AFTN’s World Cup Draft: TSS Rovers edition

We’re excited. Not only have Canada, Mexico, and the United States been awarded the 2026 World Cup, but the 2018 one kicks off in Russia tomorrow. This will be a week to remember.

We thought we’d add a little bit of spice to this year’s tournament here on the site, and fire up some internal battles, by running two World Cup drafts – one between AFTN’s two podcast teams and one between the TSS Rovers roster.

And we kick things off with the TSS one.

The Rovers roster was split into eight teams of two to three players (based on who was at training the day we headed along). Each team picked a card to determine a picking order and then proceeded to select their four teams. The picks went from Team 1 to 8 in the first round, then Team 8 to 1 in the second, and then back around again for rounds three and four.

Here’s how the draft played out:

TEAM 1: DANIEL DAVIDSON, ERIK EDWARDSON

FRANCE
POLAND
MEXICO
TUNISIA

TEAM 2: MARIO GERGES, WILLIAM RAPHAEL, DANYLO SMYCHENKO

BRAZIL
EGYPT
DENMARK
IRAN

TEAM 3: THOMAS GARDNER, MARCELLO POLISI, MATTEO POLISI

GERMANY
RUSSIA
SERBIA
SAUDI ARABIA

TEAM 4: PATRICK METCALFE, RILEY PANG, BRENDAN SKINNER

SPAIN
COSTA RICA
SENEGAL
PANAMA

TEAM 5: CHRIS GUERRERO, CONNOR GUILHERME, JANKO VONG

BELGIUM
JAPAN
SWITZERLAND
AUSTRALIA

TEAM 6: ERIC DE GRAAF, DANIEL SAGNO

ARGENTINA
CROATIA
PERU
MOROCCO

TEAM 7: CONNOR GLENNON, ALEJANDRO VARELA, ZACH VERHOVEN

ENGLAND
COLOMBIA
ICELAND
SWEDEN

TEAM 8: NIKE AZUMA, AIDAN MOORE, RAHID RAHIEM

PORTUGAL
URUGUAY
NIGERIA
KOREA

SCORING:

In the group stages, teams get three points for a win and one for a draw. Group winners will get a bonus of five points.

In the Round of 16, teams get five points for a win in 90 minutes, four for a win in extra time, and three for a win on penalties. One point will go to teams losing in extra time or penalties in that round.

In the quarter-finals, teams get six points for a win in 90 minutes, five for a win in extra time, and four for a win on penalties. Two points will go to quarter-finalists who lose in extra time or on penalties.

In the semi-finals and the 3rd/4th place match, teams get eight points for a win in 90 minutes, seven for a win in extra time, and six for a win on penalties. Any team losing in extra time or penalties will score three points.

The team that wins the whole World Cup will score 10 points for their win in the final. The runners-up will score five points.

So after all that, which team of players are you backing to win our tournament? Let us know!

You can watch how the draft played out below (and HERE). Good to see the lads competitive in all aspects, including this!