FanDuel World Cup Semifinal Single-Game Helper: France vs. Morocco (12/14/22)

The last semifinal takes place at 2:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday as France and Morocco do battle.

FanDuel is offering single-game contests for the matchup. In single-game contests, the scoring settings are the same as FanDuel's normal soccer offerings, but roster requirements are different. You have $50 to work with, and you need to roster four forwards/midfielders -- one in a captain slot, where the player's points are multiplied by 1.5 -- along with a defender. Goalies are not part of the player pool.

All World Cup odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and FoxBet, and they may change after the article is published.

Quick Match Overview

France are an overwhelming favorite, priced at -460 to advance and -195 on the moneyline. As such, the majority of lineups will have three or four French players in them and will likely feature a French player at captain.

Morocco, though, are getting used to pulling upsets. They have conceded only once all tourney and upset Spain and Portugal in back-to-back matches to get here -- after surviving a group with Croatia and Belgium in it.

The match is +124 to go over 2.5 goals.

Our model projects an onslaught for France, forecasting them to win 2.15-0.59.

Captain Choices

Kylian Mbappe ($16), France

As was the case with Lionel Messi in the first semifinal, we will have a chalk captain in this one, and it'll be Mbappe. But this situation is much different -- Mbappe doesn't offer anywhere near the same creative floor that Messi did, and he has a few other top-shelf, high-upside teammates we can turn to, which Messi did not.

Mbappe is +130 to score and -140 to score or assist. Those are slate-best marks by a good margin. He's topped 36.0 FanDuel points in three of his four starts but mustered just 3.0 points last time out against England. Mbappe is definitely the best on-paper captain pick, but given how chalky he'll be in addition to having a few other appealing options on this slate, I'm inclined to fade the superstar at captain.

Olivier Giroud ($12), France

Not that long ago, I assumed Giroud would barely play in this tourney, but when Karim Benzema got injured, Giroud was back in the number-nine role. He hasn't disappointed, bagging four goals in the World Cup, including one apiece in each of the past two matches.

Giroud is +190 to score and -105 to score/assist. Those marks both rate second-best in the match and aren't that far from Mbappe's clips. Giroud figures to see a fraction of the captain draft percentage that Mbappe does, making him a sweet pivot.

Antoine Griezmann ($13), France

Griezmann is playing as well as I've seen him play, thriving in a deeper role. He's got three assists in the tourney and has created 15 chances across his four starts. Griezmann is also the main corner taker for France. He's a perfect stacking partner alongside any of France's attackers. He is priced at +270 to score and +100 to score/assist.

Youssef En-Nesyri ($9), Morocco

Using a Morocco attacker at captain is a surefire way to deviate from the masses. They clearly have less firepower than the French do, but Morocco generated a combined 2.9 expected goals, per FBRef, in their two matches against Belgium and Portugal. It's not like they're a wasteland going forward.

En-Nesyri is the starting striker for Morocco. He's got two goals in the World Cup and produced 29.5 FanDuel points last round. His +500 anytime goal odds are tops on Morocco, and his +300 goal/assist odds are tied for the team lead.

Forwards/Midfielders

Ousmane Dembele ($9), France

Factoring in his salary, Ousmane Dembele is my favorite play on the slate. He's looked pretty good in the World Cup, and of France's two wingers -- he and Mbappe -- Dembele has the easier matchup as Mbappe must go up against Achraf Hakimi.

Dembele has created at least two chances in each match he's started, and his crossing prowess makes him a sweet stacking partner with Mbappe, Giroud or Griezmann -- especially Giroud.

Hakim Ziyech ($11), Morocco

Ziyech is one of the key creative forces for Morocco. He's created at least two chances in three separate matches in the tourney, and he's totaled one goal and one assist. In spite of barely seeing the field this fall for Chelsea, Ziyech has not looked rusty. He's also taken all of Morocco's corners, which adds to his value, but they've had just three all World Cup. Ziyech is +300 to score/assist, which is tied for a team-best mark.

Sofyan Amrabat ($7), Morocco

Amrabat could be really busy in midfield if this turns into a match where Morocco don't get much of the ball. He's averaging just 8.1 FanDuel points per match, most of which have come via defensive actions, and he should be able to push for double-digit FanDuel points in this one as France figure to dominate possession. There's almost no upside with Amrabat, but he's a salary saver with a respectable floor. That makes him worth a look on a single-game slate.

Defenders

Jawad El Yamiq ($8) and Achraf Dari ($6), Morocco

There's a good chance Dari is thrust into a starting role for Morocco due to injuries. If he's in there, I'll have him in a lot of lineups. Dari came on as a sub in the 57th minute last game and finished with 6.5 FanDuel points -- three clearances, one tackle and one block. Morocco were under siege by Portugal for most of Dari's time on the pitch in that one, and we should see a similar situation against France. That makes Dari a safe bet for decent production at a low salary.

If you have a little extra coin, fellow Morocco center-back El Yamiq is a stellar play, too. Yamiq started and played all 90 minutes versus Portugal, amassing 24.5 FanDuel points -- all from defensive actions. He could produce a similar output on Wednesday. But on a slate where I want to jam in the top French attackers, I might not have the salary for him.

Theo Hernandez ($10), France

Hernandez offers the most attacking upside at defender as he's better going forward than Jules Kounde ($5), who has been France's other starting full-back. Hernandez is averaging 19.2 FanDuel points per game in the tournament, and he's +210 to score/assist, a position-best clip by a good distance. He's got two assists thus far.

If Morocco sit deep, Hernandez might pile up crosses. I'm going to prioritize France's forwards/midfielders over him, so I probably won't have the salary for Hernandez in many builds. He's a quality option, though.