World Cup Fantasy: How to pick a captain and when to stick or twist with the armband

For those managers playing World Cup Fantasy, dynamic captain changes have provided the dominant conversation of the game.

Once you’ve secured a double-digit haul from a player, should you stick with that return or push for an even greater score?

Add into the mix the Max Captain chip, plus potential rotation during the final round of matches in Matchday 3, and the art of capitalising on big points hauls becomes more complicated still.

So what is the best way to approach the captain’s armband?

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A brief recap of the rules

It’s fair to say that captaincy changes in World Cup Fantasy are certainly keeping us on our toes, especially when it comes to moving that armband in the early hours of the morning in the UK.

Your captain scores double points and you can change your captain an unlimited number of times, as long as the new captain you select is yet to play in that round and the previous captain has completed their game.

With the ability to make unlimited substitutions too, it has possible to have 15 different captains in the opening rounds of the tournament, if you’ve selected a maximum of one player per nation and no two players meeting in the same fixture.

Those rolls of the dice reduce in Rounds 3 to 12, given that all matches for each group have the same kick-off time. This will become increasingly more challenging, with a maximum eight bites of the cherry in the round of 16 and four for the quarter-finals.

For the semi-finals and final, there are just two opportunities to get the captaincy right, with the third place play-off also contributing to the fantasy game.

With the chances reduced, many managers are considering saving the Max Captain chip for those occasions, with the chip rewarding you with double points from the player who scores the most points from your starting 11.

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The best captaincy picks for Matchday 3

Getting captaincy right in Matchday 3 is going to challenging, especially because we anticipate there to be more rotation from some sides, particularly those who have already secured progression from the group.

The earliest kick-off for these games in the UK is 8pm and so for those in similar time zones, it is most practical to pick one key captain pick per day, instead of moving the armband for games scheduled at 1am, 2am, 3am or 4am.

Wednesday evening sees the conclusion of groups A, B and C, with only hosts Mexico in Group A already qualified as group winners, having won their opening two games.

Canada and Switzerland are battling it out to progress as Group B winners when they face each other, with Canada having home advantage.

Jonathan David ($7.0m) was the star man during Matchday 2, with four goal involvements in Canada’s 6-0 win against Qatar. Five shots on target and the scouting bonus led him to finish on 24 points, with the striker remaining just 1.4 per cent owned.

Meanwhile, Breel Embolo ($7.5m) remains my favourite pick from the Switzerland attack, at just 2.3% owned. He has a goal and an assist from their opening games, helping him take scouting bonus on each occasion.

Brazil face Scotland in their final Group C game as they look to clinch top spot from Morocco, who take on Haiti, but could miss Raphinha ($8.2m), who picked up a hamstring injury last time out, playing just 40 minutes.

That puts star man Vinicius Junior ($10m) on penalties, with two goals and one assist from his opening two fixtures. Plenty of managers stuck on his 12-point return in the 3-0 win against Haiti.

You could also consider Matheus Cunha ($7.3m), who scored a brace for 15 points, helped by scouting bonus. He’s worth a look, especially if he can remain under 3.1% owned.

Morocco are difficult to ignore too as their unbeaten run continues, with Ismael Saibari ($6.8m) an intriguing captain pick.

He’s classified as a midfielder but playing as a forward, with goals from his opening games. Right now he’s 4.3% owned but I’d expect that figure to rise ahead of this game against Haiti.

With this game kicking off simultaneously with Brazil’s match against Scotland, it’s only possible to pick one player as captain. If Saibari moves over 5% owned, I’d be inclined to put the armband on Vinicius Jr.

Thursday evening sees the conclusion of groups D, E and F, with the USMNT already qualified from Group D ahead of facing last-placed Turkey.

Alex Freeman ($4.0m) has been on an astonishing run at centre-back with a goal and an assist from the two opening games, and scouting bonus. There’s hope that the U.S. defence will remain rotation free, following two 90 minute appearances.

The same can’t be said for Sergino Dest ($4.3m), who is listed as a defender has been playing out of position as a right winger and has already been substituted early in the opening two games.

Germany are top of Group E and already through, with Deniz Undav ($6.6m) an impact player in the opening two games, providing four goal involvements from 56 minutes. At just 1.5% owned, he could be a key man to back against Ecuador.

Group F is wide open, with Netherlands ahead of Japan, each on four points, plus Sweden sitting in third on three points. Netherlands will be favourites, still to meet Tunisia, who have conceded nine goals across their opening two fixtures, the worst defensive record in the competition to date.

Cody Gakpo ($7.7m) has three goal involvements and remains under 5% owned while Crysencio Summerville ($5.3m) has scored in consecutive games from midfield, with good scouting bonus potential as he sits in 2.8% of sides.

It’s the turn of groups G, H and I on Friday evening. In Group G, Egypt are favourites to top the group, with 4.8%-owned Mohamed Salah ($10m) with three goal involvements already. If his ownership tips over 5%, then look to Mostafa Zico ($4.2m).

Spain lead Group H as things stand but things could change, with their toughest game still to come against Uruguay. They’ll need to go full strength to win the group, with Lamine Yamal ($10m) the key man here after his debut goal in the competition in the 4-0 win against Saudi Arabia.

The remaining groups are more challenging to plan captaincy in advance without the context of their Matchday 2 results. France end with their toughest fixture against Norway, which could decide the winners of Group I.

They have the squad depth to rotate their key men in this game, but will need to keep Erling Haaland at bay also. These games take place at 8pm, which should help UK-based managers to check team sheets before committing their armbamd.

Things are equally challenging on Saturday evening for the conclusions of groups J, K and L, with the current standings at the end of Mathcday 2 unknown at the time of writing. We know Portugal disappointed in their opening game, facing Colombia in their final fixture.

Bruno Fernandes ($8.5m) will be their key man to secure progression from the group and perhaps a final roll of the dice for the armband if all other avenues have failed before this fixture.

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When to stick or twist

The other big question in fantasy managers minds if when to stick with a captain haul and when to twist — and this is another element of the game which is dynamic.

I was personally happy to stick on any double-digit haul in the group rounds, passing up nine point returns to eventually captain Haaland for his 17 points against Iraq.

In Matchday 2, I stuck on Sergino Dest’s 12-point return from the USMNT’s 2-0 win against Australia but in hindsight I would have been better off twisting for 15 points from Mikel Oyarzabal ($8.1m).

The key factors are the number of twists still available to managers, the current return and the quality of the options still remaining.

Many managers in Round 2 were confused over whether to stick or twist from Vinicius Jr’s 12-point score, with some rewarded by their bravery if they switched to the likes of Gakpo or Oyarzabal.

This format of fantasy will ultimately reward those managers who take the risk to be in with a chance of the higher rankings in the competition.