World Cup Fantasy: The best out-of-position players to sign for your team

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World Cup Fantasy is underway, with managers across the globe trying to find an edge over their rivals.

One key strategy is targeting out-of-position players: those classified as defenders who are operating in midfield and the midfielders in the game being used as forwards.

So, which out-of-position players are emerging as intriguing options, and who else might be worth considering?

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In their opening Group A match on Friday, we learnt that South Korea will be playing with wing-backs, and their defender Lee Tae-seok ($3.7m) is budget-friendly and playing high on the left.

Lee failed to capitalise, in fantasy points terms, on this position in his team’s 2-1 win against the Czech Republic, but did create two chances. He’s cheap and was less than five per cent owned at the time of writing. He could be one to watch if South Korea still need points on the board when they meet South Africa on matchday three, with co-hosts Mexico their next opponents, who also got a win from their first game.

We also had Vladimir Coufal ($3.6m) playing incredibly high on the right for the Czechs in that fixture, almost as their most advanced player on the pitch at times, and he got the assist on their goal.

He’s an excellent budget defensive option ahead of South Africa on Matchday 2, where a win is critical to his side’s hopes of progress into the knockout phase. Crucially, he’s also just three per cent owned, which makes him eligible for the scouting bonus. There will be significant clean-sheet hopes with him, too.

In Group C, we saw Morocco go in front against Brazil and eventually take a well-deserved point against one of the tournament’s giants.

Ismael Saibari ($6.8m) was the star man in this game. Listed as a midfielder but playing as the forward in Morocco’s 4-2-3-1 formation, he scored their goal and had three shots. Plus, at 0.8 per cent owned, he also registered the scouting bonus to deliver a double-digit haul.

Morocco will now be among the favourites to progress from the group stage, with their toughest fixture now over, and Scotland and Haiti up next.

Brazil also lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation under Carlo Ancelotti, with midfielder Raphinha ($8.2m) playing high and central. He failed to register a goal involvement, but with two shots and three chances created, it looks like he will be effective in this tournament, where he’s on their set pieces, including penalties.

Again, the Brazilians have now come through their toughest group-stage fixture, with a match against Haiti up next, which represents a major opportunity for them to move on to four points.

In Group D, we had another of the co-hosts, the United States, deploy defender Sergino Dest ($4.3m) incredibly high on the right, almost as a winger. He’s another who failed to capitalise from an attacking perspective but got lucky with a 72nd-minute substitution to bank the clean-sheet points from the 4-1 win against Paraguay.

At 2.4 per cent owned, he also notched the two-point scouting bonus, with a result against Australia in their next match enough for the Americans to secure qualification from the group.

Paraguay underperformed that night in Los Angeles but Julio Enciso ($6.6m) should be on fantasy managers’ radars, as he is listed as a midfielder but was playing as part of a front two. He had two shots and got the assist for Paraguay’s goal to score seven points, including the scouting bonus of being in just 0.2 per cent of sides.

Nathaniel Brown ($4.7m) was the top fantasy performer for Germany in their emphatic 7-1 Group E defeat of Curacao, having been picked at left-back over David Raum ($4.9m).

Fantasy managers were nervous about investing in Brown due to possible rotation but one per cent of them were rewarded with a goal, an assist and the scouting bonus. He pushed high, almost like a left-winger, as Florian Wirtz ($7.5m) tucked inside, making two shots and three key passes. It’s not too late to join the club, with group matches against Ivory Coast and Ecuador still to come.

Japan deployed a 3-4-2-1 in their 2-2 Group F draw with the Netherlands later on Sunday, with one per cent-owned Ritsu Doan ($5.1m), who is listed as a defender, playing at wing-back.

Charles De Ketelaere ($5.6m), who is listed as a midfielder, started as the central striker for Belgium but failed to make an impact against Egypt. De Ketelaere played 66 minutes before being replaced with Romelu Lukaku ($7.4m), who is on his way back from a season wrecked by injury. He was decisive in the Belgians getting an equaliser in that 1-1 draw in Group G.

Spain were surprisingly held to a goalless draw by Cape Verde in the opening fixture of Group H, with defender Marc Cucurella ($5.1m) the shining light for the European champions. He helped deliver a clean sheet (both sides keeping the first two of the tournament), and played extremely high at full-back, with two shots and two key passes. Spain will be looking to bounce back from that disappointing result against Saudi Arabia next.

France’s full-backs push high, with Theo Hernandez ($5.0m) the starter at left-back in their opening 3-1 win over Senegal. He’s 3.7% owned, so eligible for scouting bonus, and Iraq on matchday two looks the pick of their group fixtures

Portugal, meanwhile, are expected to begin their Group K campaign with Nuno Mendes ($5.8m) at left-back, from where we will surely see him pushing forward and also sharing set-piece-taker responsibility with Bruno Fernandes ($8.5m).

Mendes was in over 40 per cent of sides at time of writing, so no scouting bonus here, but a good performance in their opening game against DR Congo on Wednesday could see his ownership rocket even higher ahead of a meeting with Uzbekistan on matchday two.

We’ve seen in Fantasy Premier League how instrumental Nico O’Reilly ($4.7m) can be as a fantasy asset, so there are going to be high hopes when he puts on the England shirt in these group games.

He is expected to start at left-back in their opener against Croatia today (Wednesday) before they face Ghana and Panama. Monitor his performance in this first match, and whether he pops up in goalscoring positions for England like he does for Manchester City, before jumping on board.