Fantasy World Cup Football 2026 - Modelling Back to main site

World Cup Fantasy rules

A static reference for the rules our optimiser and tracking views are currently using: squad constraints, scoring opportunities, transfer windows, captaincy, substitutions, and boosters.

Built from processed rules and the FIFA help JSON snapshot fetched at 2026-07-17T07:26:10.046969+00:00. Official source

Squad15
Starting XI11
Scoring rows26
Boosters5
Round 2 planning note: normal rules give 2 free transfers before Matchday 2. Extra transfers are allowed but cost 3 points each. During the group stage, one unused transfer can carry into the next group-stage round.

Setup

Squad, budget, country caps, and formations

These are the hard constraints used by the squad optimiser unless a scenario explicitly relaxes them.

Budget$100m

Group-stage squad budget.

Knockout increase+$5m

Applied automatically once Round 3 locks and Round of 32 transfers open.

Positions2 GK, 5 DEF, 5 MID, 3 FWD

Required 15-player squad shape.

Formation set4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-5-1, 3-4-3, 3-5-2, 5-4-1, 5-3-2

Valid starting XI formations.

Tournament stageMax players per country
Group Stage3
Round of 323
Round of 164
Quarter-final5
Semi-final6
Final8

Points

Scoring opportunities

Rows list the points applied when the underlying event occurs. Position-specific rows are added to the all-player rows where relevant.

All players

OpportunityPtsCondition
Appearance, up to 60 minutes+1
Appearance, 60+ minutes+1Stacks with the first appearance point.
Assist+3
Yellow card-1
Red card-2
Own goal-2
Winning a penalty+2
Conceding a penalty-1

Goalkeepers

OpportunityPtsCondition
Clean sheet+5Must play at least 60 minutes.
First goal conceded0
Each additional goal conceded-1
Goal scored+9
Penalty save+3Shootouts excluded.
Every 3 saves+1

Defenders

OpportunityPtsCondition
Clean sheet+5Must play at least 60 minutes.
First goal conceded0
Each additional goal conceded-1
Goal scored+7

Midfielders

OpportunityPtsCondition
Clean sheet+1Must play at least 60 minutes.
Goal scored+6
Every 3 tackles+1
Every 2 chances created+1

Forwards

OpportunityPtsCondition
Goal scored+5
Every 2 shots on target+1

Bonus

OpportunityPtsCondition
Goal from direct free-kick+1Added on top of ordinary goal points.
Scouting bonus+2More than 4 points in a match and under 5% selected.
Scoring notes: A player who reaches 60 minutes receives both appearance awards, for 2 total appearance points. Clean-sheet points require at least 60 minutes played. The first goal conceded is worth 0; each additional goal conceded deducts 1 for goalkeepers and defenders. Direct free-kick goal bonus is added on top of the ordinary goal points. Awarded when a player scores more than 4 points in a match and is selected by fewer than 5% of fantasy teams.

Round management

Captaincy and substitutions

Our model treats the primary lineup decision as round-level. Calendar-day displays are attribution views, not separate legal lineup commitments.

Captaincy

  • Captain and Vice-Captain are selected for each fantasy round before lockout.
  • The selected Captain scores double points.
  • The Vice-Captain scores double only if the Captain plays no minutes and no live-round team changes have been made.
  • During a live round, captaincy can be changed to a player whose team has not yet played; changing away from a completed Captain loses their double points.

Substitutions

  • Before each round locks, starting XI and bench can be changed without limit while keeping a valid formation.
  • Bench players score points each round, but those points do not count unless the player enters the active XI.
  • Automatic substitutions replace DNP starting players at the end of a round only if no manual live-round changes were made.
  • During a live round, a starting player can be replaced only by a bench player whose match has not started, subject to formation and lockout restrictions.
  • Any manual substitution or captaincy change during a live round cancels automatic substitutions for that round.

Transfers

Transfer schedule

FIFA publishes fixed free-transfer allocations for each tournament window. Transfers above the allowance are possible but carry a points cost.

WindowFree allocation
Pre-tournamentUnlimited
Before start of Matchday 22 transfers
Before start of Matchday 32 transfers
Before start of Round of 32Unlimited
Before start of Round of 164 transfers
Before start of Quarter-finals4 transfers
Before start of Semi-finals5 transfers
Before the Final6 transfers

Transfer restrictions

  • During the group stage, one transfer can be carried into the next group-stage round.
  • Each transfer above the free allocation deducts 3 points from the team total once the round locks.
  • Confirmed transfers cannot be reversed.
  • Transfers made during a live round apply from the next scheduled round onward, not the current live round.

Boosters

Booster rules and restrictions

Each booster is single-use. The group-stage optimiser currently values 12th Man and Maximum Captain directly, while Wildcard remains a transfer-strategy layer.

Inventory rule: Each booster can only be used once. Multiple boosters cannot be used at the same time. All boosters except Wildcard can be reversed before the round locks.

wildcard

Wildcard

Unlimited transfers within a specific round; cannot be used for the first match of the group stage or for the round of 32.

  • Cannot be used for the first match of the group stage.
  • Cannot be used for the Round of 32.
  • Cannot be reversed after confirmation.

twelfth man

12th Man

Select one additional non-squad player to score for the team in a round; cannot be substituted, captained, or transferred; budget and team restrictions do not apply.

  • The selected player must not already be in the squad.
  • The selected player cannot be substituted, captained, or transferred.
  • Budget and team-count restrictions do not apply.

maximum captain

Maximum Captain

Automatically doubles whichever starting XI player scores the most points.

  • Applies to the highest-scoring player from the starting XI.
  • The highest-scoring player is automatically assigned captaincy for the round.

qualification booster

Qualification Booster

Knockout-only; gives +2 points to starting XI players who progress or win the final after playing at least one minute. The +2 is not doubled for captains.

  • Can be activated from the Round of 32 onwards.
  • Eligible players must be in the starting XI and play at least one minute.
  • The +2 qualification bonus is not doubled for captains.

mystery booster

Mystery Booster

Knockout-only booster whose effect is revealed after Round 3 locks and Round of 32 opens.

  • Can be used for one knockout-stage round, including the Final.
  • Effect is revealed after Round 3 locks and the Round of 32 opens.