FanDuel Women's World Cup Single-Game Helper: United States vs. France

The World Cup is here, and FanDuel is offering daily fantasy contests. FanDuel has altered its soccer format for the Women's World Cup for the multi-match offerings, and it's important to know how those changes impact things. The single-match slates, however, are the same format as usual.

This primer covers the single-game slate for the US-France matchup, which starts at 3 p.m. EST on Friday.

Per FanDuel Sportsbook, this should be a really tight affair. The US is favored but just slightly, with a line of +130 to win in regulation, which implies odds of just 43.5%. France, meanwhile, is at +210, which comes out to implied win odds of 32.3%. These might be the two best teams in the world, and the betting lines reflect that.

Let's take a look at some players to target at various price points for this single-game slate.

Forwards/Midfielders

Megan Rapinoe, United States ($14)

This should be one heck of a match, and with it being such an even clash, you can go any number of ways with your lineup. Rapinoe has to be considered after she bagged two penalties in the last match. Alex Morgan scored a penalty earlier in the tourney, so it's not a lock Rapinoe will keep taking them for the Americans. But after she scored from the spot twice to push the US past Spain, odds are she'll be over the ball if the Americans get a pen in this one. That's a huge boost to her DFS outlook.

Admittedly, Rapinoe didn't play all that well against Spain despite the 48.6-FanDuel-point effort -- which goes to show how important the role of penalty taker is for DFS -- and she hasn't been at her best in this tourney outside of the 13-0 laugher against Thailand. Rapinoe usually delivers on the big stage, though, and this is as big as the stage gets.

Valérie Gauvin, France ($12)

While three of the five most likely scorelines, per FanDuel Sportsbook, involve France scoring a goal, it's important to note that the line for both teams to score is just -128, which works out to implied odds of 56.1%, so oddsmakers aren't expected this to be a high-scoring fixture. The four most likely scores for the end of regulation, according to oddsmakers, involve just one or two goals, with a 1-1 score at -500, the shortest odds.

Eugénie Le Sommer ($14) is certainly in play for France and likely has a higher floor due to her defensive work, but let's take a look at Gauvin. The $2 drop in salary will come in handy for those building a more balance lineup, and Gauvin is a great way to get exposure to France's attack. She's netted a pair of goals in the tourney and has taken six shots, five of which came against Norway. She started up top with Kadi Diani against Brazil, and while she's got a scary floor, Gauvin has a great chance to be involved with a France goal.

Alex Morgan, United States ($15)

Morgan makes for a possibly contrarian captain pick in this one. After her 31 goals against Thailand -- OK, it was just five -- it would've been hard to imagine a scenario where she would be anything but very popular in DFS for the rest of the tourney. That people might be a little scared of rostering her for this one speaks to how poorly things have gone for Morgan since the opener.

Morgan scored a cool 137.0 FanDuel points against Thailand and has put up 5.2 and 0.0 FanDuel points in her last two matches, being removed at the half with a knock in the goose-egg outing. The downturn in form and the possibility she's not fully healthy -- in addition to the slate-high salary -- may push people off of her. Oh, and as we just mentioned, she may not be on penalties, either.

All of that is decidedly not good. But what is good is the chance to get an immensely talented player on a favorite (albeit a small favorite) at potentially reduced ownership. Per FanDuel Sportsbook, Morgan (+400) has the best odds to score the match's first goal.

Rose Lavelle, United States ($11)

If you wanted to say Lavelle has been the best US player so far, you wouldn't get an argument from me. She's been everywhere in midfield, and her stellar real-world play has paid dividends in DFS as she's got 48.9, 17.9 and 8.2 FanDuel points in her three games. The 8.2-point outing came against Spain in the last match, but that may have been her best real-life performance of the tourney. Of course, recycling possession, making great runs and good positioning don't count for anything in DFS, but Lavelle has created four chances since the Thailand match and should be asked to do more defensively against France than she has in any match so far this tourney, lifting her floor.

Kadi Diani, France ($9)

Diani was magical against Brazil, and her versatility helps ensure she'll stay on the pitch no matter what happens. In the win over Brazil, Diani spent time up top in a two-striker formation, and she also pushed out wide to her preferred wing spot on the right. She notched an assist in that one and finished with 18.9 FanDuel points. Admittedly, too often this tourney Diani's exciting runs have failed to amount to anything tangible in DFS as the Brazil game was her first with double-digit FanDuel points. But her pace and creative chops will be very handy against the US, especially if France sit back and play on the counter, and she'll have a chance to expose Crystal Dunn, the attack-minded US left-back, if she can get Dunn one-on-one in space.

Tobin Heath, United States ($8)

Heath has picked up her play as the tourney has gone on, but that hasn't been reflected in DFS, though she could've easily been awarded a goal against Sweden on the tally that wound up going down as an own goal. She's got five chances created in three outings, but she's coming off a gross 0.0-FanDuel-point day versus Spain, a match in which she played all 90 minutes.

Heath is a skilled attacker who starts for a favorite, and she's cheap. Her salary helps you fit in the other attackers you want, and Heath is even worth considering as a captain pick. Coming in to the World Cup, she had scored a goal in seven of her last 10 matches across all competitions with the national team and the Portland Thorns. You have to think she'll make the net bulge at some point in this tourney.

Defender

Amel Majri, France ($11)

Majri has been stellar in this World Cup. Across four matches, she's been credited with a whopping 16 chances created, and she has an assist in three matches. While she probably won't be bombing forward with quite as much freedom as usual in this one, she's going to be a threat when France sustains attacks. The clean-sheet bonus is unlikely, but in the two matches in which France has allowed a goal, she's been able to produce 19.5 and 34.5 FanDuel points anyway.

Abby Dahlkemper ($6) and Becky Sauerbrunn, United States ($5)

Dahlkemper and Sauerbrunn were the starting center-back tandem against Spain. In DFS, these two have been living on the clean-sheet bonus as the dominance of the Americans in possession has meant neither player has been forced into too much defensive work. Things should be different against France, though, as the French have the ability to cause trouble for the US. That makes either of these two cheap, decent-floor options in this match, and the clean-sheet odds aren't as low as you might think given that, per FanDuel Sportsbook, two of the four most likely scores are shutouts for the US.