FIFA World Cup Fantasy: Transfers in and who to captain ahead of quarter-finals at Qatar 2022

After over two weeks of upsets and excitement in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the tournament is narrowing down to some of the best national teams in the world. Joining England, France, Netherlands, Argentina, Croatia, Brazil and Portugal is Morocco, who have reached the quarter-finals for the first time in World Cup history.

Qatar has seen some exceptional performances so far, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and Cody Gakpo shining in the opening four matches. The forwards are all still competing for the Golden Boot award, with the Paris Saint-Germain star currently top with five goals, followed by another nine players that include Bukayo Saka, Lionel Messi and Goncalo Ramos.

This weekend promises even more thrills as the tension heats up, with the World Cup final taking place next weekend. Ahead of the quarter-final clashes, here are our latest tips for your World Cup Fantasy team.

Transfers in

Goalkeeper - Diogo Costa

Diogo Costa has conceded five goals in four games so far for Portugal but could be the most confident goalkeeper heading into the World Cup quarter-finals. Morocco are the lowest ranked country remaining in the tournament and are likely to spend the 90 minutes looking to keep Portugal out rather than going all out attack - a plan that worked very well against Spain.

Portugal will be hot favourites to make it through to the semi-finals after their brilliant performance against Switzerland, and Costa is arguably the most likely to pick up a clean sheet this weekend, while Jordan Pickford would do very well to further his three-game clean sheet streak against France.

Defender - Denzel Dumfries

It may sound crazy to include a defender that is preparing to take on Lionel Messi this weekend, but Denzel Dumfries’ performances so far are hard to ignore. The full-back was at the heart of a big victory over USA in the Round of 16, picking up a goal and two assists as they came out 3-1 winners.

Argentina have definitely turned things around since their humiliating defeat to Saudi Arabia, however Dumfries could still be a huge threat in attack and may cause some trouble for the likes of Marcos Acuna and Nicolas Otamendi. If the Netherlands are to cause an upset in Qatar, then it could be down to the Inter defender spearheading the charge.

Midfielder - Bruno Fernandes

Bruno Fernandes has arguably been one of the players of the tournament this winter, scoring twice and providing three assists in only three games for Portugal. Up against Morocco next, the Manchester United midfielder will be a real handful and could be the difference between being sent home and making it to the semi-finals. Other noteable mentions include Phil Foden, Adrien Rabiot and Ivan Perisic.

Attacker - Richarlison

Richarlison has been on fire during the World Cup for Brazil, scoring arguably the best two goals in the tournament so far. The 25-year-old has bagged three goals in three matches, including a brace in their 4-1 dominating win over South Korea.

Richarlison will undoubtedly feature up top for Brazil against Croatia and it would be a huge surprise to see Tite’s squad crumble in the quarters. Croatia have looked poor so far and could face an embarrassing defeat this weekend.

Who to captain

It is hard to predict who will add to their goal tally this weekend with some really tough fixtures approaching, while others will be desperate to cause yet another upset. Kylian Mbappe is an obvious choice, though England’s Kyle Walker is probably the most likely to keep him quiet out of all his opponents so far.

The safest options for your captain this week are probably a Brazil or Portugal player - Vinicius Jr, Richarlison or Bruno Fernandes are likely to be at the centre of any goals during their quarter-final ties. The former two have a combined six goal contributions, while Fernandes has the joint most assists with Harry Kane.