror is the same.

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  5. wood is good
    • 11 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    is there an article on the sun game somewhere?
    would be playing the fox game but hard to motivate ones self when you know your not eligable to win.
    havnt played a sun fantasy game before so would love a bit of advice on stratagy....

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    1. Parm
      • 12 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      - Budget: £50 million for a starting XI(no subs).
      - Formations: 4-4-2, 4-3-3 or 4-5-1

      Points scoring:

      General:
      - Goal: 5 points, no matter what position, excludes penalty shoutouts.
      - Hat-trick: 5 points on top of the 3 goals.
      - Yellow Card: -1 point.
      - Red Card: -3 points.
      - Player Rating of 7 or more (See Sunsport in The Sun): 3 points
      - Star Man (See Sunsport in The Sun): 5 points
      - NO POINTS FOR ASSISTS
      - NO POINTS JUST FOR PLAYING

      Goalkeepers:
      - Penalty Save or Miss (excluding shoot-outs): 3 points

      Defenders & Goalkeepers:
      - Clean Sheet: 5 points
      - Concede more than 1 goal: -1 point per goal

      Midfielders:
      - Clean Sheet: 2 points

      Knockout Phase:
      - All points scored are doubled in the knockout phase, EXCLUDING Star Man & Player Rating of 7 or more.
      - A win bonus of 2 points is also introduced during the knockout phase.

      Transfers:

      During Brazil Dream Team there will be two traditional Transfer Windows when you can change up to FOUR players in each, as well as a bonus window allowing one further change:

      - Transfer Window 1 opens at 9am on June 25 and closes at 5pm on June 28.
      - Transfer Window 2 opens at 9am on July 2 and closes at 5pm on July 4.
      - Bonus Transfer Window opening and closing times to be announced at random, so keep an eye on your emails or follow @dreamteamfc on Twitter.

      So, in conclusion:

      - Buy goalscorers, not assisters.
      - Don't go (too)cheap at the back, solid defences can be very profitable.
      - Key performers like Iniesta are likely to score high as a result of the Player Rating & Star Man bonuses, despite not scoring.
      - No transfers during the Group Phase, bare that in mind when making initial team selection(i.e No DGW for Brazil)
      - Buy players that are likely to go through the Group Phase, as you only have 4 transfers between the Groups and Knockouts to fix dodgy initial selections.
      - Super Subs may be profitable as there are no points for playing time.
      - You can have as many from any team as you want, so quadrupling up on one team may not be a bad idea
      - No captain

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      1. Parm
        • 12 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        I'm also unwilling to buy any Asian player, no doubt the Sun's reporters will be too ignorant to tell the players from one another and therefore not award then 7+ ratings. 😉

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      2. Hamstergod
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        Any idea if it's open for players outside of the UK?

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        1. Parm
          • 12 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          "I live overseas. Can I play?"

          "No. Like Dream Team and Road To Rio, Brazil Dream Team is only available to residents of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. If you win a prize then you may be asked for proof of your address."

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          1. Hamstergod
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 11 Years
            9 years, 9 months ago

            Cheers

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            1. wood is good
              • 11 Years
              9 years, 9 months ago

              thanks all

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  6. Jebiga
    • 11 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    if anyone want to join fox world cup fantasy here is the code: 2864-644

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    1. Jebiga
      • 11 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Courtois

      Zabaleta, T. Silva, Baines

      Hazard, Gerrard, Yaya Toure(VC), Reus

      Ronaldo, van Persie (C), Aguero

      Sub: Itandje, Bentaleb, Kolasinac, McGowan

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    2. Zep
      • 13 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Join my league if you like... 7-245

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    3. Prime
      • 10 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Someone made an unoffcial FFS league a couple days ago: 7-245

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  7. Saniul
    • 11 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    The folks covering the World Cup at ESPN must be anti-Arsenal, I guess.

    Among their predicted lineups, they don't have Mertesacker, Ozil and Podolski for Germany, Koscielny and Giroud for France, Ox and Wilshere for England and Vermalen for Belgium.

    Sakho ahead of Koscielny. :O

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    1. Parm
      • 12 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Ozil should start, not sure about Mertesacker, but Podolski won't.
      Sakho & Varane are first choice(apparently), Giroud is behind Benzema in the pecking order.
      Henderson just ahead of Wilshere for England, Oxlade-Chamberlain is injured.
      Vermaelen in competition with Lombaerts, but likely to start as it stands.

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    2. Pork Pie Sausage Roll
      • 13 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Koscielny and Wislhere are the only real surprises for me imo. Perhaps Ozil too but he's been in poor form recently and Germany have an abundance of attacking midfielders. Wouldn't be that surprised if Gotze starts over him

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    3. Louis
      • 11 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Sakho ahead of Koscielny is not a surprise. It is if you follow the Premier League closely though.
      Deschamps has completely based his starting 11 on the two qualifying games against Ukraine. In the first game, France were awful and Koscielny got sent off and in the second game Sakho defended perfectly and scored two goals. Sakho has never let the National team down and was even appointed captain in their last friendly.

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      1. Parm
        • 12 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        Sakho is sort of Beckham vs Greece MK II after his two goals against the Ukrainians.

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    4. NABIL - FPL otai
      • 11 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      All are starters expect for Ox and Pd imo

      Typical ESPN.

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  8. meerlight
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    Costa Rica FFS @Costa_Rica_FFS · 35s
    NEWS: @meerlight has been appointed as VC of Costa Rica - "This is a great day for apes everywhere. Pura Vida." #FFSWC

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    1. Blue Lion
      • 10 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Congrats! 😀
      #Everythinghappensforareason 😉

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  9. wood is good
    • 11 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    due to the fact i post on my xbox and the articles at the moment tend to have the words team analysis in them, everytime i post something at the moment the addres bar at the top always ends in TEAM-ANAL

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    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Exactly the same on my Kindle.

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  10. Louis
    • 11 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    Is it a good thing that the values of players will not fluctuate in the WC McDonald’s Fantasy game. Do you prefer having the values of players fluctuating every gameweek and to build team value for the rest of the game like in FPL?

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    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      I don't think it makes sense to fluctuate prices in such a small time period.

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    2. Parm
      • 12 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Not for a short competition like the World Cup/Euros', not enough time to build up team value, unlike FPL.

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      1. roscola
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 12 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        This

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  11. Pepe the Frog
    • 10 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    Anyone reckon going double Chile in GW1 is the way to go?

    Sanchez + Vidal = pwnage on the Aussies!

    Or is it abit too risky?

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    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Aus could quite easily get a result.

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      1. roscola
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 12 Years
        9 years, 9 months ago

        You really think? I think Chile could get a result against Spain

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        1. Epic Fail
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 13 Years
          9 years, 9 months ago

          Well not 'easily', but Australia on a good day will be a match for Chile on an average day.

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    2. Pork Pie Sausage Roll
      • 13 Years
      9 years, 9 months ago

      Bit risky. I'm stocking up on the Argies and French for the easy openers though

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  12. Blue Lion
    • 10 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    For those who missed out. A rerun of yesterday's Ecuador Presser.

    http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2014/06/05/new-season-memberships-now-available-3/?hc_page=6#hc_comment_7386179

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  13. NEW POST
  14. President John F. Keninnsie
    • 10 Years
    9 years, 9 months ago

    Right, got my fox team sorted.

    No Messi, no problem.

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