There are four good teams facing off Saturday morning in what is probably the most evenly-matched DFS soccer slate of the 2023 Women’s World Cup thus far. Even so, I find myself drawn to England. I felt confident they would return to a 4-3-3 formation against Nigeria after messing around with a 3-4-1-2 against China. I was wrong, but now I am even more certain that was a mistake and England needs to return to a 4-3-3. It is probably even more urgent now that their best attacker, Lauren James, is out for the next two games. With James out and a formation change possible, England looks like the most fertile ground for fantasy value. I think Australia and France are more or less evenly matched, and while the betting markets don’t agree, Australia isn’t nearly as big an underdog as Colombia. If you believe in France more than I do you can certainly load up on them for World Cup DFS lineups, but I actually thought a few of Australia’s players were underpriced. The potential problem with that, however, is Sam Kerr’s return. She played just 10 minutes after the Denmark game was essentially over but she will almost certainly play more Saturday. My best guess is she comes off the bench for Hayley Raso again but if I am wrong, that could throw a wrench in our plans. Let's now look at the top World Cup DFS soccer picks on DraftKings and FanDuel for Saturday morning's upcoming matches on August 12th.
2023 Women's World Cup DFS Soccer Picks August 12
Goalkeepers
Player
Team
Opp.
DK $
DK FPPG
FD $
FD FPPG
Mackenzie Arnold
AUS
FRA
4400
11.42
9
14.88
I don't want to overrate Australia's homefield advantage, but it does count for something. I know France has played much better since opening the tournament with a scoreless draw to Jamaica but I still don't entirely trust France to score. I think this game is essentially even, so I was probably always going to play whichever keeper was cheaper.
Mary Earps
ENG
COL
5700
11.44
14
14.88
I think England is probably going to play better than they did against Nigeria, and Columbia's Cinderella run is probably over, but I don't feel great about it.
Forwards
Player
Team
Opp.
DK $
DK FPPG
FD $
FD FPPG
Chloe Kelly
ENG
COL
7200
12.42
19
19.38
Unless Rachel Daly moves from left back to start up front, Kelly is the only top-tier England attacker I want. I am not super confident she will start but if that is the case, I will probably just load up on mid-priced attackers.
Caitlin Foord
AUS
FRA
7400
12.18
15
16.35
It is a bit worrisome that she did so little against Denmark outside of scoring the goal. That being said, the goal counts, and she had five crosses, three chances created, two assists and eight shots in the last two group stage games. There is some downside, but Foord is pretty clearly the best fantasy play in this Australia attack.
Catalina Usme
COL
ENG
6600
15.36
16
24.15
I don't want to overreact to the last thing I saw but I don't really know why Usme costs less than Linda Caicedo on DraftKings. They both have two goals, but Usme's game is far more versatile. Caicedo is on penalties, so perhaps that tips the scales in her favor, but I'll take the safer player with nearly the same upside.
Kadidiatou Diani
FRA
AUS
9400
23.88
22
37.63
As always, I will pivot to Eugenie Le Sommer if I have to, but I think Diani is safer. She has seven goal involvements in her last three games
Midfielders
Player
Team
Opp.
DK $
DK FPPG
FD $
FD FPPG
Georgia Stanway
ENG
COL
6000
9.96
17
19.30
Stanway was probably England's best player against Nigeria, and she could have had an even bigger day as she was set to take the penalty kick which was overturned by VAR. Stanway missed in the shootout but I would expect she'll still be first choice if England is awarded a penalty in this game.
Kyra Cooney-Cross
AUS
FRA
5100
8.99
12
14.05
My only concern with Cooney-Cross is what if she is the player who is subbed off for Sam Kerr this time. She is cheap enough that I'm not going to worry about that too much, but it is a concern.
Ella Toone
ENG
COL
6600
2.73
10
5.73
I might pivot to Lauren Hemp on DraftKings but Toone is my favorite value play on FanDuel after she created three chances in two games during the group stage.
Leicy Santos
COL
ENG
4600
10.8
13
17.77
Santos has been nearly as good as Catalina Usme; the only thing missing is finishing. If you think England keeps the score down or you cannot afford Usme, Santos is a solid value on both sites.
Defenders
Player
Team
Opp.
DK $
DK FPPG
FD $
FD FPPG
Lucy Bronze
ENG
COL
5300
10.24
14
19.77
Bronze was much better when England played a 4-3-3, and after they were outplayed for most of the Nigeria game, I would be shocked if they don't start in a 4-3-3 in this game. It also doesn't hurt that Bronze is $1,400 cheaper on DraftKings than last game.
Steph Catley
AUS
FRA
5500
15.41
15
29.23
Catley has sent just three crosses in each of the last two games, and I'm probably not expecting much more than that in what should be her toughest matchup of the tournament. That being said, she is still on corners and I don't think I want to mess around with any of the cheaper defenders.
Selma Bacha
FRA
AUS
6200
18.39
18
21.93
Bacha has at least 14.4 DK fantasy points in all three games, and there is a reason she costs so much on FanDuel. This may be the toughest matchup she has faced, but that might actually lead to more crosses because France won't be able to just do whatever they want offensively.
