This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
The Netherlands are favored by a decent margin for Saturday's Showdown at DraftKings, but with the United States involved, the odds almost don't matter. There are enough cheap options to captain whoever you want, which makes cash builds fairly easy.
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
DFS Fantasy Soccer: United States vs. Netherlands Cheat Sheet
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CASH GAME STRATEGY
Memphis Depay ($10,600) has yet to take a corner in the tournament and will be hard to roster in cash games. It seems like Cody Gakpo ($11,200) has taken over the main set-piece role for Netherlands and combined with his goalscoring form, he's the Netherlands guy to have. It's likely Gakpo and Christian Pulisic ($11,000) will be the most popular captains in cash games.
If that's the case, guys like Antonee Robinson ($6,000) and Sergino Dest ($5,600) will be close to musts unless you're feeling Daley Blind ($7,200) and Denzel Dumfries ($5,800) as wing-backs. Dumfries is committing too many fouls to consider in cash games for me, while Blind is only priced above the USA full-backs because he's on a favorite.
I think it's possible to go with either goalkeeper in this spot, as a scoreless draw through 90 minutes is possible. Matt Turner ($5,000) figures to get more save opportunities and Andries Noppert ($6,800) is more likely to win with a clean sheet, at least according to the odds.
Those are the main targets in cash games unless Steven Berghuis ($9,600) starts, as he'd have a role on set pieces. Both teams have midfielders in Tyler Adams ($3,800) and Frenkie de Jong ($6,200), who don't have a ton of upside but seem most likely to go a full 90. It's a weird slate in which there aren't a ton of viable options, but it'll also allow both Pulisic and Gakpo to be captained, making them extremely popular. You just have to pick the right one.
TOURNAMENT STRATEGY
If Gakpo and Pulisic are the most popular captains, that means Depay is a possibility, but I'll be looking elsewhere. Timothy Weah ($7,600) stands out to me because he seems most likely to make the score-sheet for the USA outside of Pulisic and he's fairly cheap. If Josh Sargent ($6,200) starts, it's unlikely he'll go more than 60 minutes because of his ankle knock, while I'm not a big fan of Haji Wright ($5,400) for DFS purposes.
Yunus Musah ($4,600) got a bit more forward than Adams and Weston McKennie ($4,200) last match and he'd be a shot in the dark for a captain look. You could say the same for De Jong or even Davy Klaassen ($8,200) for Netherlands.
I'll likely only focus on goalkeepers in tournaments because this game has all the makings of a 1-0 result or even scoreless draw. Whoever scores first will likely go into prevent mode and play things a little too safe.
With Turner captained, you can plug in pretty much whoever you want. I'd look at Pulisic and Weah with hopes of finding the goal, while you can still add in Gakpo or Depay for Netherlands set pieces. From there, Robinson and/or Dest are the best options, as they'll be in play for a clean sheet with Turner.
With Noppert captained, it's the same situation except opposite. You can get both Gakpo and Depay in the squad along with Pulisic to get USA set pieces. Of note, Blind is defender eligible and Dumfries is not if you're looking for clean-sheet points.
