Let’s dive into exactly how to go about replacing World Cup players on your roster. Last week, we talked about replacing the top five premium-price FNWSL players that are headed Down Under with like-for-like forwards and midfielders, but if you have multiple players that need to be replaced, this week will be a little more complex. You don’t necessarily have to transfer out all of these players this week, but remember that transfers only cost 5 points – and most players will score at least that many points most of the time.  For reference, through Round 12, only 18.9% of players have logged 60 minutes in a single game this season without scoring at least 5 points, so you have a pretty good chance to recover those points if you make an extra transfer. 

Also – remember everyone is in the same boat this week! Half of the top 20 most-owned FNWSL players are headed to the World Cup, so we all have lots of replacements to make. 

Since you’ll likely be freeing up quite a bit of cash this week due to transferring out high-priced players, check out the premium DFs that have been racking up points all season: Carson Pickett ($400k), Hailie Mace ($350k), Lauren Barnes ($350k), and Natalia Kuikka ($350k). Andddddd…. why don’t you consider Tatumn Milazzo too ($350k)?

You can probably adopt a similar strategy with replacing World Cup goalkeepers – this is the time to pay the premium price for FNWSL GKs. My choices would be Katie Lund or Bella Bixby considering the matchups this week. You probably can’t go wrong with Phallon Tullis-Joyce either, but let’s see what OL Reign’s defense looks like with Sofia Huerta and Alana Cook in New Zealand. 

The elite goalscorers in FNWSL will be a little more difficult to replace. We listed a few good options last week, and Sam Coffey and Morgan Weaver especially could be in line for an increased role with Portland losing so many points (particularly Coffey, who played all 90 minutes in the Thorns midweek Challenge Cup game). To that list, I’ll add the Wave’s Jaedyn Shaw and OL Reign’s Bethany Balcer – both of whom could be in line for big fantasy points over the next few rounds with all the World Cup players leaving San Diego and Seattle. 

Lastly, with all the missing players, the next few weeks are a good time to take a chance on some low-cost players with high upside – think Narumi Miura and Paige Metayer, who are both only $75k and trending upward!

Who are you bringing in for the World Cup break? Comment or tweet at MansersAnswers!