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GONE

Who should replace Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in your fantasy football team?

The duo waved goodbye to the World Cup at the weekend, which means it's time to get them out of your Dream Team World Cup line-up

At the weekend, the World Cup waved goodbye to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Neither of them shone in Russia and their respective teams won’t be particularly missed, will they?

But their premature flights back home will certainly leave a sizeable gap in your Dream Team World Cup line-up – and that won’t do at all.

Sigh

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Sigh

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After all, nearly 16% of you still have Messi in your side, while well over quarter have Ronaldo.

And with plenty of games still to play as we head closer to the final, we think it’s time to cash in on the duo and sign two worthy replacements.

So here’s six players we really think you should consider. 

6 Kylian Mbappe – £3.5m

He’s not bad, is he?

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He’s not bad, is he?

Our favourite wonderkid was the name on everyone’s lips at the weekend.

France’s No 10 had the game of his life against Argentina on Saturday, showing Messi exactly how it’s done by scoring two goals and winning the first-half penalty with his blinding Michael Owen-esque run.

We’re not too sure how far France can go at this tournament, but anything’s possible with this teenage sensation in-tow.

5 Artem Dzyuba – £2.0m

Artem the Terrible

Reuters
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Artem the Terrible

Russian fans are going to wake up sometime, right?

The hosts have done unbelievably well so far, making light work of Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the group stage before seeing of the mighty Spain in dramatic circumstances on Sunday.

Dzyuba has lead the line for Russia so far, notching three goals at the tournament and will likely be their main outlet against Croatia in the quarter-final.

4 Romelu Lukaku – £4.5m

Golden Boot?

AP:Associated Press
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Golden Boot?

One of the players of the tournament so far, Belgian’s big man up front will be relishing their clash against Japan in the last 16.

With four goals so far, he’s well on course to win the World Cup’s Golden Boot if the Red Devils manage to go far.

3 Luis Suarez – £6.0m

Sink your teeth into this

EPA
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Sink your teeth into this

Edinson Cavani limping out of Uruguay’s win over Portugal (with a little help from Ronaldo) means we’re not too sure whether you should go for him for their quarter-final clash with France on Friday.

So to play it safe, why not opt for Suarez instead?

The Barcelona forward will surely be well up for a clash against his club teammate Samuel Umtiti and could relish leading the line for his side.

2 Mario Mandzukic – £3.5m

Super Mario

EPA
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Super Mario

He’s not quite been as outstanding as his teammates Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric, but we imagine it’s hard to keep up with the sheer brilliance of Croatia’s midfield pair, eh?

Still, Mandzukic has played his part in their run to the quarter-finals, with his equaliser against Denmark setting up the eventual penalty shootout win.

What’s more, his experience and eye for goal will be crucial to their World Cup ambitions, with many tipping the Croatians to go all the way.

1 Harry Kane – £6.0m

King Harry

PA:Press Association
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King Harry

With 46 points, Kane is the best player you can pick on Dream Team’s World Cup so far.

Five goals so far – including his fortuitousness hat-trick against Panama – also makes him top goal-scorer, and he’ll no doubt be England’s main attacking outlet when they face Colombia on Tuesday.

If the Three Lions do make it past the South Americans, then Kane could easily be the best player to pick.