The official football fantasy game for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar has been launched. It brought numerous differences to the globally popular Fantasy Premier League game and we are going to discuss these in the next several paragraphs. World Cup is the biggest football event on the planet and there are no doubts the ever-growing population of fantasy admirers will enjoy the one-month-long entertainment that follows. Without further ado, let’s jump straight to business and see what the main rules for this fantasy game are.
The basic elements
To start, you need to select a team of 15 players (11 in the starting lineup and 4 on the bench), much like in FPL. Unlike FPL, you will be able to make manual changes during the Matchday itself, but we will discuss these further down in the article. For now, let’s just mention that the budget is €100 million for everyone. You can choose to play whichever formation you want as long as you have at least three defenders, two midfielders, and one striker. It is also important to mention that you need to choose your captain out of 11 players in your starting lineup. ‘Make sure to select the player whom you think will score the most points on a specific matchday because his points will count double for you. In this game, however, you can even change your captain during the gameweek which is a significant difference from FPL’ suggested John Pentin, football betting experts at leading tipping site bettingtips4you.com.
How many gameweeks are there?
There will be seven gameweeks for the World Cup in Qatar fantasy game. The first three will be represented in the group stage. The fourth matchday is the last 16 round, the fifth is quarterfinal, and the sixth and seventh semifinal and final (including the third-place match) respectively.
How many players can you choose from one country?
The answer to this question depends on the stage of the competition. In the group phase, you can have a maximum of three players from one country, just like in FPL. The limit grows to four in the last 16 round, five in the quarterfinal, six in the semifinal, and eight in the final (including the third-place playoff).
Substitutions
One of the main differences between FPL and other UEFA or FIFA-based fantasy games is the substitutions rule. In FPL, you can never sub out a player who has done badly for you. In the FIFA World Cup fantasy game, you get a chance to replace a player who has blanked. How does this work? Well, one matchday will last four to five days. Now, if you have Harry Kane in your starting XI and he blanks on the second day of gameweek 1, you will get a chance to make a substitution and replace Kane with a new player who is on your bench and who is yet to play in gameweek 1.
Captaincy changes
This is another very important distinction between FPL and WC fantasy. In this game, you will get an opportunity to make amends for the potential captaincy blank. Let’s take Harry Kane as an example once again. You’ve set the Tottenham Hotspur striker as your captain but he has done nothing in the first game against Iran. You will then have a chance to move the captaincy armband from Harry Kane to any other player who is yet to play on another day in your starting lineup. Make sure to note that you can only shift captaincy once per matchday.
Boosters
You probably know them as chips. To make things more entertaining, the game creators have decided to introduce two brand-new boosters. In total, all players will have the luxury of using three boosters at any point they want during the tournament. Here they are:
- Wildcard – You must be familiar with wildcard. It gives you a chance to make unlimited transfers in your squad between two matchdays without getting penalized for them.
- 12th Man – This is a new booster that allows you to choose whoever you want as your 12th man for a certain gameweek. You don’t have to worry about budget but note that you’ll only be able to activate this chip once in the tournament.
- Power Captain – Once you activate power captain, the player who has scored the most points in your squad will automatically be considered your captain and have his points doubled for that matchday.
Scoring
Last but not least, let's touch upon the scoring system which is drastically distinct from the one we are all used to with FPL. The main difference is about the points awarded for goals. Goalkeepers and defenders get 7 points each, while midfielders and forwards earn 5 points each for a goal. On top of this, goalkeepers and defenders get five additional points for clean sheets. Midfielders are also awarded for tackles (three tackles = 1 point), while forwards can top up their scores via shots on target (2 shots on target = 1 point). Another important difference is concerned with the penalties. A player who wins a penalty is automatically given two points regardless of the outcome of the kick.