FanDuel World Cup Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 11/23/22

The World Cup is the biggest sporting event on the planet, and FanDuel is offering daily fantasy contests throughout the tournament.

For the first two rounds of the group stage, main slates will start at 8:00 a.m. EST and feature three matches, which are scheduled to start at 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST.

All World Cup odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and FoxBet, and they may change after the article is published.

Slate Overview

Germany (-230) vs. Japan (+600)
Over 2.5 Goals: -154 | Most Likely to Score: Havertz (+160)

Spain (-700) vs. Costa Rica (+1700)
Over 2.5 Goals: -148 | Most Likely to Score: Morata (-125)

Belgium (-200) vs. Canada (+550)
Over 2.5 Goals: -134 | Most Likely to Score: Batshuayi (+110)

Positional Breakdown
Forwards/Midfielders

I love this slate. There's talent everywhere. We have three powerhouses who are significant favorites -- Spain, Belgium, and Germany. The vast majority of lineups will get their four forwards/midfielders from those sides.

Going by the betting odds, Spain are clearly the standout side on this slate. Luis Enrique's bunch is a massive -700 favorite over Costa Rica. They're -400 to go over 1.5 goals and -118 to go over 2.5 goals -- both of which are slate-best numbers by a mile.

Alvaro Morata ($20; -125 to score) has the slate's best goal odds, and Ferran Torres ($18; +115) figures to start up front next to Morata. We might get a value attacker on the opposite wing if Nico Williams ($9; +190) is in the lineup, which is what WhoScored projects. Williams would be a very enticing salary-saver if he starts. If it's not Williams, it may be Marco Asensio ($15; +150), Ansu Fati ($19: +110) or Dani Olmo ($12; +150). Midfielder Pedri ($15; +470) will have chances to get forward in a match in which Spain will likely dominate possession.

With all that said, you can make a case for going light on Spain and stacking either Germany or Belgium. For one, Spain might be the most popular stack, so there's the game-theory element. Two, some of the reason for Spain being such a monster favorite is how little oddsmakers are expecting from Costa Rica's attack -- Spain are -227 to keep a clean sheet. Three, our model projects Spain to score only 2.07 goals, the fewest of the three favorites.

The betting numbers are similar for both the Belgians and Germans. Belgium are -200 to win and -220 to score at least two goals. Germany are -230 to win and -227 to score at least twice. We project Germany to net 2.38 goals and Belgium to get 2.35 goals. With star striker Romelu Lukaku out for Belgium, I lean toward Germany.

Much like Spain, the Germans have a lot of attacking options they can turn to, and we can't be sure of who will start for them until their lineup is out. We know Leroy Sane won't play due to injury. Kai Havertz ($17; +165) owns the team's top goal odds. WhoScored has Thomas Muller ($20; +220) starting at striker. Serge Gnabry ($18; +170) is my favorite play, assuming he's in the lineup as a winger. He tied for the team lead in goals in qualifying (five). I also really like Jamal Musiala ($17; +210), who may operate in a number-10 role. Ilkay Gundogan ($14; +300) took all of Germany's penalties in qualifying and scored five goals (three pens) in all.

Belgium's kingpin is midfield ace Kevin De Bruyne ($21; +250). The goal odds may seem lacking when compared to his lofty salary, but if you play Premier League DFS, you know all about KDB's ability to rack up fantasy points via assists and chances creates. He's a dazzling -170 to score or assist in this one, and with Lukaku sidelined, there's a chance De Bruyne is on penalties.

Eden Hazard ($18; +200) is expected to start for the Belgians, and Michy Batshuayi ($19; +110) has team-best goal odds. Batshuayi will be in a number-nine role and can benefit from KDB's world-class ability to create chances.

Using any attackers from Japan, Costa Rica or Canada will be contrarian, so hitting on a goal from one of those sides can be a big difference-maker. Costa Rica are an ugly +140 to go over 0.5 goals, so I wouldn't venture there. But Canada (-175 to go over 0.5 goals) and Japan (-167) have better odds to score. Jonathan David ($16; +240) has Canada's leading goal odds while Daizen Maeda ($15; +390) boasts the best goal odds for Japan.

Defenders

Getting the attackers I want will be my top priority, so that'll probably lead to me pinching pennies at defender. Luckily there are some value options from the underdogs who should have a decent floor in games in which they'll be busy. Steven Vitoria ($9), Yuto Nagatomo ($9), Hiroki Sakai ($7), and Bryan Ovideo ($8) are defenders from Canada, Costa Rica, and Japan who will be on my radar.

Spain's Jordi Alba ($11) offers more attacking juice than any of those guys if you have a little bit more salary at your disposal. Alba hasn't played much for Barcelona this campaign, but he's an appealing +190 to score/assist for Spain and will be bombing forward early and often.

If Thilo Kehrer ($8) starts at full-back for Germany, he'd be easy to like. He's +350 to score/assist.

Yannick Carrasco ($14) is -110 to score/assist, which is an absurd number for a defender. He's expected to start at left wing-back for Belgium in a three-at-the-back formation, a setup that should grant him freedom to push forward versus Japan. He's got the best ceiling at defender on this slate. He just doesn't fit the type of builds I want to make.

Goalies

Spain's Unai Simon ($14) is out on his own in terms of win odds (-700) and clean-sheet odds (-227). Oddsmakers really, really aren't expecting much from Costa Rica's attack. Neither is our model as we project Costa Rica for 0.17 goals. That's laughably low. On the flip side, Simon has the highest salary at the position and offers very little in the save-volume department. His only route to success is a clean-sheet win, although that looks very likely.

Manuel Neuer ($13) and Thibaut Courtois ($12) are very similar plays. Both are a sizable favorite -- though not nearly as big of a favorite as Simon is -- and are among the best keepers in the world. Belgium and Germany are each +110 to keep a clean sheet. Given the salaries, I'm guessing Courtois is the more popular of the two, and that makes me want to find room for Neuer if I can.

There's a big drop after those three in terms of win odds and clean-sheet chances. If you're using a goalie from an underdog, I think you gotta go with whoever you think has the best chance of not getting blown up. To me, that's Keylor Navas ($6).

We know the PSG goalie is super talented, and I can see a path for him to rack up saves against a Spain side that's going to generate chances but may struggle to score. At his salary, Navas gives you lots of flexibility with the rest of your lineup, and he doesn't need to do too much to be worth using.