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Jonathan White

There is good news and bad news for the managers of Fifa World Cup fantasy football teams.
The bad is that there are only four games left to guide your team to victory, the good is that you’ve got two rounds of transfers left to claim glory.
You can make five free transfers before the first semi-final kicks off, while any further transfers will cost you four points each.
The deadline for transfers is kick-off of the first semi-final between France and Belgium, which is 2am Wednesday July 11 (Hong Kong time).

You’ll get another five free transfers before the final.
The players need no introduction at this point, although you can refer back to our earlier guides, as it’s time to stack as many starters and likely point scorers in your line-up as you possibly can.
Interestingly, of the top 10 scoring players so far, only three are still in Russia: England’s Harry Kane, who leads the field, France’s Antoine Griezmann, and teammate Raphael Varane.
Obvious choices are set-piece takers such as Kieran Trippier and Luka Modric or players in running for the Golden Boot like Kane, Romelu Lukaku and Kylian Mbappe.
Fifa World Cup semi-final preview: schedule, odds, predictions, head-to-head and past records
If you have not played your “wildcard” then you can pick a whole new squad of 15 ahead of the semis but whether you’re tweaking or ringing the changes, managers can now pick up to six players from each of the remaining teams. 
If you still have the “wildcard”, you could max out your budget to make the following squad (points so far in brackets):
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (21), Steve Mandanda (6)
Defenders: Benjamin Pavard (20), Rpahael Varane (27), John Stones (25), Harry Maguire (21), Domagoj Vida (20)
Midfielders: Ivan Rakitic (15), Luka Modric (24), Jesse Lingard (21), Kevin De Bruyne (16), Marouane Fellaini (12)
Forwards: Harry Kane (36), Kylian Mbappe (22), Adnan Januzaj (6)
Bear in mind that you can still choose to use your “wildcard “for the last round – the final and the third-place play-off – so all is not lost if you decide not to play it before the semi-finals.
Fifa World Cup: ‘Wednesday’s cancelled’ – English media revel in quarter-final success

Other things to consider using if you still have them available are “Bench Boost”, which uses all 15 of your squad for that round, and “Maximum Captain”, which will get you double the score for whichever of your players is the team’s top scorer that round.
Remember that you can’t use them both in the same round.
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Now that there are only four squads left to pick from you might want to consider which players your fellow managers have selected.
The most transferred in for the semi-final are Kevin De Bruyne, Benjamin Pavard, Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane.

Finally, the most picked players (only including those over 20 per cent):
Luka Modric 47 per cent
Harry Kane 43.4 per cent
Romelu Lukaku 34.1 per cent
Kylian Mbappe 32.7 per cent
Dejan Lovren 25.5 per cent
Jesse Lingard per cent 24.2
Raphael Varane per cent 23.2
N’golo Kante per cent 22.7
John Stones per cent 21. 5






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Fifa World Cup 2018

Fifa World Cup fantasy football guide: who to transfer for the semi-finals plus bench boost, maximum captain and wildcard

Harry Kane of England reacts during the quarter-final against Sweden. Photo: EPA

TOPSHOT - France's defender Raphael Varane (2ndL) celebrates with France's forward Antoine Griezmann (2ndR) and France's forward Kylian Mbappe after scoring the opener during the Russia 2018 World Cup quarter-final football match between Uruguay and France at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Nizhny Novgorod on July 6, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

FILE PHOTO: World Cup - Group D - Croatia vs Nigeria - Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad, Russia - June 16, 2018 Croatia's Luka Modric takes a corner kick REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo

epa06871812 England players John Stones (L) and Jesse Lingard (R) celebrates after the FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter final soccer match between Sweden and England in Samara, Russia, 07 July 2018. England won 2-0. (RESTRICTIONS APPLY: Editorial Use Only, not used in association with any commercial entity - Images must not be used in any form of alert service or push service of any kind including via mobile alert services, downloads to mobile devices or MMS messaging - Images must appear as still images and must not emulate match action video footage - No alteration is made to, and no text or image is superimposed over, any published image which: (a) intentionally obscures or removes a sponsor identification image; or (b) adds or overlays the commercial identification of any third party which is not officially associated with the FIFA World Cup) EPA-EFE/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Belgium's midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (L) heads the ball next to Belgium's midfielder Marouane Fellaini during training session of Belgium's national football team at the Guchkovo Stadium in Dedovsk, outside Moscow, on July 8, 2018, ahead of their Russia 2018 World Cup semi-final football match against France. / AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE

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Time is running out to make your five free changes before the final four battle for a place in the Russia 2018 showpiece


Fifa World Cup fantasy football guide: who to transfer for the semi-finals plus bench boost, maximum captain and wildcard

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Time is running out to make your five free changes before the final four battle for a place in the Russia 2018 showpiece

Time is running out to make your five free changes before the final four battle for a place in the Russia 2018 showpiece