Teams: Spain, Japan, Costa Rica, Zambia
Group C represents something of a mixed bag for World Cup fantasy managers, featuring tournament regulars Spain and Japan as well as fresh faces in Costa Rica and Zambia. 4 different countries, 4 different federations. In many respects, it will be a race for 2nd place in the group, with no 3rd place qualification on offer. Both La Sele and the Copper Queens will be hoping for a smash and grab as the saying goes and take points off the tournament regulars.
Zambia in particular will be buoyed by a shock 3-2 away win in a recent friendly vs Germany earlier this month, a result to evoke a sense of schadenfreude in the minds of the other nations pipped to lift the trophy on the 20th August. Striker Barbra Banda namely scored a brace past the usually reliable Merle Frohms, proving that nobody is too big to have an off day.
Banda will be linking up with the likes of teammate Rachael Kundananji, who has had a taste of European football herself with Madrid CFF (not to be confused with Real Madrid). The 23-year-old international would perhaps have a sense of how they do things in Spain’s setup and ultimately left a mark at club level from putting a dent in Barcelona’s unbeaten league campaign.
Fellow underdogs Costa Rica will be hoping for similar chemistry among the players but in the form of Raquel ‘Rocky’ Rodríguez and Priscila Chinchilla, following what is in many respects the tried and tested formula of a mixture of age and experience. The latter having certainly done her bit to keep the Old Firm at bay domestically for Glasgow City, with an impressive 42 goals in 50 games since signing on in 2020.As for Japan and Spain, there is no denying they have the squad depth, featuring talents at both ends of the field. Misa Rodríguez, Yui Hasegawa, Saki Kumagai, Esther González, the list goes on. The crop of players who would fall into the category of ‘set and forget’ for fantasy football if you will. All very reliable at delivering points for your team you’ll begin to trust them more than your local courier.
Players to Watch:
It should be no surprise Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas will set you back the premium price of $1,000,000 should you wish to have her feature in your team. She is closely followed by teammate Aitana Bonmatí, who should equally feature but at $100,000 less. Other options include WSL-newcomer Funka Nagano for Japan at $400,000 and the aforementioned Hasegawa in the middle of the pack ($700,000).And as for Costa Rica and Zambia, attack may be the best form of defence with Banda and Chinchilla at $400,000 and $450,000 respectively. More than ideal for the 3rd striker in your team – certainly for the group stages.