Tips on how to spend the 100M
The World Cup is getting closer! The kick-off is little more than two weeks away. There’s not much time left, but enough for you to tune your squad. And we’re here to help you.
When it comes to building a squad, there are multiple ways of looking at it. We’re going to walk you through some of these different approaches, so you can weight the gains and losses of each strategy.
First and foremost, you need to know that the 100M will have to afford the 11 starters plus the 4 substitutes. You can go with four cheap players in the bench and maximize the value available for the starters. Or you can spread the budget more evenly in order to have safe bets for every position. You can also tip the scale in favor of defense, midfield or attack, according to who you believe will have the most impact in the tournament.
Before you choose a path, you must think how will you play this fantasy. Will you have a fixed 11 and a fixed captain, counting on auto substitutions (read our previous article for more on this), or will you manage your team during the GameWeek, using all your players and changing the captain accordingly?
All-in for the Starting XI
When you want to bet heavily in the starting XI, the best way to start building your squad is by picking four cheap substitutes. It’s best if these players are starters in their squads, so you have a safe net if one of your starters doesn’t play. For a low-cost bench, your best options are a 4.5M goalkeeper, two defenders between 4.0 and 4.5M, and a midfielder between 4.5 and 5.0M. You can spend only 17.0M on the bench and save 83.0M for a stronger starting XI.
To choose this bench players you must look at the more modest teams: Australia, Egypt, Iceland, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Korea and Tunisia. We won’t tell you exactly the players you should pick. Analyze the groups, see what teams among these underdogs have more chances of winning or scoring goals, and pick your four bench players from these teams.
If you pick these substitutes, you’ll have a starting XI in 3–4–3 that you can fill with players from the top nations. You won’t be able to have all the stars, but you’ll build a team that will inspire fear in your opponents.
Balanced squad
To build a balanced squad you’ll need to pay attention to more teams. You can avoid the modest ones we mentioned before and focus on the ones that stand a chance to advance in their groups. You won’t be able to have the best player in each team, of course, but you might be able to have three stars with a price tag around 10.0M.
Then, you have to fill your squad with good players with lower prices. There are some interesting ones in the title contenders, but you should also look at some second tier nations like Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Uruguay, who are able to advance beyond the group stage. Even in the title contenders, it’s a good idea to consider the player immediately after the star: e.g. Mbappé instead of Griezmann, Gabriel Jesus instead of Neymar.
With a balanced squad, you’ll have to prepare the starting XI considering each GameWeek. If you use auto subs, you should leave on the bench the players with tough matches and go with the ones with higher chances of winning. Your tactics should be adaptable, don’t force a formation, just use the best players for the GameWeek. And beware of the calendar: teams like Spain and Portugal, who play each other in GW1, have much better odds for GW2 and 3, when they play against Morocco and Iran.
Managing your squad
During a GameWeek you already know what to do. With manual subs, everyone counts for your team and everyone can be captain; with auto subs, the bench is your safe net. But what should you do with the free transfers between GameWeeks?
Before each new GameWeek, you are able to adjust your squad with transfers. Likely, you’ll have to use transfers to adjust to some backlashes like injuries, bans or simply some players you thought would be starters but turned out differently. But you should also use the transfers to adjust your squad to the calendar. You can start without Spanish players, for instance, and buy them only on GameWeek 2.
There’s also the WildCard. When used, it allows you to make unlimited transfers for the next GameWeek. It might seem early, but if you have a slow start on GW1, you should consider using it for GW2. The third round is a also a good candidate: with some teams already qualified, managers may give some rest to their stars. Besides, you’ll have 16 free transfers for GW4.
Conclusion
The right strategy is the one you choose. There’s no right and wrong answers. Take a moment to think about what we told you and what best suits your needs. Remember that, until the World Cup starts, you have unlimited transfers. Study the groups, test several squad combinations and go with your instinct. The competition is a short one, be sure to look at the big picture.
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