World Cup Fantasy Football tips and advice: Sky Sports International semi-final selections, picks and captains

The final four of Argentina, Croatia, France and Morocco highlight just what this tournament has been like - and the potential chaos it has created for fantasy football players.

We were confident of Portugal's chances going into the quarter-final, but they were the latest to be knocked out by huge outsiders Morocco - the North African side would never have expected a spot in the semi-final pre-tournament.

France are the bookmakers favourite to lift the trophy again, with Argentina fancied to meet them in the final.

While we have seen multiple upsets across the past few weeks, it's worth keeping this in mind when it comes to selections.

Want to play Fantasy Football throughout the World Cup?

1. Create an account here
2. Go to https://fantasyfootball.skysports.com/

Who are the best players for the semi-finals?

As discussed last week, it's always worth remembering the best way to maximise transfers available.

With three available each round, it's best to use current round transfers to move out players whose teams have been eliminated ahead of the next set of games taking place.

For this week, depending on the make-up of your squad, remember that you can move Argentina or Croatia players out after their game, targeting players who will be involved in the final while also keeping the points scored.

With just four teams left to pick from, who should we be bringing in for the semi-finals?

Antoine Griezmann

• Position: STR
• Nation: France
• Fixture: Morocco
• Price: £9.3m

A slightly tricky one this given the performances of Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe, but Antoine Griezmann could be a solid differential option over France's potential next two games.

The attacking midfielder - listed as a striker on the game - returned seven points against England with the assist secured on Giroud's winner.

He's a key figure for Les Bleus, and Morocco's likely approach of allowing France to have the majority of possession may see him hit pass tier bonuses here.

Griezmann is also averaging 3.4 key passes per game, meaning further assists could come in the latter stages of the tournament.

Theo Hernandez

• Position: DEF
• Nation: France
• Fixture: Morocco
• Price: £9.2m

Another France player, and one who again could prove to be a good differential as he sits in 6.62% of teams at the time of writing.

The left-back - who replaced Lucas Hernandez following his early injury at the tournament - posted assists in the wins over Australia and Denmark.

There could have been more, with an average of 2.8 key passes per game, while there is potential for pass tier bonuses here.

Hernandez has also posted at least two tackles in each of his three starts, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see a couple of extra points secured in this category.

Rodrigo De Paul

• Position: MID
• Nation: Argentina
• Fixture: Croatia
• Price: £7.9m

The fairytale story for Lionel Messi and Argentina is still on, with the performances of Rodrigo De Paul now making him a solid candidate as options shorten at this stage of the tournament.

The midfielder hit passing bonus tiers in three of his five games at the World Cup, with five points returned in contests against Australia and Poland.

He was well on his way to more before being substituted in the 66th minute against the Netherlands - he was on 41 accurate passes at this stage.

Possession was shared evenly in Croatia's win over Brazil, meaning Argentina should get plenty of opportunities to move the ball around.

Nicolas Otamendi

• Position: MID
• Nation: Argentina
• Fixture: Croatia
• Price: £8.9m

One of the more popular selections considering he's in 20.04% of teams, but Argentina's defensive showings give hope to further points for Nicolas Otamendi.

La Albiceleste have conceded just 1.91 xG in their five games at the World Cup, and they will be hoping for a clean sheet alongside victory against Croatia.

On top of that, Otamendi has been a regular in the pass tier bonuses, hitting tier 2 in all five of his outings.

At £8.9m, the defender is a solid budget selection who can also deliver points.

What are the best captains for the semi-finals?

As was the case in the quarter-finals, we have just two days of action to worry about for captaincy choices.

By this stage, you should almost certainly have options available, with the favourites now on separate sides of the bracket.

It's also a case of the state of leagues, whether to go with the big hitters or trying to find alternative to provide points that others won't have.

Those at the top will opt to go for popular names, while others need to look around slightly to find the differentials.

Based on the two days, who are the main figures to look at?

Tuesday:

• Lionel Messi, Nicolas Otamendi, Enzo Fernandez

Wednesday:

• Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, Aurelien Tchouameni

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