Teams: USA, Vietnam, Netherlands, Portugal
Group E should be a popular one among World Cup fantasy managers – it contains both two-time defending champions USA and 2019 runner-up the Netherlands, along with debutantes Portugal and Vietnam. From a fantasy perspective, this group contains several of the most highly-priced attacking players in the entire tournament, especially Sophia Smith, Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle, and Jill Roord. You’ll also find two of the most expensive goalkeepers: Alyssa Naeher and Daphne van Domselaar. Considering the matchups in Group E, this is likely one of the groups where you want to pay for some premium players.
You can likely expect both the Dutch and US attacking players to return significant fantasy value in their matches against the other two teams. While you probably can’t go wrong with any of the big names in Group E, Sophia Smith is my top choice here – she’s leading the race for NWSL Golden Boot and scored in her last four club games leading into the World Cup, including a hat trick in her final league match before the tournament. She scored nine goals in international play in 2022 and is likely to add more at the World Cup, especially with Mallory Swanson missing the tournament. (This recommendation likely won’t surprise any regular readers of our weekly Fantasy NWSL content, as building a fantasy team around Smith has proven to be a pretty good plan so far this year).
Considering the high likelihood of the US to make a deep run in the tournament, you probably want to utilize multiple US roster slots. With the potential for a couple of blowout games in the group stage, I’d prioritize Smith and other attacking players (especially Morgan, Lynn Williams, and Trinity Rodman) for these spots. The Netherlands, who allowed only three goals in their World Cup qualifying campaign, is a great option for DFs and GKs. Specifically, there are several elite defenders in the $400k-600k range: Stefanie van der Gragt, Dominique Janssen, and Lynn Wilms.
Portugal scored nearly three goals per game over their last five competitive fixtures as they earned one of the final World Cup spots, and they should see some opportunities to continue this trend in Group E. While the Portugal defense will face a challenge in this group, the Portuguese front line should be a great place to look for fantasy value in the group stage, specifically forward Jéssica Silva ($400k) and winger Diana Silva ($350k). It may be a little more difficult for Vietnam to return big fantasy value in the group stage, but keep in mind that Vietnam has scored at least two goals (and as many as five) in all but one of their competitive matches in 2023. Huỳnh Như took the Golden Boot at the Southeast Asian games, and Trần Thị Thùy Trang logged two goals as well.
Players to Watch:
Vietnam’s captain, Huỳnh Như, made history last year by becoming the first Vietnamese woman to play professionally in Europe when she signed with Portuguese club Vilaverdense. She averages nearly one goal per game for the national team, and could be in line to return significant fantasy value in Group E (especially against the high press generally employed by the USA).
Portuguese center back Carole Costa has been a fixture in the A Selecção das Quinas for nearly 13 years. She’s one of the few defenders that consistently takes PKs – in addition to logging one in the 2022 Euros, her 94th minute winner against Cameroon in the inter-confederation playoffs earned Portugal their first-ever World Cup bid. At only $300k, she could prove to be one of the highest-value defenders available in Group E.
The Netherlands allowed only three goals in their qualifying campaign and are likely to record a clean sheet or two in Group E, so don’t sleep on Dutch defenders. Left back Kerstin Casparij is perhaps the best-value fantasy option on the Dutch back line. She moved to Manchester City during the transfer window last summer and has developed into a consistent starter for the Oranje.
Injuries and retirements have left the US midfield in a state of flux, and Savannah DeMelo is an intriguing fantasy option to consider. She just earned her first cap in the USA’s send-off match against Wales, but has been a fantasy all-star in the NWSL for Racing Louisville – she led all midfielders in fantasy points in her rookie season last year, and is currently fourth among midfielders in 2023. Keep an eye on the status of Rose Lavelle, who may get some additional rest time in the group stage – which may result in DeMelo logging significant minutes. At only $400k, she could prove to be a huge value in the group stage matches!