We know that choosing your World Cup fantasy football team can be a stressful task.
When you're working to a budget it can be difficult to pack the best players into the team and often it will be a case of making sacrifices in one area to strengthen another.
However, for World Cup fantasy football, one area of the pitch it's generally not worth skimping on is the goalkeeper.
With World Cup fantasy football games set to begin, Goal is here to help you choose the best custodian for your team.
Best World Cup fantasy football goalkeepers
When considering which goalkeeper to choose for your fantasy football team you will have to take a number of key factors into consideration, such as the following:
Clean sheets
Shot-stopping
Penalty-saving
A goalkeeper's ability to keep clean sheets not only relies upon their skills at preventing the ball from going into the net, but also their defence's ability to reduce other teams' threat to a minimum. So, a goalkeeper who may not necessarily be considered special may achieve plenty of points based on his team's overall defensive performance. Likewise, a brilliant goalkeeper who plays in a relatively weaker team may end up conceding a high number of goals.
Making crucial saves and interventions is also rewarded in fantasy football and the better the goalkeeper, the more likely they are to accumulate points. It is worth noting that a goalkeeper who faces more pressure and shots to block (one from a weaker team, for example) can potentially gather more points than those in traditionally stronger teams.
In a tournament scenario with a knock-out element involved there is a chance that games will go to penalties and it goes without saying that denying a spot-kick is worth plenty of points in fantasy football. If a certain goalkeeper has a knack for saving penalties, it might be a good idea to include them in your team.
Of course, the more games your selected players are involved in, the more points they can potentially gather, so it is worth choosing goalkeepers with a good chance of reaching the closing stages of the tournament.
Below, we run through some of the best possible picks for World Cup fantasy football.
*Note - prices based on Goal's fantasy football game
Manuel Neuer | Germany | £6.3m
Manuel Neuer won the Golden Glove as Germany swept to the world title in 2014 and the Bayern Munich man has firmly established himself as the best goalkeeper in the world over recent years.
That status means that he will be a costly acquisition but, like De Gea, he is capable of winning points singlehandedly.
The only worry is that Neuer has been out of action for nine months and faces a serious fight to secure his place as Germany's number one.
David de Gea | Spain | £6.3m
Champions in 2010, Spain are among the favourites to challenge for the World Cup and one of their star players at this year's tournament is David de Gea.
The Manchester United goalkeeper is going to be expensive, but he has consistently demonstrated his quality and would be worth the hit.
La Roja were knocked out at the group stage in 2014 so they will be eager to set the record straight by going deep into the competition - giving De Gea more chances to score points.
Hugo Lloris | France | £6.2m
France were beaten finalists in Euro 2016 and they are among a clutch of teams considered to be heavy favourites to win the World Cup in Russia.
Key to that will be their captain and undisputed number one Hugo Lloris, who has been ever-present for Les Bleus at two previous tournaments.
As an elite shot-stopper the Tottenham man has a hefty price-tag, but, unfortunately, that's what you have to pay for quality.
Alisson | Brazil | £6.1m
Roma goalkeeper Alisson has held off competition from Manchester City's Ederson to retain his position as Brazil's number one and he should be marshalling the defence in Russia.
Brazil had the best defensive record in CONMEBOL qualification, conceding just 11 goals in 18 games, and Alisson was involved in the bulk of those matches.
Crucially too, with the likes of Miranda and Thiago Silva in the squad, he is ably assisted in keeping the opposition out.
Thibaut Courtois | Belgium | £6m
Widely considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Belgium's Thibaut Courtois can be picked up for slightly cheaper than the likes of Neuer and De Gea.
The Red Devils boast a supremely talent squad and they are out to prove a point, so they will be a good bet to go far into the knock-out stage.
They may possess the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard in their ranks, but Courtois will be equally as important to Roberto Martinez's side.
Best World Cup fantasy football bargain goalkeepers
Of course, a huge part of fantasy football success is making your budget stretch as far as possible, which means picking up the odd bargain here and there.
Below is a selection of goalkeepers who are somewhat cheaper to buy, but who still offer gamers a strong chance of picking up points.
Kasper Schmeichel | Denmark | £5.8m
Given that they scraped qualification via a play-off, Denmark may not be considered among the challengers for the World Cup, but they have the ability to disrupt the established order and reach the knock-out stages.
Christian Eriksen is the Danes' undoubted talisman, but Kasper Schmeichel provides them with a sure footing in defence, recalling the forceful presence of his father Peter, who helped his country reach the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup.
Danijel Subasic | Croatia | £5.7m
Since finishing third at the 1998 World Cup in France, Croatia have disappointed in subsequent tournament appearances. However, they remain a formidable outfit, with a number of world-class players.
Real Madrid's Luka Modric and Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic may get most of the plaudits for the national team, but if they are to reach the knock-out stage they will need a strong defensive contribution.
Step forward Danijel Subasic; the Monaco shot-stopper has plenty of experience and will be relied upon to inspire confidence into the defence.
Willy Caballero | Argentina | £5.8m
Injury to Sergio Romero means that Willy Caballero is well placed to be Argentina's number one at Russia 2018 and the Chelsea shot-stopper is a cheaper acquisition than the goalkeepers of other challengers.
The Albiceleste were beaten in the final of the 2014 tournament and will be aiming to go one step further this summer, particularly as it could turn out to be Lionel Messi's last chance of winning the competition.