Now that the FanTeam Fantasy World Cup 2026 game is live, early ownership gives us a useful guide to the emerging template. FanTeam’s game is 18+ only – please play responsibly. BeGambleAware. T&Cs apply. For more discussion, team planning and strategy chat, visit FISO’s FanTeam Forum.
Top 20 Most Selected Players
| Rank | Player | Country | Pos | Price | Owned % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Kimmich | Germany | DEF | 6.5 | 52.63% |
| 2 | Erling Haaland | Norway | FWD | 11.0 | 42.76% |
| 3 | Mikel Oyarzabal | Spain | FWD | 10.5 | 41.42% |
| 4 | Bruno Fernandes | Portugal | MID | 10.0 | 41.07% |
| 5 | Florian Wirtz | Germany | MID | 9.5 | 37.22% |
| 6 | Kai Havertz | Germany | FWD | 9.0 | 34.33% |
| 7 | Michael Olise | France | MID | 10.0 | 31.16% |
| 8 | Kylian Mbappé | France | FWD | 12.5 | 29.91% |
| 9 | Marc Cucurella | Spain | DEF | 7.0 | 29.38% |
| 10 | Jamal Musiala | Germany | MID | 8.5 | 26.23% |
| 11 | Nuno Mendes | Portugal | DEF | 6.5 | 24.28% |
| 12 | Luis Díaz | Colombia | MID | 9.0 | 24.23% |
| 13 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | MID | 11.5 | 20.73% |
| 14 | Harry Kane | England | FWD | 12.0 | 19.63% |
| 15 | Raphinha | Brazil | MID | 10.0 | 18.53% |
| 16 | Gregor Kobel | Switzerland | GK | 5.0 | 17.45% |
| 17 | Lamine Yamal | Spain | MID | 11.0 | 16.95% |
| 18 | Unai Simón | Spain | GK | 6.5 | 15.15% |
| 19 | Jeremy Doku | Belgium | MID | 8.0 | 14.79% |
| 20 | Oufa Shobeir | Egypt | GK | 4.0 | 14.31% |
The Current FanTeam Most-Selected Squad
Built by taking the most-owned valid squad possible within the 110m budget, with 2 GKs, 5 DEFs, 5 MIDs, 3 FWDs and a maximum of 3 players per country. This isn’t quite a template team due to the 2 cheap Goalkeepers present.
Goalkeepers
| Player | Country | Price | Owned % |
| Oufa Shobeir | Egypt | 4.0 | 14.31% |
| Kim Seung-gyu | South Korea | 4.0 | 10.25% |
Defenders
| Player | Country | Price | Owned % |
| Joshua Kimmich | Germany | 6.5 | 52.63% |
| Marc Cucurella | Spain | 7.0 | 29.38% |
| Nuno Mendes | Portugal | 6.5 | 24.28% |
| Luc De Fougerolles | Canada | 4.0 | 9.28% |
| Guela Doué | Ivory Coast | 4.5 | 8.22% |
Midfielders
| Player | Country | Price | Owned % |
| Bruno Fernandes | Portugal | 10.0 | 41.07% |
| Florian Wirtz | Germany | 9.5 | 37.22% |
| Michael Olise | France | 10.0 | 31.16% |
| Luis Díaz | Colombia | 9.0 | 24.23% |
| Alvaro Fidalgo | Mexico | 4.5 | 4.86% |
Forwards
| Player | Country | Price | Owned % |
| Erling Haaland | Norway | 11.0 | 42.76% |
| Mikel Oyarzabal | Spain | 10.5 | 41.42% |
| Kai Havertz | Germany | 9.0 | 34.33% |
Total cost: 110.0m
Total combined ownership: 405.4%
Most represented country: Germany with 3 players — Kimmich, Wirtz and Havertz.
Most Captained Players
The captaincy market is dominated by Erling Haaland, who is captained by 22.15% of managers ahead of Norway’s opening fixture against Iraq. That makes him comfortably the most popular armband choice.
Behind him, Mikel Oyarzabal is captained by 11.08% for Spain against Cape Verde, while Kylian Mbappé is on 9.94% for France against Senegal. Germany’s favourable opener against Curacao has also attracted heavy interest, with Kai Havertz captained by 9.91% and Florian Wirtz by 7.00%.
Other notable captain picks include Harry Kane against Croatia at 6.65%, Lionel Messi against Algeria at 5.71%, Lamine Yamal against Cape Verde at 4.01%, and Bruno Fernandes against DR Congo at 3.07%.
FISO Takeaway
The current template is heavily shaped by Germany’s opening fixture against Curacao, Spain’s strong group-stage start, and Haaland’s ownership-plus-captaincy pull. Kimmich is the standout ownership monster, appearing in more than half of all teams, while Haaland is the clear captaincy leader.
The interesting point is that the template squad does not simply include every premium name. To stay within budget, managers are pairing high-owned premium attackers with cheaper goalkeepers and budget defenders. That makes the likes of Shobeir, Kim Seung-gyu, De Fougerolles and Doué important enablers in the early FanTeam meta.