The 2026 World Cup continues, which means it’s time to lock in our Round 2 squads. With fixtures, Scouting Bonus ownership, chip strategy and expected line-ups all playing a major role, there are plenty of different ways to approach the second round.
In this article, serial UCL Fantasy top 1k finisher Louis (aka FPLReaction) breaks down his current squad, the players he’s targeting, his planned chip strategy and some of the key decisions he has to make ahead of the deadline.
ROUND 1 REVIEW
Round 1 was extremely underwhelming for me. I picked up 79 points, and most of my 50/50 decisions before the tournament went the wrong way.
For example, I chose not to use the 12th Man chip on Erling Haaland ($10.5m). That would have allowed me to keep and captain Lionel Messi ($10.0m). I also picked James Rodríguez ($6.5m) over his teammate Luis Díaz ($8.1m). In goal, I went with Camilo Vargas ($4.3m) over Angus Gunn ($3.6m), which also left me with a double Colombian defence. Then there was Marcel Sabitzer ($6.8m), who produced a poor performance.
Even my budget defenders failed to deliver. Joel Ordóñez ($3.9m), Julian Ryerson ($4.2m) and Nico Elvedi ($4.3m) all blanked. My midfield picks did not offer much either. The best I got from them was a couple of assists.
In fact, forwards dominated Round 1, and I think that trend could continue. Maybe holding onto the 12th Man chip in the opening round was not a disaster after all. It was probably a good thing I avoided the Maximum Captain booster too, as my biggest score came from Erling Haaland, who I captained anyway.
Most of my decisions held me back this week. Even so, I’m confident I can bounce back in the next round.
CHIP STRATEGY UPDATE
I came very close to using a chip in Round 1. In hindsight, I do regret not keeping Lionel Messi ($10.0m) and activating the 12th Man chip. However, we still don’t know if using the booster in Round 2 will prove to be the better decision.
As things stand, I still plan to activate the 12th Man chip this round. Beyond that, I’m happy with my strategy of using the Wildcard in Round 3. That should help me deal with rotation, target a few differentials and refresh my squad before the knockout rounds. I also expect to save my remaining boosters until after the group stage.
At this stage, I don’t really see that plan changing. I had plenty of doubts before the tournament started. After the opening round, though, I feel much more comfortable with my overall chip strategy.
TEAM REVEAL