DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Monday World Cup Picks

MATCHES (EDT)

8:00 a.m: Sweden v. South Korea
11:00 a.m: Belgium v. Panama
2:00 p.m: Tunisia v. England

Son Heung-Min, KOR v. SWE ($7,500): Son is usually a good GPP option during Premier League play, but he has a much bigger role for South Korea than Tottenham, making him a solid cash pick against Sweden. South Korea are slight underdogs, but the match should be much closer than the other two on the slate, and his dominance in their attack should help make up for it. He's likely to be on most set pieces, and while this game is expected to have the fewest goals, we should get plenty of peripherals.

Wahbi Khazri, TUN v. ENG ($5,200): Khazri is another player who takes most of his team's set pieces, and while the matchup against England is...not ideal...his lower prices helps alleviate that a bit. He hasn't played in Tunisia's recent friendlies because of a thigh injury he suffered back in April, but he's back in full training and said Friday that he expects to start. Unfortunately, he also said he may not be able to play 90 minutes and Tunisia play in the late game, so you'll only be able to pivot to other players on the team like Naim Sliti ($4,600). I wouldn't call this a desperation play, but it's closer to that than a lock.

Raheem Sterling, ENG v. TUN ($8,600): Having exposure to the England attack is certainly a reasonable idea against Tunisia, it's just a matter of salary and ownership. Harry Kane ($11,100) is obviously the main upside play for England after scoring 29 goals (30, if you ask 'arry) in the Premier League this season, but he's much more expensive and likely to be much higher owned than Sterling, who had 18 goals and 11 assists. I am not considering either of them for cash games, and with tournaments having many more entries than we're used to, I prefer the lower-owned Sterling, as he could very well assist a Kane goal or score his own.

MIDFIELDERS

Kevin De Bruyne, BEL v. PAN ($10,500): De Bruyne is headed to be the highest owned player in cash games because of Belgium's overwhelming odds against Panama, who came in as arguably the worst team in the tournament (yes, it was a conversation about who was worse between Panama and Saudi Arabia, who lost 5-0 to Russia in the opening match). De Bruyne has a ton of firepower around him, similar to his situation with Manchester City, except he plays an even more attacking role for Belgium. His floor is about as secure as they come and while he does have upside, he's an understandable fade in GPPs for some of his teammates like Dries Mertens ($9,500), Eden Hazard ($10,300) and Romelu Lukaku ($11,100), all of whom are forward-eligible and have better anytime goal scorer odds.

Viktor Claesson, SWE v. KOR ($4,200): Claesson is expected to start on the right wing for Sweden and offers a nice salary savings on a favored side. He had 10 goals and six assists for Krasnador in the Russian Premier League this past season, and while he isn't a big crosser, he's still a very active attacker overall. Emil Forsberg ($7,200, forward eligible) is expected to be on set pieces, but he's coming off a terrible season for RB Leipzig and is apparently not guaranteed to start. If that's the case, we could see Sebastian Larsson ($3,700) get a share of those opportunities.

DEFENDERS

Kieran Trippier, ENG v. TUN ($6,300): Sunday's slate includes a number of really attractive attacking fullbacks, and Trippier may be the best of the bunch thanks to his partial role on corners and excellent ability to cross in open play. England are big favorites against Tunisia, enough so that fantasy players could also consider pairing Trippier with Ashley Young ($5,900), who is expected to start at left-back. Trippier and Kane are club teammates at Tottenham and very familiar with each other, so pairing the two in GPP lineups makes a lot of correlative sense.

Thomas Meunier, BEL v. PAN ($6,800): Meunier doesn't offer the set-piece (at least corners) floor that Trippier does, but his upside is unquestioned after we saw him have three goals on three shots as well as three assists, six crosses and two fouls drawn against Gibraltar in World Cup qualifying. Panama are better than Gibraltar, though not significantly better that we would be surprised by a breakout performance by the Paris Saint-Germain defender.

Lee Yong, KOR v. SWE ($4,100): Lee is an attacking fullback likely to start at right-back for a South Korea side that, as mentioned before, comes in as a slight underdog to Sweden. Paying up at defender seems to be a positive cash-game route for Monday's slate, but Lee offers a solid floor because of his open-play work while providing some decent salary relief versus the top plays. Using a utility spot for a third defender isn't crazy either, and if you go that route and don't want both English fullbacks, Sweden's Ludwig Augustinsson ($5,600) could be the guy to add.

GOALKEEPER

Kim Seung-gyu, KOR v. SWE ($4,200): I understand paying up for either Thibaut Courtois ($6,000) or Jordan Pickford ($5,700) because they are virtually guaranteed the win and a likely clean sheet, but on a slate with two teams that can put up a ton of goals, using that much salary space on a goalkeeper who could top out at 14 fantasy points seems sub-optimal. Instead, I'd prefer to focus on the match that's close to a pick 'em and take the underdog keeper who costs $1,000 less than the favorite. Kim figures to have some balls come his way, and while the win and clean sheet is unexpected, the saves may help make up for it.