The 2026 World Cup action begins Thursday, June 11, with an exciting opening-day doubleheader. The tournament kicks off in Mexico City at 3:00 PM ET as the host nation, Mexico, faces South Africa. Later that night, the action shifts to Guadalajara Stadium at 10:00 PM ET for a matchup between South Korea and Czechia.
If you’re ready for weeks of non-stop soccer, FantasyLabs has you covered. You can find full projections directly inside our Player Models and use our lineup optimizer to help you build your winning rosters. With DraftKings expected to roll out some of their largest soccer prize pools in years, having the right tools is essential if you want to edge out the competition and chase those top-tier first-place payouts.
To ensure fans don’t miss a beat, the World Cup schedule features zero overlapping matches—until the final day of the group stage, when simultaneous games are played to decide crucial knockout spots.
This year’s expanded tournament features a massive 104-match schedule, up from 64 games in 2022. The field has grown from 32 to 48 countries, divided into 12 groups of four. Each team plays three group-stage matches, wrapping up on Saturday, June 27.
The knockout phase has also expanded to a 32-team bracket, adding an extra single-elimination round. The top two teams from each of the 12 groups advance automatically, alongside the eight best third-place finishers.
Elimination play kicks off on Sunday, June 28, all leading up to the World Cup Final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
DraftKings will host DFS soccer contests throughout the entire tournament, giving both soccer newcomers and seasoned managers plenty of opportunities to build their bankrolls. With our expert soccer projections loaded into the FantasyLabs Player Models and Lineup Optimizer, we’ll be locked in all summer to help you construct tournament-winning rosters.
How Does Soccer DFS Scoring Work?
For those of you who are new to DFS soccer, let’s take a look at some of the basics.
Classic Contest Basics
The salary cap is $50,000 for Classic contests, and lineups consist of 2 forwards, 2 midfielders, 2 defensemen, 1 goalkeeper, and 1 utility spot (that can be filled with any non-goalkeeper). The 8-player squad averages $6,250 per roster slot, with megastars usually being around $10,000 and cheaper players available to balance out your spending.
Forwards
While goals (+10 points) and assists (+6 points) provide massive leaderboard boosts, consistent baseline production is what separates the field. Every shot earns you 1 point, and if it lands on target, that’s another 1 point for a shot on goal. This makes high-volume forwards incredibly valuable. They can still deliver a solid fantasy floor even if they don’t find the back of the net.
Midfielders
Midfielders who excel at shot creation offer an elite combination of a high floor and a high ceiling. For DraftKings contests, crossing volume is king: each cross is worth 0.7 points, whether it comes from open play or a set piece. Additionally, every assisted shot earns 1 point, and accurate passes chip in 0.02 points each. You also have to factor in discipline, as drawing a foul adds 1 point, while conceding a foul costs -0.5 points. Yellow cards (-1.5) and red cards (-3) will further dent your score.
Defensemen
On the defensive end, every intercepted pass by a field player rewards you with 0.5 points. Furthermore, defenders can unlock a massive 3-point bonus for keeping a clean sheet. Stacking defenders from the same country is a high-risk, high-reward strategy. If they secure the shutout, you’ll cascade those clean-sheet bonuses straight up your leaderboard. When building lineups, look for teams that deploy aggressive fullbacks who push high up the pitch to cross or squads with towering center-backs who target headers on set pieces.
Goalkeepers
Managing the goalkeeper position on DraftKings requires balancing safety with massive bonus upside. Keepers earn 2 points for every save, but they are docked -2 points for each goal allowed. The real leaderboard movers are the bonuses: a clean sheet rewards you with a hefty 5-point bonus, and securing a team win tacks on another 5 points. To qualify for the win bonus, a goalkeeper must play at least 60 minutes. If your starter is subbed out early, the team must be leading at the time of substitution to preserve the bonus. Conversely, a backup who enters the match and logs over 60 minutes can still capture the win bonus if his squad secures the victory.
Penalty Kicks and Own Goals
Handling penalties and own goals requires a solid grasp of some unique DraftKings scoring quirks. During a knockout-stage penalty shootout, field players receive 1.5 points for every shootout goal scored but lose -1 point for a miss. For keepers, a shootout save is worth 1.5 points. However, stopping a penalty kick during regulation or extra time is far more lucrative: goalkeepers earn 3 points for the penalty save plus the standard 2 points for a regular save, fueling a massive 5-point swing on a single play.
Own goals are another critical factor to watch. While the player who accidentally deflections the ball into their own net isn’t credited with a goal against, the goal does count against the goalkeeper and immediately wipes out the clean-sheet bonuses for the entire defense.
Overall Soccer DFS Strategy
When you look at the entire scoring system, the most valuable DFS assets are players central to their team’s attack who can both create opportunities and finish them. At defense, your highest-upside targets are those who balance clean-sheet potential with heavy offensive involvement. Meanwhile, elite goalkeepers can break a slate open if they can pair high save volume with a victory. While hunting for goals and assists is always a priority, targeting players who dominate their team’s overall volume ensures a highly productive fantasy floor, whether they find the back of the net or not.
Avoiding Rookie Mistakes in Soccer DFS
Chasing Name Recognition: One of the most common pitfalls is rostering players based entirely on their reputation rather than their current international role. A megastar who dominates for their club team might have a much more limited or defensive assignment within their national squad’s structure. Pay close attention to how teams are actually utilizing players in the tournament.
Ignoring Confirmed Lineups: In soccer DFS, lineup vigilance is non-negotiable. Official starting lineups are typically released about an hour before kickoff. Getting married to a placeholder lineup before you have 100% confirmation that your players are starting is an easy way to burn a roster slot on a bench player.
Over-Indexing on Goal-or-Bust Targets: Relying exclusively on attackers who depend entirely on a goal to return value is a recipe for volatility. Instead, prioritize players with high fantasy floors, especially designated set-piece takers, who stay actively involved in the offense. They offer much more predictable and reliable production.
Single-Game Showdown Format
For single-match slates or the deep knockout rounds when only one game is played per day, DraftKings offers its popular Showdown format. Just like in other DFS sports, the key to Showdown is the Captain slot. The player you select as your Captain earns 1.5x their standard fantasy-point total, but they will also cost 1.5x their base salary.
Utilize the Tools at FantasyLabs
You can use our lineup optimizer to set an abundance of different rules for your lineup builds. You’ll have the option to:
- Player Exposure: Limit your maximum exposure to any single player (e.g. capping a volatile forward at 30% across your lineups) so one bad game doesn’t ruin your entire day.
- Unique Players: Adjust the settings to dictate how many unique players must differ between each of your generated lineups, ensuring your roster portfolio is properly diversified.
- Range of Outcomes Percentage: Apply percentage-based variance to individual player projections (e.g. a 10% range shifts a 10-point projection anywhere from 9 to 11) to account for natural game-to-game volatility across your builds.
And much more! Check out our Player Models to explore all the options our lineup optimizer has to offer.
Photo Credit: Imagn
