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It's not long before all the planning has to stop and our FIFA Club World Cup Fantasy 2025 teams have to be finalised.
The big kick-off is looming large, with watchlists getting whittled down day by day.
We've been doing that ourselves as we previewed all 32 nations (the last few of those will be out very soon), sorting the Fantasy wheat from the chaff.
Now, it's time to pin some picks down by position.
We start with the goalkeepers, where we aim to include shot-stoppers from across the pricing spectrum.
First, a reminder of how 'keepers score points in Club World Cup Fantasy. Action Points Clean Sheet (must have played 60+ minutes) +5 First goal conceded 0 Each additional goal conceded -1 Goal Scored +9 Penalty save (not including shootouts) +3 Every 3 Saves +1 Scouting Bonus: If your player scored 5+ points and is owned by fewer than 5% +2 Fixtures: Urawa (June 17), Monterrey (June 22), Inter Milan (June 26)
Let's start with a bit of wayward FIFA pricing.
When you consider that the goalkeeper of part-time New Zealand outfit Auckland City is $4.6m, being able to snap up Armani for even less than that seems like a huge oversight.
Armani has, unsurprisingly, found his way into over 15% of Fantasy squads at the time of writing. That figure probably rising further by Sunday's deadline.
It's not just price that the budget custodian has on his side but fixtures, too.
River Plate don't face group favourites Inter till Matchday 3, so Armani is a lock for Matchdays 1 and 2. For those on a Matchday 3 Wildcard, he's then dispensable for the final round.
The Argentine giants kept clean sheets in nine of their 16 league games in 2025, conceding on just nine occasions. Fixtures: Al Ain (June 19), Wydad (June 22), Man City (June 26)
It may have been another disappointing season overall for Juventus – fourth in Serie A, out of the Champions League in the knockout round play-offs – but defensively, the numbers haven't been too bad.
In Serie A, their record of 35 goals conceded was bettered only by champions Napoli (27). A tally of 17 clean sheets in 38 matches was impressive, too.
Even in the Champions League, where they floundered in the group stage, they shut out Aston Villa, Manchester City and Club Brugge in quick succession.
It's not a vintage Juve side, nor do they boast a rock-solid backline.
But it still ought to be enough for a clean sheet or two in Matchdays 1-2, when Al Ain and Wydad provide the opposition.
Di Gregorio's understudy Mattia Perin ($4.9m) is out after undergoing surgery last month, while you can't imagine rusty long-time third-choice Carlo Pinsoglio ($4.0m) or rookies Giovanni Daffara ($4.0m) and Giovanni Garofani will get a look-in. Fixtures: Auckland (June 15), Boca (June 21), Benfica (June 24)
Premium goalkeepers, like they are in FPL, will be harder sells in Club World Cup Fantasy. That goes especially so for those with an ownership of over 5%, as all of the (fit) $5.5m-and-up options have, as there is no Scouting Bonus to be had.
Thibaut Courtois ($6.0m) is hard to justify at that price, particularly as opening opponents Al-Hilal are capable of grabbing a goal via the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic ($7.5m) and Salem Al-Dawsari ($5.6m). Gianluigi Donnarumma ($5.7m) and Jan Oblak ($5.5m) face each other in a tricky Matchday 1 fixture for both of their sides, while you're never quite sure when Pep Guardiola is going to start Stefan Ortega ($5.1m) over Ederson ($5.6m) when it comes to cups. Alexander Schlager ($5.5m) is currently battling to be fit, meanwhile.
Perhaps we're naive to think other clubs on the continent won't play their back-up goalkeepers on occasion but the early predictions are that Neuer is between the posts for what is surely the greatest clean sheet opportunity of all in Matchday 1, against Auckland City. Retired from international duty, he also hasn't had a late arrival to the States like some of his teammates have.
Bayern boasted the best defensive record in the Bundesliga in 2024/25, with Auckland a few rungs down from even the weakest team that Vincent Kompany's troops would have faced in the German top flight.
Neuer is our premium pick, then, but there are cheaper routes into the German champions' backline. Fixtures: Boca (June 16), Auckland (June 20), Bayern (June 24)
Selected by just 1.8% of Fantasy managers, Trubin is currently eligible for Scouting Bonus. Not many desirable goalkeepers can say that, with 11 other shot-stoppers currently above the 5% threshold.
Trubin isn't a Hail Mary punt, either. Benfica have favourable(ish) fixtures to start the Club World Cup, following in Bayern's footsteps by facing Auckland in Matchday 2.
Before that is a meeting with Boca Juniors. While the Argentine club are a famous name, this is not a vintage Boca team – they have not won a trophy since 2022 and have just changed their manager after another disappointing campaign.
Benfica conceded a miserly 28 goals in their domestic campaign, meanwhile, missing out on the title only on the final day.
They've also proven they can cut the mustard against the top teams, beating Atletico Madrid and Juventus – amongst others – in the Champions League this season and running Barcelona close in a nine-goal thriller. Fixtures: Monterrey (June 18), Urawa (June 21), River Plate (June 26)
Speaking of Europe's premier club competition, who knows what frame of mind Inter will be in after missing out both Serie A and the Champions League at the final hurdle. They're also under new stewardship after the departure of Simone Inzaghi.
But at least they have two favourable fixtures to being their Club World Cup campaign.
A remarkable Champions League group stage campaign had seen them keep seven clean sheets in eight matches, before things opened up at the back in the knockout rounds. Again, though, Monterrey and Urawa Red Diamonds are probably not even of the standard of Monaco, Sparta Prague and Red Star Belgrade, who Inter shut out earlier in 2024/25.
Matchday 2 sees a favourable fixture shift for the likes of Oblak, Donnarumma and Porto's Diogo Costa ($5.6m), so they are names to consider from that point onwards, especially if you're Wildcarding then – and if money's no object, of course.
Keep an eye on team news from RB Salzburg, meanwhile. With Schlager's fitness uncertain and loanee Janis Blaswich not in the Club World Cup squad, we could have a super-cheap goalie facing Pachuca and Al-Hilal in Matchdays 1 and 2.
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