Fantasy Football

THE last thing Dream Team World Cup managers want is to stumble out of the blocks when the football is underway in Qatar.You’ll make life so much easier for yourself if you can get ahead of your mini-league rivals early doors and force them to get funky with their team selections.
With that in mind, let’s consider which players are most likely to produce plentiful points during the first round of fixtures.

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A ‘defender’ is the loosest possible senseCredit: getty
Denzel Dumfries (£4.5m) is confident he’ll be fit enough to start for Netherlands against Senegal and that match-up now looks to be a favourable one for him after Sadio Mane was forced to withdraw from the World Cup through injury.
The African Cup of Nations champions are not a one-man team by any means but there’s no doubt the Bayern Munich forward was their primary goal threat and so the chance of Louis van Gaal’s side keeping a clean sheet in their opening game have increased.
The Oranje’s flying wing-back is also a serious threat going forward, he scored two goals and provided an assist in four outings at Euro 2020.
Argentina vs Saudi Arabia certainly looks like a fixture to target.
The Copa America holders haven’t lost a game in well over three years and are the pre-tournament second-favourites with most bookmakers.
All 26 members of the Saudi squad play their club football in their homeland so they’re something of an unknown entity to western audiences but they will have to produce something very special to deny Lionel Messi (£7.5m) and Lautaro Martinez (£5.5m).
Messi isn’t the only Argentina forward to considerCredit: getty/dream team
Nothing really needs to said about the former but it may be worth doubling up Argentina attacking assets ahead of Tuesday morning’s fixture – the Inter forward has scored ten goals in his last 15 international appearances.
Emi Martinez (£4.5m) looks a good shout for a clean sheet too – he’s currently the most-popular goalkeeper in the game by a huge margin.
France have been disrupted by injuries but still they should overwhelm Australia on Tuesday night.
Let’s be honest, if Kylian Mbappe (£7.5m) is in the mood there’s not much Graham Arnold’s side can do to stop him – the 23-year-old has scored 19 goals in 20 games for PSG this season.
And before you make some sarcastic remark about the quality of Ligue 1, just consider how many Aussie defenders would get into the starting line-ups of the French sides Mbappe has put to the sword in recent weeks.
Looking ahead to Wednesday, Germany and Spain take on Japan and Costa Rice respectively and both European giants will be looking to send a message to the other.
There are serious question marks about Die Mannschaft at the back but Dream Team World Cup bosses should be tempted by at least one of their midfielders.
Musiala will win plenty more admirers this winterCredit: getty
Leroy Sane (£6m) and Serge Gnabry (£5m) are expensive options so perhaps Jamal Musiala (£3.5m) fits the bill better?
The 19-year-old has arguably been the Bundesliga’s best player this season and there are increasing calls for Hansi Flick to build the national team around him.
As for Spain, everyone knows Alvaro Morata (£5m) is not the most clinical finisher in the world but he’s a proper No9 who is serviced by a host of technically-gifted playmakers.
The ex-Chelsea striker may not be one for the latter stages but against Costa Rica he could well be worth a whirl.
Finally, it may sound obvious but Kevin De Bruyne (£7m) versus Canada looks ripe for a double-digit haul.
The north Americans have some exciting players in attack, Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David most notably, but their defenders won’t have faced players anywhere near the quality of Man City’s midfield maestro during qualification for this winter’s tournament.

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THE World Cup is just four days away!With player prices now finalised and squads completed, Dream Team World Cup managers need to make sure their XIs fall within the £50million limit.
Chances are many gaffers will need to find some cheaper alternatives to ensure their teams are valid so allow us to present five affordable midfield options with the potential to bank plenty of points in Qatar this winter.

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Andreas Skov Olsen
A smart differential optionCredit: getty/DREAM TEAM

£3m
Denmark
0.7% ownership

Denmark have been earmarked as potential ‘dark horses’ this winter after beating France home and away in the Nations League earlier this year – they will meet Les Bleus again in Qatar.
Kasper Hjulmand’s side were the joint-best performers in European qualifying where Skok Olsen scored five goals and provided three assists.
The 22-year-old Club Brugge winger is a guaranteed starter and arguably his country’s most consistent goal threat.
When considering Danish midfielders, most gaffers will instinctively think of Christian Eriksen first but the Man United playmaker comes at a price £4.5m – swap him for Skov Olsen to free up some extra budget if needs be.
Dusan Tadic
Serbia’s skipper is a creative force

£3m
Serbia
0.8% ownership

While we’re on the subject of ‘dark horses’, a few educated onlookers are tipping Serbia to perform well at this year’s World Cup.
They finished above Portugal in their qualifying group and their strike partnership of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic packs a punch.
Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is a class act in midfield but it’s Tadic, Serbia’s captain, who’ll play as No10 as the team’s playmaker-in-chief.
The 33-year-old has registered 51 goal involvements in 90 caps at international level – including four assists in his last five outings.
Ismaila Sarr
Forget Sadio Mane for a moment…Credit: getty

