FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy Beginners Guide and Tips
Ready to top the leaderboard with your Dream XI?
With the league games now winding up, the countdown for the mega-footballing event, FIFA World Cup 2022 has officially begun. The excitement just doubles up for Fantasy fans who would be fielding their XI from next week onwards in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy Classic Competition. Just like any other Fantasy game, Fantasy Classic would let users challenge their friends and millions of users worldwide by forming their Dream side of 15 players who will score points depending on their actual performances during the World Cup. The rules and guidelines for this competition are similar to the UCL and Premier League Fantasy Events with minor adjustments here and there. In this article, we are going to do a detailed walkthrough of FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy starting from scratch to advanced, so that beginners can also grasp it with ease.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy: Matchday and Deadlines
The FIFA World Cup 2022 completes in 7 Matchdays. Therefore, there will be 7 Matchdays in the FIFA 2022 Fantasy Classic- 3 in the Group Stage and 4 in the Knockout Stages.
| Matchday | Tournament | Matchday Dates | Deadline Date & Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matchday 1 | Group Stage | 20th November – 24th November | 20th November at 19:00 A.S.T/16:00 U.T.C. |
| Matchday 2 | Group Stage | 25th November – 28th November | 25th November at 16:00 A.S.T/13:00 U.T.C. |
| Matchday 3 | Group Stage | 29th November – 2nd December | 29th November at 18:00 A.S.T/15:00 U.T.C. |
| Matchday 4 | Knockout Stage – R16 | 3rd December – 6th December | 3rd December at 18:00 A.S.T/15:00 U.T.C. |
| Matchday 5 | Knockout Stage – QF | 9th December – 10th December | 9th December at 18:00 A.S.T/15:00 U.T.C. |
| Matchday 6 | Knockout Stage – SF | 13th December – 14th December | 13th December at 22:00 A.S.T/19:00 U.T.C. |
| Matchday 7 | Knockout Stage – 3rd PO/Final | 17th December – 18th December | 17th December at 18:00 A.S.T/15:00 U.T.C. |
FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy: Selecting your Squad
1. Balancing your budget effectively is important
You will be given a total of £100 million to spend on assembling a 15-player team, initially. As the tournament progresses to the later stages, i.e. post the Group Stage, the budget is likely going to shoot up to £105 million.
2. Guidelines for assembling your 15-player team
Even though it’s obvious, you cannot just select 15 different players from any given position, to start with. As per the FIFA Fantasy Classic Guidelines, you can only field a select number of players from each position:
- 3 Forward-Line Players
- 5 Midfielders
- 5 Defenders
- 2 Goalkeepers
These will be your 15 men during each Matchday, for all the 7 Matchdays.
Maximum number of players from each nation
Besides putting a restriction cap on the number of players in each position, the competition has also laid a cap on the maximum number of players that can be selected from each nation, based on the current stage of the Tournament:
| Tournament Stage | Restriction |
|---|---|
| Group Stage | Max 3 players per nation |
| Round of 16 | Max 4 players per nation |
| Quarter-Final | Max 5 players per nation |
| Semi-Final | Max 6 players per nation |
| Final | Max 8 players per nation |
FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy: Squad Management Tips
1. Choosing the starting XI
Three important points that one must remember with respect to their starting XI:
- You need to pick your 15 men and click on the save button before the deadline. This should be followed for each and every Matchday. The deadline for each Matchday would essentially be the kick-off time for the first match of that Matchday.
- In case starting XI players not taking part in the game, they will be subbed off with bench players, based on priority order.
- Always look to keep the players who have their matches at the beginning of the matchday, in the starting XI, and players who have their matches towards the end of the matchday in the bench.
2. Formation Regulations
Any of the eight formations listed below can be used when building your team:
- 4-4-2
- 4-3-3
- 4-5-1
- 3-4-3
- 3-5-2
- 5-2-3
- 5-3-2
- 5-4-1
- By dragging a player from one position to another or using the formation option on the team page, you can alter your formation.
- Going by the available formations, you can make out that your starting XI must necessarily have at least 1 Forward Line Player, 3 Defenders, 2 Midfielders, and 1 Goalkeeper.
3. Selecting the Perfect Captain
A captain who will score twice as many points for your side on each matchday. Hence, you must be very sure who you make your captain. Some important guidelines with respect to choosing your captain are:
- By clicking the Captain icon present in a player profile, you can switch your captain.
- As long as the newly chosen captain hasn’t yet participated in the current matchday, you are allowed to switch captains an unlimited number of times.
- You can change your captain one more for a player who hasn’t played yet once your captain has participated in the matchday. If you decide to switch out your previous captain, your new captain will score double while you forfeit the prior captain’s double points.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy: Substitution Rules
You must choose 4 players to place on your bench as your designated substitutes when building a team, one of them must be a goalie. Every matchday, players on your substitute bench will score points, but their points will not be added to your total.
Two types of Substitutions may come into play:
- Manual Substitutions
- Automatic Substitutions
Manual Substitution
Manual Substitutions can be performed between Matchdays. However, all changes must be made before the commencement of the next matchday.
- Users can substitute up to 4 players who are yet to play. Players out of the first XI receive 0 points.
