After a great start to the World Cup at the end of last week and over the weekend, Monday brings a great four-game slate of fantasy soccer goodness, kicking off at 12:00 p.m. ET. The four matches on Monday contain the four teams from Group G and the four teams from Group H. Some big names are on the slate, as well as a few teams trying to pull off upsets and establish their spot in the future rounds. Let’s take a look at the eight squads taking the pitch and find some strong World Cup DFS picks for Monday’s action.

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All eight teams will be making their debuts in the World Cup this year. Just a reminder, as we begin the Group Stage, the field has been expanded from 32 teams to 48 teams for the first time in the history of the World Cup. The teams are divided into 12 groups of four, with the top two teams in each group automatically advancing to the knockout round along with the eight best third-place teams to make up the knockout round of 32 teams, who will then play a single-elimination bracket to determine the World Cup winner. Spain and Belgium are both heavily favored in these groups, with Egypt, Uruguay and Iran also favored to advance, according to the current odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Since we haven’t seen these teams play yet, it’s helpful to know which teams are the big dogs and which teams are the underdogs coming into their tournament debuts this Monday. Both sides of most matchups, though, can offer solid fantasy soccer options, so let’s dive in and pick out some top studs and values for your World Cup DFS lineups on DraftKings. This article was written before starting lineups were announced, so be sure to check back before kickoff and adjust accordingly if needed.

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Forward

Stud

Mikel Oyarzabal, Spain, $11,000 — Spain is the heaviest favorite on the board on Monday and brings the most star power as they go up against Cape Verde. Oyarzabal and Lamine Yamal ($10,800) are both working their way back from injuries but have enough offensive ability to make Spain one of the top favorites to hoist the Cup. Both of Spain’s forwards have battled injuries leading up to the event, but Oyarzabal seems to be a little further along in his recovery. He started the team’s last friendly against Peru while Yamal sat out, and he scored a goal just two minutes into the match.

The 29-year-old Oyarzabal is the Captain of Real Sociedad in La Liga and has 15 goals and four assists in his 34 games this season. When playing for La Roja, his historic production has also been impressive. In Euro 2024, he came off the bench for Spain and delivered the game-winning goal against England. He has 13 goals in his 14 starts for Spain since then, and will likely be the focus of the offense early as Spain looks to avoid a slip-up. Even if Yamal starts, his minutes could be closely monitored, so Oyarzabal is the best pay-up play up top on Monday.

Value

Federico Viñas, Uruguay, $6,200 — Uruguay is actually the second-heaviest favorite in Monday’s matches as they take on Saudi Arabia in Miami at 6:00 p.m. ET. Viñas is expected to work alongside Darwin Nunez ($7,300) in the attack and should bring good value at his salary, just over $6,000.

The 27-year-old Viñas will be making his first World Cup appearance after scoring once during qualification last September against Peru. He is coming off a strong campaign in La Liga, where he had nine goals and one assist in 33 appearances for Real Oviedo. Viñas can offer nice goalscoring potential and heavy involvement in a good offense while also saving significant salary. Don’t sleep on New Zealand’s Chris Wood ($5,600) as a cheap alternative as well.

Midfielder

Stud

Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium, $9,000 — While they’re not quite as heavily favored as Spain, Belgium is another great squad with tournament aspirations that we’ll get our first look at on Monday. They’ll take on Egypt in a solid matchup at 3:00 p.m. ET at Lumen Field in Seattle. De Bruyne isn’t typically a first-choice for scoring, but he produces plenty of fantasy points as the key creator in the Red Devils’ offense from his spot in the midfield. Especially if Spain spreads their scoring around in a blowout win, De Bruyne could end up being the best pay-up centerpiece to build around.

De Bruyne will likely take all the corners and set pieces, making him a solid option as the team’s primary creator. With so many points available for accurate passes, crosses and assists in the DraftKings scoring system, De Bruyne has both a very high floor and a very high ceiling. He has looked very strong for Napoli so far in this year’s Serie A season, connecting on five goals and two assists while also generating 36 key passes and delivering 58 crosses, including 39 corners, in 18 games. His creativity and high usage make him a great fantasy piece for Monday’s contests.

