I've put together a detailed forwards and midfielders guide for World Cup Fantasy.

If you don't care about the videos, skip to the written guide below!

The videos include:

* Career non-penalty goal involvements (national teams)
* Career shots per game (national teams)
* Recent form analysis
* Minutes and role discussion
* Recommendations across multiple price brackets
* Player rankings and comparison tables

For context, I finished 169th overall in the last World Cup Fantasy game and am currently around 2k all-time in FPL (only mentioning this helps people trust my guidance!).

**Videos:**

* Forwards: [https://youtu.be/tp1zXSrzezY](https://youtu.be/tp1zXSrzezY)
* Midfielders: [https://youtu.be/\_KyXHU3CY7E](https://youtu.be/_KyXHU3CY7E)

# Forwards -

# Premium Picks:

# 🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé (£11.0m)

The underlying numbers are incredible, he's nailed for 90 minutes, on penalties, and one of the best players in the world. Senegal isn't the easiest opener, but Iraq and Norway follow.

Feels close to essential.

# 🇳🇴 Erling Haaland (£11.0m)

Norway start with Iraq before facing Senegal.

His recent form for Norway has been ridiculous, and while some managers are considering using the 12th Man chip on him, I'd rather just own him from the start.

Alongside Mbappé, he feels like one of the safest captaincy options in the game.

# 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo (£10.5m)

Portugal open with Congo and Uzbekistan before Colombia.

At £0.5m cheaper than Mbappé and Haaland, Homelander offers excellent value. I expect him to keep penalties, although his minutes may be slightly less secure.

Also a strong 12th Man candidate.

# Premiums Below the Super-Premiums

# 🇪🇸 Mikel Oyarzabal (£8.1m)

Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia are two of the best opening fixtures in the tournament.

With Yamal injured, I expect Oyarzabal's minutes to be very healthy (as an indirect result). He should also be on penalties and has excellent underlying numbers and form for the price.

# 🇩🇪 Kai Havertz (£7.8m)

Germany begin with Curaçao and Ivory Coast.

Havertz consistently gets strong minutes for Germany, should have penalties, and his stats are outstanding for the price.

The only downside with both Havertz and Oyarzabal is ownership. Neither is much of a differential vs. just going for the big picks.

# Mid-Priced Forwards

# 🇨🇦 Jonathan David (£7.0m)

Bosnia and Qatar are attractive opening fixtures.

Likely on penalties and remains Canada's most reliable attacking option.

# 🇹🇷 Kerem Aktürkoğlu (£6.2m)

Australia and Paraguay in the opening two.

Great value pick with decent stats.

# 🇳🇱 Donyell Malen (£6.1m)

A more differential option.

Japan, Sweden and Tunisia isn't quite as appealing a fixture run, but the upside is obvious if he gets the minutes given his national team stats. Should start on the wing or at 9 if The Pie is out.

# Budget Options

# 🇪🇨 Enner Valencia (£5.9m)

Ivory Coast and Curaçao in the opening two fixtures.

Still the focal point of Ecuador's attack and offers decent value.

# 🇿🇦 Lyle Foster (£5.4m)

Strong cheap forward.

South Africa face Mexico, Czech Republic and Korea. Foster has posted roughly 0.57 non-penalty goal involvements per game for South Africa and looks excellent value.

# 🇨🇼 Jürgen Locadia (£4.1m)

If you're scraping the barrel, Locadia should get regular minutes.

Personally, I don't think it's worth going this cheap up front unless it unlocks a structure you really want elsewhere.

# Midfielders

# Super-Premiums

# 🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah (£10.0m)

One of my favourite midfielders from GW2 but a difficult opener against Belgium.

Interestingly, his form for Egypt has been far better than his recent club form. He should be on all penalties, free kicks and corners for Egypt.

The concern is simply the opening fixture.

# 🇫🇷 Michael Olise (£9.5m)

France open against Senegal, which isn't ideal.

That said, Olise arrives in excellent form after a hat-trick in his most recent international appearance. He should be heavily involved in set pieces and remains one of the highest-upside midfielders in the game.

# Premium Midfielders

# 🇵🇹 Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m)

Probably the closest thing to an essential midfielder.

Portugal open with Congo and Uzbekistan. Bruno should be on most free kicks and corners and will be heavily involved in everything Portugal create.

Even if Homelander retains penalties, Bruno remains one of the standout picks in the game.

# 🇪🇸 Pedri (£8.1m)

With Yamal injured, Pedri becomes one of the main ways into Spain's attack.

Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia are excellent opening fixtures.

The concern is that his underlying attacking numbers aren't quite as strong as some similarly priced alternatives.

