McDonalds FIFA World Cup Fantasy – Rules and Overview

World Cup 2018

Here’s our McDonalds FIFA World Cup Fantasy article where we go through the rules and then provide an overview on our thoughts for the game.  There’s also the FFGeek league details

McDonalds FIFA World Cup Fantasy – Rules and Overview




The Rules

The rules are actually quite well explained.  I’ve copied them and  tried to cut them down to make them simpler but there’s alot to the game so it’s not that straightforward.  You should rely on the full rules link here on the site

Remember if I’ve misinterpreted anything either in the rules or the over view just say in the comments.

 Picking your squad

To create a team, you need to select a squad of 15 players consisting of:

2 GOALKEEPERS
5 DEFENDERS
5 MIDFIELDERS
3 FORWARDS

Of the 15 players, you can select 11 players in the starting line-up and four on your bench. If one or more players don’t play, then they may be automatically substituted with the players on the bench although you can actively manage your substitutions.  Pretty much every formation is allowed.

Budget

The total value of your initial squad must not exceed €100 million. This will increase €105 million for the knockout stages.

Player valuation

Original player prices will remain the same until the group stage ends (Round 3). Upon completion of the group stage, player prices will change depending on performances.

Players per team

You can select up to three players from a single team during the group stage. This will increase to four players for the Round of 16, followed by five for the quarter-finals, six for the semi-finals and eight for the final of the World Cup.

Captain selection

From your starting 11, you must select a player as a captain whose score will be doubled at the end of each Round. During the round you can change captains as long as the new captain has yet to play.

Manager substitutions within a round

After all matches on a single day have finished and before the next Round of matches start, you can:

Replace any player (unless they were sent off) with one from your bench whose team is yet to play.
Change your captain (if he was not sent off) with a player from your squad whose team is yet to play.
Players who are substituted out will score 0 points. The captain bonus will be lost from your original captain if a new captain is selected.
An unlimited number of manager substitutions can be made.
If a manager substitution or captain change is made, then no automatic substitutions will take place in your team for that Round.

If no manager substitutions or captain changes are made, automatic substitutions will take place at the end of the Round, after all fixtures for that Round have been completed.

Making transfers

You can make unlimited transfers at no cost until the game starts, and between group and knockout stages.

Details of free transfers are mentioned below:

Before group stage: Unlimited
Group stage: 1 Per Round
Between group stage and Round of 16: Unlimited
Before Quarter-finals: 3
Before semi-finals: 5
Before finals: 5
You are deducted four points from your overall points for every transfer you make above the available free transfers for a round.

Wildcard

Activating your Wild Card allows you to make unlimited transfers for a Round. It must be played prior to the start of the respective Round and it can be used only once during the tournament.

Maximum captain

This booster automatically makes the highest scoring player from your final playing 11 as the captain. This booster must be played prior to the start of the respective Round and it can be used only once during the tournament.

Bench boost

The points of all 15 players are counted for the Round in which this booster has been played. This card must be played prior to the start of the respective Round and it can be used only once during the tournament.

Deadlines

Tentative deadlines below

No. Round Date Budget Max. players Per Country No. Of Transfers
1 1st Group Phase Game launch – 14 June 2018 (17:00 CET)
2 2nd Group Phase 14 June 2018 (17:00 CET) -19 June 2018 (20:00 CET)
3 3rd Group Phase 19 June 2018 (20:00 CET) – 25 June 2018 (16:00 CET)
4 Round of 16 25 June 2018 (16:00 CET) – 30 June 2018 (16:00 CET)
5 Quarter-finals 30 June 2018 (16:00 CET) -6 July 2018 (16:00 CET)
6 Semi-finals 6 July 2018 (16:00 CET) -10 July 2018 (20:00 CET)
7 Final* 10 July 2018 (20:00 CET) – 14 July 2018 (16:00 CET)
*The final round consist of both the third place play-off and the final match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup™.

Scoring

During the tournament, your selected players will be allocated points in real time based on their match performances. Criteria for scoring include:

Actions Points
Playing in a game 1
Playing at least 60 minutes in a game (includes points mentioned above) 2
Goal scored by a goalkeeper or defender 6
Goal scored by a midfielder 5
Goal scored by a forward 4
For each assist* 3
Goalkeeper not conceding while on pitch (must play at least 60 minutes) 4
Defender not conceding while on pitch (must play at least 60 minutes) 4
Midfielder not conceding while on pitch (must play at least 60 minutes) 1
Earning a penalty** 2
Conceding a penalty** -1
Penalty miss -2
Penalty save 5
For every two goals conceded by a goalkeeper or defender -1
Yellow card -1
Red card (includes yellow card deduction) -3
Every three saves made by a goalkeeper 1
Own goal scored -2
* Assists will be credited to a player on basis of the official statistics of a match as published on FIFA.com.

** Not applicable in case penalties are awarded due to handball.

Note: Events occurring within extra time are counted, but penalty shoot-outs do not.

Clean sheets

A clean sheet is awarded for not conceding a goal whilst on the pitch and playing at least 60 minutes

An Overview





So while Sun Dream Team World Cup is a pretty simple game without many transfers and additional considerations this is quite fiddly and needs a decent amount of thought and attention.

Here’s my initial thoughts.  Probably the things that stick out are

Transfers

The amount of transfers is fairly miserly and coupled with the ability to actively manage your subs for maximum points avoiding gametime risk could pay dividends.  Unfortunately that’s always easier said than done.

Managed substitutions and managed captain picks

This gives you another chance to get more points if your original round captain pick or team member hasn’t worked out and you feel like gambling for more.  Just be careful to set up your team in playing order as if someone plays on the bench first you can’t substitute them.

For me that means a half decent bench is worth having but also you might want to think about staggering your team by match days to give that captain change flexibility.

Wildcard

I guess the best time for this will depend on your team at the time.  Before Round 3 looks an option if you think there is going to be lots of players rested for Groups already decided.  Alternatively prior to the quarter finals when teams reduce from 16 teams to 8 teams and there are only 3 transfers to deal with it.

Bench boost

This is a tricky one.  I don’t think you could use it at the off due to selection unknowns.  Before round 2 would give a decent amount of lineup knowledge and if you get your team right there’s the chance for some good fixtures.  Alternatively before the round of 16 where you can set up your team through unlimited transfers.

Maximum captain

For me this is either round 1 or  2 of the Group rounds where there are decent fixtures so you could bank on a decent captain score in there somewhere.  Or the reverse say the semis where you have less chance to make good your erroneous captain choice.

Scoring

Fairly straightforward and no bonus points to worry about.

Player valuation

Not much detail given here but my recollection of previous tournaments is that it isn’t too drastic

Those are my initial thoughts.  Any comments on inaccuracies or misinterpretation please say in the comments section below

The FFGeek McDonalds FIFA World Cup fantasy league

Here’s the link to the FFGeek league

or League code:
ZKD1IBZR

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