Who to Pick for the 2026 World Cup Fantasy Football: Matchday 2 Guide (June 18 – 20)

By Eduard Bănulescu

We’ve finally had a chance to see all World Cup teams play. It’s not the full picture just yet, but it’s enough to give us some information. Looking to win your fantasy football contests for Matchday 2? These are the players that you’re going to need.

You’ll also need to know who’s likely to score from a penalty, which players to avoid, and which to keep on your radar for later dates. Don’t sweat the details. I’ve got it all covered for you.

Take the info and use it in the free Matchday 2 (June 18-20) in FootballCoin! Win prizes and challenge the fantasy football elite. 

World Cup Fantasy Picks: Matchday 2 Guide (June 18–20) – Win XFC Rewards

FIFA World Cup 2026™ Match Slate

Set-Piece & Penalty Matrix

Set-Piece & Penalty Matrix (June 18–20)

Cheat Sheet – Players Cards You Need for Your Fantasy Football Team

📅 World Cup Fixtures & Player Picks (June 18 – 20, 2026)

The “Locks” – Players You Need

Mexico – South Korea

My impression is that both South Korea and the hosts, Mexico, are a little overhyped. I also think both teams can score goals here.

This means that Mexico’s Quinones and Jimenez, along with affordable midfielders Alvarado and Lira, deserve to be picked.

South Korean stars Son and Kang-In, along with In-Beom and Gi-Hyuk, should also be mighty smart choices.

USA – Australia

USA is in the perfect position to rack up a few impressive victories in this group stage. Australia is a decent side, but one that’ll find it hard to cope with the attacking flair of players like Pulisic (if fit) and Balogun. Both can be good picks.

Tillman and Adams will also likely impress. Freeman‘s the only US defender worth picking right now.

Australia’s defender Souttar, along with experienced Premier League star Wood, can get on the list.

Scotland – Morocco

Both Scotland and Morocco are teams that want to punch above their weight. Both have good generations of players and optimism on their side. This can be a great game!

Defenders Hendry, Hanley and Robertson will get a chance to show their ability here. McGinn and McTominay are the team’s stars for a reason. I’d pick them regardless of the cost to your team budget.

Meanwhile, Morocco looks great in nearly all positions. I’d narrow my picks to Hakimi, of course, along with Riad, El Aynaoui, Saibari, and Ayoube. Besides Hakimi, all of these are free picks in the game of FootballCoin.

Brazil – Haiti

Brazil was borderline awful against Morocco. Surely, Carlo Ancelotti’s players will improve against Haiti, a team that has nonetheless surprised the world with its tight organisation and attacking flair.

Alisson could prove a good pick here, especially if the Haitians opt for an attacking approach.

Fabinho will be an upgrade in a defensive midfielder role. Marquinhos is a consistent performer. Raphinha, Vinicius and Cunha could score here. They’re expensive picks, but worth taking a risk on here.

Meanwhile, as expected, Bellegarde and Isidor were impressive. I don’t know why they wouldn’t be able to stun Brazil. Defenders Ade and Delacroix also showed they can perform at this level. Goalie Placide is another player you might need, given the fantasy football scoring system.

The “Enablers” – Players that Might Surprise You

Switzerland – Bosnia – Herzegovina

Switzerland, once more, plays dull football. Bosnia, as expected, is a highly motivated, aggressive team.

Xhaka, Freuler, Embolo, and Ndoye will need to provide something special if the Swiss are going to get a result. In defence, Akanji will also be essential.

Meanwhile, Katic, Dedic, or Basic are affordable picks that you need on your radar. This will be an attritional game where their aggressiveness will be useful.

Canada – Qatar

Neither Canada nor Qatar embarrassed themselves in the first game. Neither looks quite ready to go far in this tournament.

Canada’s status as hosts will count a great deal in this one. J. David and Larin should make an impression in front of the home crowd. Cornelius and De Fougerolles should get a good deal of points here.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Khoukhi impressed in the team’s first game. He can bring another good performance here.

The “Hail Marys” – Players You Don’t Need, but Cannot Rule Out Entirely

Czechia – South Africa

If this game turns out to be entertaining, that would be a great surprise. Still, there are players worth keeping an eye on.

Czech youngsters Sojka and Sulc are worth keeping on your radar. The same can be said about South Africans Mudau and J. Adams.

Turkiye – Paraguay

I predicted Turkiye to be a disappointment. I was not wrong. I am still not sold on the idea that they can improve against Paraguay. Still, the South Americans put an awful display in their first game.

If you’re going to pick someone here, sure, Calhanoglu, Yilmaz and Guler are the prime candidates. I also still have some faith that G. Gomez, Caceres, and Almiron will improve in this one.

The “Traps” – Players You Should Avoid

Brazil could win against Haiti. But players like Guimaraes and Paqueta, sadly, showed against Morocco that they don’t possess enough inventiveness for the occasion. This means they should be out of your fantasy football team as well.

Akturkoglu looked sluggish last time around. Kadioglu and Demiral are also well-known players. But I see little reason to pick them in Matchday 2.

Kolasinac and Muharemovic were strong against Canada. However, more affordable Bosnian options are available for those roles.

USA played great last time around. However, there are clear issues with the defence. Robinson, Ream and Richards wouldn’t be on my list for the game against Australia.

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