# 🇨🇴 Luis Díaz (£8.1m)

The fixtures are what really stand out here.

Uzbekistan and Congo are arguably among the best opening fixtures available. The stats are solid, but it's the fixture run that makes him particularly attractive.

# 🇩🇪 Jamal Musiala (£8.0m)

Always capable of explosive returns.

Germany's opening run is favourable, although I slightly prefer another German midfielder in this price bracket... Saying all that his recent stats are awesome.

# 🇩🇪 Florian Wirtz (£7.5m)

Strong underlying numbers and greater set-piece involvement than Musiala.

Germany's fixture run is attractive enough that doubling up could even be considered.

# Belgium Options

# 🇧🇪 Kevin De Bruyne (£7.5m)

My favourite Belgian midfielder.

Elite underlying numbers, all major set pieces, healthy minutes, and still one of the world's best creators.

He averages over three shots per game for Belgium and offers multiple routes to points.

# 🇧🇪 Jérémy Doku (£7.5m)

The upside is big, but his output tends to be streakier.

A perfectly viable pick, but I prefer De Bruyne.

# 🇧🇪 Leandro Trossard (£6.6m)

Decent value if you want a cheaper route into Belgium's attack. Mins and form are a worry.

Personally, I'd pay the extra for De Bruyne if possible.

# Mid-Priced Midfielders

# 🇹🇷 Hakan Çalhanoğlu (£7.1m)

One of the best fixtures in the tournament:

Australia, Paraguay and USA.

With Güler recovering from injury, Çalhanoğlu should dominate set pieces and remain central to everything Turkey do.

# 🇺🇸 Christian Pulisic (£7.0m)

Paraguay, Australia and Turkey.

His career non-penalty goal involvement rate of roughly **0.74 per game** is excellent.

The concern is the poor recent form he has been in.

# 🇦🇹 Marcel Sabitzer (£6.8m)

One of my favourite cheap mid picks.

Averages around 0.45 non-penalty goal involvements per game and 3.3 shots per match internationally.

Jordan in the opener is fantastic.

The downside is that Argentina and Algeria follow, so you'll likely want a transfer plan for GW2.

# 🇦🇷 Thiago Almada (£6.5m)

Expected to start wide for Argentina.

A small sample size, but approximately 0.74 non-penalty goal involvements per game is impressive.

Argentina face Algeria, Australia and Jordan.

# 🇨🇴 James Rodríguez (£6.5m)

Still producing for Colombia.

A career 0.62 non-penalty goal involv**ements per game**, plus excellent fixtures against Uzbekistan and Congo.

# 🇵🇹 Pedro Neto (£6.5m)

The fixtures are fantastic.

The concern is minutes, and his quality...

# 🇲🇦 Brahim Díaz (£6.4m)

Excellent underlying numbers for Morocco and most set pieces.

Unfortunately, an opening fixture against Brazil makes him difficult to recommend initially.

# 🇨🇭 Granit Xhaka (£6.2m)

Qatar and Bosnia are attractive fixtures.

He takes penalties, plays 90 minutes almost every game, and should collect bonus points.

The downside is that his non-penalty attacking numbers are significantly lower than all of the names in this list.

# Budget Midfielders

# 🇧🇪 Charles De Ketelaere (£5.6m)

Potentially starts as Belgium's number nine while being classified as a midfielder.

Only around 1% ownership and could be a very interesting differential if he starts.

The uncertainty around minutes keeps him out of my main plans for now. If Lukaku starts he's done.

# 🇳🇿 Eli Just (£4.2m)

A legit budget enabler.

Recently scored in five consecutive internationals but realistically you're buying him for the price rather than expecting returns. It is New Zealand.

# 🇸🇦 Musab Al-Juwayr (£4.1m)

Likely on some set pieces for Saudi and has posted around 0.44 non-penalty goal involvements per game.

Again, primarily a budget enabler rather than someone I'd want to play.

# My Current Favourite Picks

# Forwards

* Mbappé
* Haaland
* Ronaldo
* Oyarzabal
* Havertz

# Midfielders

* Bruno Fernandes
* Salah
* Olise
* De Bruyne
* Doku
* Çalhanoğlu
* Rodriguez
* Sabitzer

Anyway, that's it from me.

If I have time before the deadline, I'll try to get a defenders guide out as well, although that's looking unlikely because I somehow convinced myself the deadline was Friday when it's actually Thursday here in Canada.

Good luck everyone. Happy to answer any questions, and feel free to check out the channel if you'd like a deeper dive into the stats and player comparisons!

My Favourite Mids & Forwards for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game (169th in the Last WC)