£3m
Senegal
1% ownership

The reigning champions of Africa were dealt a relatively favourable hand when they were drawn in Group A alongside Ecuador, Netherlands and Qatar.
Louis van Gaal’s side have been impressive of late but Senegal will reach the knockout stages if they perform to the best of their ability in their other two group games.
Sadio Mane is expected to miss the first two games of the campaign as he recovers from injury so Sarr will have to shoulder much of attacking responsibility in the final third.
A talented dribbler, the Watford winger is capable of embarrassing defenders and if he’s on form then there should be points on offer against Ecuador and Qatar.
Gavi
Teenage kicks

£3m
Spain
1.6% ownership

Pedri is proving a relatively popular selection among Dream Team World Cup gaffers but if £4m feels a bit steep but you still think Spain’s midfield is worth backing then consider his junior assistant, Gavi.
The 18-year-old has rapidly become a key figure for Barcelona and La Roja and Luis Enrique will not think twice about utilising the teenager on the biggest stage of them all.
With talent to burn, Gavi is a likely to achieve 7+ match ratings but it should be noted that his play style isn’t wholly compatible with Dream Team World Cup’s scoring system.
Goals involvements reign supreme and the La Masia graduate has just one in 12 international caps so far.
Also, Spain’s squad is littered with technically sound midfielders so he may be rotated – but bloody hell he’s good.
Mohammed Kudus
Ajax’s talent recognition is unmatchedCredit: getty

£2.5m
Ghana
0.3% ownership

Let’s be honest, a huge effort is required if Ghana are going to make it out of Group H, where they’ll meet Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea.
Still, in Kudus they have a notable talent who has developed quickly in recent months.
The 22-year-old has scored ten goals for Ajax this season with four of those coming in six Champions League appearances.
Most importantly, he’s about as attack-minded as Dream Team World Cup midfielders come – he even plays as a striker from time to time.

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Jeremy Clarkson has selected the greatest Dream Team World Cup XI… in the world!Or at least that’s what would say… but can YOU do better?
The petrolhead and farmer invites you to put your football knowledge to the test and take him on in his Celebrity League this winter.
It’s very simple to enter. Simply pick your own team via Dream Team’s website or app and join Clarkson’s league using the PIN: WCJEZZAC – it will also be easily visible under the Leagues tab.

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Player prices will be finalised in the coming days once the official deadline for squad submissions has passed – until then you’re invited to pick a provisional team.
You can make as many changes as you like until the tournament gets underway so there’s no need to delay.
Let’s take a GRAND TOUR of Jeremy’s provisional team and see if you’ll have to engage TOP GEAR to beat him…
Can you do better than Jeremy Clarkson?Credit: DREAM TEAM
Despite Chelsea being on a downward spiral, Clarkson has shown a great deal of faith in his beloved side.
He’s selected no fewer than FOUR players from Graham Potter’s outfit, including Brazil captain Thiago Silva.
The legendary centre-back enters his fourth World Cup finals at the tender age of 38, and could bag his fair share of points if tournament favourites Brazil live up to the hype.
He’s joined in a 3-4-3 formation by Chelsea college and Senegal icon Kalidou Koulibaly, who’s no stranger to goals having scored 19 in his club career.
Alisson is chosen between the sticks, which could be a masterstroke IF manager Tite selects him ahead of Manchester City’s Ederson.
Federico Valverde is having an outstanding season for Real MadridCredit: GETTY
Guess what? There’s more Chelsea in midfield. Shock.
Half of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire presenter’s engine room includes Stamford Bridge stars with Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic included.
It could be viewed as a gamble with Kovacic a defensively-minded player and Mount not nailed-on to make Gareth Southgate’s starting XI for their opener with Iran.
Uruguay’s Federico Valverde is certainly not a gamble.
The 24-year-old is in blistering form having scored eight goals and provided four assists in 20 appearances under Carlo Ancelotti this season.
Leicester’s Youri Tielemans completes the midfield four, and could well make a mockery of his price against Group F opponents Canada, Morocco and Croatia.
Alisson Becker celebrates winning the Copa America Brazil 2019 FinalCredit: GETTY
No Chelsea in attack, which probably reveals Clarkson’s thoughts on Romelu Lukaku…
Instead he’s opted for Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe, who’s hoping to win his second successive World Cup with France.
Mbappe, 23, has 28 goals in 59 games for France and a further 190 in 237 appearances for PSG in all competitions. A reliable source of points? Absolutely.
He’s joined by Thomas Muller, who will have to shoulder a lot of the attacking responsibility for Germany with Timo Werner ruled out through injury.
The Bayern Munich star was once known as a major tournament specialist, could he roll back the years in Qatar?
The last player on the team sheet is Breel Embolo for Switzerland, who have the often devastating label of ‘dark horses’ for the competition.
Think you can pick a better XI than Clarkson? Prove it!

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BRAZIL are the pre-tournament favourites to win the World Cup this winter.Historical giants of the international game with five victories on the greatest stage, the Selecao’s only defeat in the last three years came in the final of the most recent Copa America, where they lost to rivals Argentina.
Tite’s side head to Qatar having won their last seven games, scoring 26 goals and conceding just twice in that time.
It’s no wonder Dream Team World Cup gaffers have been keen to include Brazil assets when constructing their provisional teams – their attacking talent is specially tempting.