- You can replace a starter from your starting lineup with a bench replacement who hasn’t yet taken the field on the current match day. In this case, the points for the substituted player will be used to determine your score instead of the points for the original player.
- Only the current captain’s points will be doubled.
- Changes made to the squad are irreversible.
- All changes must be made before the final matchday.
Automatic Substitution
If you haven’t made any manual substitutions during that matchday, your substitutes will automatically become active in your team and take the place of a DNP player in your starting 11.
- You can make manual substitutions up until the beginning of the final game of the matchday because automatic substitutions only take place at the conclusion of a matchday.
- As long as it fits one of the legal formations, your outfield bench players are prioritized from 1 to 3, with the first priority replacement being the first to take the place of a DNP player.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy: Transfer Rules
Depending on the World Cup’s stage, you will receive a set number of free transfers to utilize during the competition. Following are the restrictions on the number of moves you can make for each stage and matchday:
| Tournament Phase | Permissible Free Transfers |
|---|---|
| Pre-tournament | Unlimited |
| Before the start of Matchday 2 | 2 transfers |
| Before the start of Matchday 3 | 2 transfers |
| Before the start of the Round of 16 | Unlimited |
| Before the start of the Quarter-Finals | 4 transfers |
| Before the start of the Semi-Finals | 5 transfers |
| Before the Final | 6 transfers |
- One transfer may be carried over into the following group stage matchday during the group stage; however, you will not be able to do so at this point due to the unlimited transfer limit between the conclusion of Matchday 3 and the start of the Round of 16 games.
- You are allowed to transfer more than your allotted amount at any time during the competition, however, doing so will result in a 3-point deduction from your final score for each additional transfer.
- You won’t be able to undo a transfer once it has been confirmed.
- Transfers can be made for the present and following matchdays by choosing the desired matchday from the round selector.
The following table shows which matchday a move will become effective for, according to the player’s state:
| Transferred Out Player Status | Transferred In Player Status | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Has played in the current match day | Has played in the current match day | A player who was transferred out will still be on your team. Your team’s score for the current match day will include the points from transferred-out players. Your team won’t score with the new player until the following matchday. |
| Has played in the current match day | Has not played in the current match day | You’ll retain the player who was transferred out. Points from players who have been transferred out will be added to your team’s score for the current game. No newly acquired player will score for your team until the following matchday |
| Has not played in the current match day | Has played in the current match day | You will still have the player who was transferred. Points from players who have moved on will contribute toward your team’s score for the current game. Up until the following matchday, the newly acquired player won’t score for your club. |
| Has not played in the current match day | Has not played in the current match day | The newly added player joins the active roster of the user’s squad and can begin scoring in the current matchday’s next scheduled game. |
FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy: Utilising the Boosters
Once the tournament starts, you can choose from one of three boosters that are available:
1. Wildcard
You’ll be able to make as many transfers as you’d like with a wildcard during a given round (cannot be used for the first match of the group stage or for the round of 16)
2. 12th Man
You can choose one more person to score points for your squad on a given matchday using the “12th Man” option. The 12th man cannot be replaced, led, or transferred after being chosen. Budget or team constraints are irrelevant in choosing your twelfth man; you are free to choose any player.
3. Power Captain
The player that scores the most points out of your 15-man squad will earn you double points if you are a power captain. The captaincy will be automatically given to this player.
- You will not be able to reverse a booster once it has been confirmed and a booster will remain active up until the end of the current match day.
- A booster can only be used once, and none can be used simultaneously.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy: Scoring Roles
All things done, now let us decode the Points system for your players based on the specific roles that their position demands. It must be noted that the points for players would vary, based on their performance in the real tournament.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Appearance (60 minutes or more) | +1 |
| Assist | +3 |
| Yellow Card | -1 |
| Red Card | -2 |
| Own Goal | -2 |
| Winning a penalty | +2 |
| Conceding a penalty | -1 |
| Goalkeepers | |
| Clean Sheet (must have played 70 minutes or more) | +5 |
| First goal conceded | 0 |
| Each additional goal conceded | -1 |
| Goal Scored | +9 |
| Penalty save (not including penalty shootouts) | +3 |
| Every 3 Saves | +1 |
| Defenders | |
| Clean Sheet (must have played 60 minutes or more) | +5 |
| First goal conceded | 0 |
| Each additional goal conceded | -1 |
| Goal scored | +7 |
| Midfielders | |
| Clean Sheet (must have played 60 minutes or more) | +1 |
| Goal scored | +5 |
| Every 3 tackles | +1 |
| Every 2 Key Passes | +1 |
| Forwards | |
| Goal scored | +5 |
| Every 2 shots on target | +1 |
Remember ultimately, the performance of your own squad may dictate by when and how you use your chips. If you’ve picked up a couple of injuries or suspensions, or if your chosen players don’t appear to be starting for their respective nations, then it could be time for a shake-up. That’s all for today folks! Go ahead and give it a try and if you are finding trouble, don’t hesitate to fall back to this FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy Beginners Guide for tips!
That’s it for the FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy Beginner’s Guide. Did you find our FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy Beginner’s Guide useful? Let us know in the comments.
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