Club World Cup Matchday 1 Best Captains

If you aren’t sure which players to captain this week, then you are in the right place! We take a look at the Club World Cup Matchday 1 Fantasy best captains, whilst also highlighting differential alternatives.

Captaincy is absolutely crucial for the success of most fantasy managers, so making sure we get it right could be hugely influential on final rank and mini-league position, so let’s get to it!

Note: The captaincy is not yet truly clear, so we cover all scenarios.

Sunday 15 June

The fact you can make manual substitutions between matches is an indicator that CWC Fantasy managers may be allowed to captain a player in every game. If that is the case, then the first game could be an easy one for the armband.

Inter Miami take on Al-Ahly in their opening match, and with the home crowd behind them it could steer them to success. Likely to be among that success is forward and penalty taker Lionel Messi (€10.5m), who has already registered 10 goals and five assists in just 13 matches this season.

The best of the bunch on Sunday though is arguably Bayern forward Harry Kane (€11m). Bayern face off with Amateur club Auckland City which could mean plenty of goals for the Bavarians. If that is the case, and we see a heavy defeat for their opposition, then you can bet that Kane would have contributed heavily. The England captain bagged a huge 40+ goal contributions in all competitions last season.

An alternative option, also playing for Bayern against Auckland City, is midfielder Michael Olise (€9.4m). The Frenchman was absolutely fantastic in his first season for Bayern – producing double-digits for both goals and assists. Olise could be as if not more successful in the same match.

PSG V Atleti and Porto v Palmeiras are the other matches playing on Sunday. Both could be tough contests so picking out a standout captaincy option could be difficult. For those that do want to captain a player in the latter then Porto wing-back Francisco Moura (€4.1m) has multiple routes to points via goal, assists, and clean sheets.

Monday 16 June

Chelsea appear to be the team to focus on from the Monday matches. The Blues impressive display in the Conference League final, their 24/25 Premier League campaign overall, and their upcoming oppositions constant defensive consistency makes them a safe bet with the armband.

The most trustworthy player from the Chelsea attack is of course midfielder and penalty taker Cole Palmer (€9.6m). Palmer had another fantastic season for the London club last season – scoring 15 goals and creating eight assists. As a result of that Palmer became one of the top scorers in Premier League Fantasy for a second successive campaign.

Outside of Palmer, Chelsea don’t offer much potential, especially when it comes to relying on someone with the captaincy armband. An alternative option following the Chelsea match could be Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis (€7.8m) for his match against Boca Juniors. As well as coming in at under 5% ownership which makes him viable for scouting bonus points, he also produced a huge 19 goals and seven assists last season in Liga Portugal.

As well as our Club World Cup Matchday 1 Best Captains article, you should also head over and check out our Club World Cup Fantasy Ultimate Guide.

Tuesday 17 June

Tuesday also holds plenty of opportunity for captaincy success. An opening match against one of the lowest ranked sides in the competition (Urawa Red Diamonds) could give River Island a very good opening to get points on the board, but more importantly for us, score goals.

Taking free-kicks, corners and penalties offers huge appeal when it comes to giving midfielder Franco Mastantuono (€4.3m) the armband. The 17-year-old is heading to Real Madrid, but not before he displays his quality on the big stage for River Plate. Don’t be surprised to see the youngster add to the four goals and four assists he produced during his 12 domestic league matches.

Continuing with the South American sides, we look to Flamengo, who could do similar or more damage to upcoming opposition Esperance. Midfielder Giorgian de Arrascaeta (€6.2m) is one his sides most influential players with the help of set-pieces. He has also been in brilliant form as of late – amassing nine goals and four assists in just nine league games.

Playing between those two matches is Dortmund. The German side won all five of their final Bundesliga matches, so they head into the game against Fluminense in good form. Dortmund have several great options, from wing-back Daniel Svensson (€5.3m) to main man and striker Serhou Guirassy (€9m), who lit up the Champions League recently.

Wednesday 18 June

CWC Fantasy managers are spoilt for choice on Wednesday. Providing we can captain a player in every match could mean we look to Inter in the opening match. Their back-three system helped wing-back Denzel Dumfries (€6.3m) become one of the most dangerous in his position last season. The Dutchman hit 20+ attacking returns in all competitions last campaign, so he offers multiple routes to points.

Not long after that match, Manchester City take on Wydad AC, which is a match the English side should win and win well. With that in mind it could be difficult to avoid penalty taking striker Erling Haaland (€11m). Spearheading the attack of one of several tournament favourites immediately makes him a captaincy standout, not just today but across the entire Matchday.

Straight after Manchester City clash with Wydad AC, Real Madrid take on Al-Hilal. Los Blancos are another tournament favourite and that is no surpirse when taking into account the quality at their disposal. One of their stars is striker Kylian Mbappe (€11m) who will look to continue his relentless form.

Thursday 19 June

Matchday 1 closes out with just one fixture on the Thursday. Juventus take on Al-Ain, another who dwell at the pits of the ranking system coming into the competition. The Italian side won’t have many convincing options, but if you want to get captaincy covered on the final day just in case, then they do have several picks we could consider.

Juventus impressed from a defensive perspective last season – keeping 17 league clean sheets. They also play with wing-backs and one of them is left wing-back Andrea Cambiaso (€5.3m) who could offer both offensive and defensive potential. You also can’t rule out an attacker either, the likes of forwards Kenan Yildiz (€7.3m) and Kolo Munai (€8m) are their sides most effective attackers.