Supercoach World Cup | Niko’s Team Reveal

I thought I earned a little break after the marathon EPL season, where I finished 56th; however, Supercoach has lured me in once again with a new game, but hey, it’s the World Cup and the world game, which I love!

48 teams, multiple groups and stages, over 6 weeks, Australia there and in with a fighting chance of qualifying, it’s going to be a wild ride.

Similar rules and points apply as the EPL addition, so I’m hoping it’s going to be a smooth transition. 

The major difference is no salary cap and a maximum of two players per nation, which seems fun.

Current Team

In goal, I’ve decided to play Jordan Pickford and Luis Mejía from Panama as my captain loophole. 

The predictions show England to be defensively solid, and I’m expecting some clean sheets in the group stages and for them to progress deep in the tournament.

In defence I’ve got a mixture of players who can score from a set piece and pick up defensive contributions (def con), to players who like to flat out attack. 

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Hakimi is also on set pieces, and the plan is to play him in the second and third Moroccan matches where they are favourites.  

We saw in Supercoach EPL that guys who play midfield and rack up the base stats such as def con will score well, think James Garner from Everton. 

So, you can think outside the square with your selections, which is why I’ve gone Granit Xhaka and Federico Valverde in midfield. 

They are also on some set pieces, which is a bonus. 

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Pedri, Olise and Bruno Fernandes round out the other selections who are popular and should progress, are on set pieces and are generally elite players who will play well.

Up front I’m fading Erling Haaland and going with Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé, who are also on penalties but play for teams I expect to progress further. 

Raphinha is on the pine but also on penalties, at least with Igor Thiago off the pitch, and I will look to play him in rounds 2 and 3 with his assist potential playing right wing.

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Formation, General play and Captains

I’ve opted for 3-5-2 at least for round 1, but it’s important to check the teams for any surprises. 

I am a little wary of restings, particularly in round 3 when teams are already qualified for the knockout stage.  

We do get trades between rounds to counter for this, as well as the ability to change formation mid-round, so don’t be shy to go bold and pick a favourite player or point of difference (POD) player, or even doubling up on a minnow who you think will progress.  

For example, I’m seriously eyeing off James Rodríguez from Colombia who is on all set pieces as a massive POD.

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VC Kylian Mbappé against Senegal 

C Bruno Fernandes against DR Congo

Go well and good luck!