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Brazil pack a punch going forwardCredit: getty
Neymar has played as a No10 in recent times, allowing Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior his preferred place on the left flank.
Raphinha will probably get the nod to play from the right, despite blowing hot and cold for Barcelona this term – the ex-Leeds winger has scored five goals and provided four assists in 11 appearances for Brazil.
The big debate right now concerns the centre-forward position, contested chiefly between Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison.
Premier League fans may see this as a no-contest in favour of the former given he’s been a key contributor to Arsenal’s flying start, scoring scoring five goals and providing five assists to help the Gunners top the table at the break.
In contrast, Richarlison is yet to score a league goal for Tottenham this term, although he’s played about a third of the minutes – and of course Harry Kane leads the line for Antonio Conte’s side.
This disparity is reflected in the pair’s Dream Team World Cup popularity.
With an ownership of 13.5%, Jesus is currently the sixth-most selected forward in the game whereas Richarlison features in just 2.1% of teams.
All is not as it seems…
But here’s the thing, the Spurs forward has scored seven goals in his last 303 minutes of international football – that’s one every 43.3 minutes since he returned to the squad in March.
In contrast, Gabriel Jesus has scored one goal in his last 21 appearances for Brazil and was left out of the squad by Tite as recently as September.
His impressive form under Mikel Arteta has earned him a spot on the plane to Qatar but whether he will immediately start at centre-forward is another matter entirely, especially given Richarlison’s prolific form for his country this year.
Dream Team World Cup bosses should concentrate on likely starters and so in that sense it seems 13.5% of them are making a mistake backing Jesus right now.
And in the same breath, far too many are overlooking Richarlison.
Richarlison has shone for Brazil in 2022Credit: getty
However, this is only educated guesswork, perhaps Tite has noted the pair’s respective club form in recent weeks and taken that into account when plotting his starting line-up for Brazil’s opening group game against Serbia.
But doesn’t it seem more likely that he will continue to show faith in the man who has scored seven goals in his last six international outings?
Just something to mull over, gaffers…

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PIERS MORGAN has selected his Dream Team World Cup XI as excitement for the tournament in Qatar builds by the day.The TalkTV presenter, who has eight million followers on Twitter, invites you to put your football knowledge to the test and take him on in his Celebrity League this winter.
All you have to do is pick your own team via Dream Team’s website or app and join Piers’ league using the PIN: WCMORGAN – it will also be easily visible under the Leagues tab.

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Player prices will be finalised in the coming days once the official deadline for squad submissions has passed – until then you’re invited to pick a provisional team.
You can make as many changes as you like until the tournament gets underway so there’s no need to delay.
Let’s take a closer look at Piers’ provisional team so you know what you’re up against…
Think you can do better? Prove it!Credit: DREAM TEAM
Piers is a long-time admirer of Cristiano Ronaldo so it’s no surprise to see the five-time Ballon d’Or winner leading the line.
Portugal start their tournament against Ghana, who the 37-year-old has scored against at the 2014 World Cup, if omens are your thing.
Man United’s No7 is joined by Thomas Muller, who will have to shoulder a lot of the attacking responsibility for Germany with Timo Werner ruled out through injury.
The Bayern Munich star was once known as a major tournament specialist, could he roll back the years in Qatar?
As an Arsenal fan, Piers know what Gabriel Jesus offers better than most but it remains to be seen whether Tite has as much faith in the Gunners’ striker.
In midfield, Piers has offset the experience of Luka Modric with the youthful exuberance of Pedri and Bukayo Saka.
The latter, another Emirates favourite, is likely to get the nod at right wing for England after making a massive difference off the bench against Germany in the Three Lions’ last outing.
Piers is backing Saka to excel for England in QatarCredit: getty
Barcelona’s 19-year-old midfielder is already one of the best players in his position on a global scale and casual onlookers should expect him to carry on in Spain colours where he left off at Euro 2020.
Pedri may be a joy to watch but he doesn’t specialise in plentiful goals and assists so you may be able to get the edge on Piers by selecting a more attack-minded asset in his place.
In defence, Piers recognises that injuries to Ben Chilwell and Reece James mean Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw are likely to start as full-backs/wing-backs for the Three Lions.
England defenders were hugely successful in Dream Team Euros and Trippier is raking in points for fun in the classic Season game this term so this combination should be a profitable one.
A class act between the sticks
Dream Team World Cup bosses will have a £50million limit once player prices are finalised so it’s likely you’ll have to identify some value-for-money options to accommodate your top-of-the-range superstars.
Piers has picked out Arsenal’s William Saliba and Man City’s Manuel Akanji, who represent France and Switzerland respectively, the latter may be worthy of the dark horses tag.
Finally, Piers has opted for proven quality between the sticks in the form of Manuel Neuer.
The 36-year-old returned from injury last week and will once again be Germany’s last line of defence on the big stage.
Think you can pick a better XI than Piers? Prove it!

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