Value

Saman Ghoddos, Iran, $4,800 — Iran takes on New Zealand in the last match of the day, and Ghoddos is expected to get the start and be involved in what could be a high-scoring offense. Haiti dispatched New Zealand, 4-0, last week, so Iran could find some opportunities to score in the late game.

Ghoddos played for Brentford in the EPL for three seasons from 2021 through 2024 and has played the last two seasons in the UAE Pro League for Kalba. He has totaled nine goals in 43 games for Kalba in that league and should be involved as one of Iran’s attacking midfielders just behind Mehdi Taremi ($10,000), who is the primary focus of the Iranian offense.

Defender

Stud

Pedro Porro, Spain, $6,200 — When picking defenders, be sure to target options who press forward and get involved on offense whenever possible. Porro definitely fits that description for the powerhouse Spanish squad, and he was reliably involved for his club team at Tottenham Hotspur throughout the EPL season. Porro had one goal, two assists, 53 chances created and 237 crosses in 34 appearances. He just signed a new deal with the Spurs and will look to further establish himself as a key two-way threat for Spain with a strong opener against Cape Verde. He’s a pay-up play at the back, but he makes sense if Spain keeps a clean sheet and he presses forward and finds ways to get involved on offense, as he did down the stretch for Tottenham, who was battling to stay in the top tier of English soccer.

Value

Pau Cubarsi, Spain, $3,700 — When looking for a cheap defender, targeting spots where a clean sheet is likely makes a lot of sense. Spain is such a heavy favorite that if Cubarsi starts, he has a great chance to return bargain value. He is expected to work in the middle alongside Aymeric Laporte ($4,800).

The 19-year-old is expected to be a bedrock of multiple World Cup squads for Spain after starring for Barcelona as part of a La Liga title-winning squad. He only had one goal in the season but is excellent in the air and very solid and mature when involved on offense. Even though he doesn’t press forward too often, with a big overall advantage in the matchup, he has a good shot at a clean sheet and a chance to be in the mix pressing forward.

Belgium’s Nathan Ngoy ($2,800) is another option that could work if you ned to go even cheaper.

Goalkeeper

Stud

Thibaut Courtois, Belgium, $5,300 — Courtois is the top stud keeper to consider for Monday. Courtois saves a little salary and will likely get plenty of saves against a difficult Egyptian squad. If he keeps a clean sheet and gets the win, Courtois will be a great value.

Courtois and the Belgian defense should be up to the challenge, though, and the 34-year-old is coming off a strong club season with 123 saves, 17 clean sheets and 39 goals conceded across 43 appearances in all competitions for Real Madrid. He won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper in the 2018 World Cup while helping Belgium finish third, and he’ll be back on the biggest stage looking to start another big run with his matchup against Egypt on Monday afternoon.

Value

Max Crocombe, New Zealand, $4,300 — Playing the big names who are heavily favored is the conventionally “smart” strategy. However, if you want to take a big swing for the fences for a GPP lineup and want a boom-or-bust play that will likely have much lower ownership while still offering upside, taking Max Crocombe is a flier worth considering. Crocombe and his All Whites will be facing Iran at 9:00 p.m. ET in the final game of the day. The match will take place at SoFi Stadium with plenty of off-field drama surrounding the Iran contingent. Crocombe’s New Zealand squad is the underdog as it makes its first World Cup appearance since 2010, when it posted three draws against Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay but failed to advance out of Group Play.

Crocombe helped his squad through qualifying and has 24 international appearances. He plays in the English Championship League (second tier) for Millwall, where he made 25 appearances over the last season and helped his team make the playoffs but not quite qualify for promotion to the EPL. In 2024, he earned the Golden Glove award at the 2024 OFC Men’s Nations Cup, after not allowing a goal the entire tournament. This will be a step up in competition for Crocombe, and he’ll likely be very busy racking up saves. His workload will give him a high ceiling and could make him an extreme value if he can help his team pull off an upset.