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We're not far away from the final round of fixtures before the knockout stages of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Matchday 2 saw some cagey 0-0 draws as well as some goal-filled contests that included some very important results. With only two sides eliminated so far, there's all to play for in Matchday 3.
My World Cup Fantasy fared pretty well in Matchday 2, scoring 67 points on my Wildcard. Once again, captain Lionel Messi delivered, both for Argentina and for my Fantasy team, returning a goal and an assist. Piotr Zielinski, Diogo Costa, Alphonso Davies, and Luke Shaw were the other notable names to provide returns.
With many managers using the MD 2/MD 3 Wildcard hack to set their teams up differently for this week, we're in for another interesting matchday in World Cup Fantasy. Whatever transfers you're making, ensure you're locked in before the deadline on Tuesday afternoon GMT.
Deadline for Transfers: 03:00 pm (GMT)/ 08:30 pm (IST) on Tuesday, November 29.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Key Matchday 3 Fixtures
Matchday 3 will see the two games of each group kick off simultaneously to prevent any team from gaining an advantage. MD 3 begins with the Group A clashes on Tuesday evening, with England taking on Wales in the Group B clashes later on.
France and Argentina are in action on Wednesday, with the Group C and Group D fixtures taking place. On Thursday, Belgium take on Croatia in a crucial Group F contest. The Matchday concludes with the Group G matches, including one between Brazil and Cameroon.
Click here to view the complete fixtures of Matchday 3.
Best Fantasy Team for FIFA World Cup 2022 Fantasy: Matchday 3
Goalkeepers: Munir El Kajoui (MAR) (£4 million), Sergio Rochet (URU) (£4 million)
Defenders: Jordi Alba (ESP) (DEF) (£6 million), Luke Shaw (ENG) (£5 million), Joakim Maehle (DEN) (£4.5 million), David Raum (GER) (£4.5 million), Nayef Aguerd (MAR) (£4.0 million)
Midfielders: Hakim Ziyech (MAR) (£7 million), Dani Olmo (ESP) (£8 million), Jamal Musiala (GER) (£8 million), Bukayo Saka (TUN) (£8 million), and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (SER) (MID) (£7 million)
Forwards: Lionel Messi (ARG) (£10.5 million), Harry Kane (ENG) (£11 million), Memphis Depay (NED) (£8.5 million).
Total Points: 133
Overall Rank: 21,316
Budget Remaining: £0 million.
Using the trick towards the end of Matchday 2 on my Wildcard, I was able to transfer out most of my locked players to get the team I wanted for Matchday 3 as well. While I might use the free transfers to make a couple of changes before some fixtures, I'm happy to go with the above team.
Morocco are one team I'm banking on coming good in this fixture. They've looked defensively solid so far and showed signs of attacking spark in their fixture against Belgium. Against a leaky Canada defense, they could get another good result that could see them qualify for the Round of 16.
As a result, I've gone for the budget defensive pairing of goalkeeper El Kajoui and center-back Nayef Aguerd. I'm also taking a punt on Hakim Ziyech, who's a set-piece wizard and should greatly influence the game.
My forward line remains largely the same with Harry Kane, Lionel Messi, and Memphis Depay the three I've picked. Depay's return to full fitness is great timing for the Dutch who need to win and win big against Qatar to secure the top berth in Group A. While I am scared of Mbappe hauling, I've not picked him due to concerns over rotation.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Jamal Musiala are two midfielders I'm really looking forward to seeing in action. With Serbia playing out a high-scoring draw against Cameroon, they need to beat Switzerland to qualify, and I'm hoping there's more goals for Milinkovic-Savic in that game.
The same applies to Germany when they take on Costa Rica and with Musiala in such impressive form, I'm hoping he finally finds the back of the net. Bukayo Saka and Dani Olmo are the other two midfielders on my team. I'm hoping they find the back of the net.
I've gone for Jordi Alba and Joakim Maehle in defense over Theo Hernandez and Denzel Dumfries. If Maehle can bring his form from the Euros into Denmark's clash against Australia, we could be in for some points.
Uruguay's Sergio Rochet, David Raum from Germany in defense, and Luke Shaw are the other three players I've picked.
Overall, I'm happy with the performance of my team so far. I'm hoping to round out the group stages with a flourish.
Captaincy Options
Day 1 - Tuesday, November 29: Bukayo Saka (ENG) vs USA, Memphis Depay (NED) vs QAT, or Harry Kane (ENG) vs USA.
Day 2 - Wednesday, November 30: Lionel Messi (ARG) vs POL.
Day 3 - Thursday, December 1: Jamal Musiala (GER) vs CRC or Dani Olmo (ESP) vs JAP.
Day 4 - Friday, December 2: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (SER) vs GHA.
