Found three top favorites.
The World Cup is about to start in Qatar. EA Sports performed the traditional World Cup simulation and predicted Argentina’s victory. We did an even more unusual experiment: we took cards from the popular Ultimate Team mode and calculated the real strengths of the teams in FIFA 23. Who has the best chances at the 2022 World Cup?
Subscribe to our telegram about games and movies. All news and insides are there!
How do we rank? Only meta cards were taken into account, priority was given to the fastest
Our FUT 23 card scoring scheme is subjective, but you can easily understand it. 3 points were given to all cool players with high speed and special skills, regardless of the rating (Valverde, Dembele). We gave 2 points to strong players who are a little behind (De Bruyne, Modric) or have more modest skills (Rafinha). All fast gold cards got 1 point.
We did not take into account the styles of teamwork, so we took the speed of 82 for the selection of flank players and attackers, and in the central positions it was 75 points. Goalkeepers with a rating of 82+ also scored team points. The exception is footsim legend Nick Pope.
Switzerland — 13 points
Switzerland is the best non-top team in FIFA 23. You will probably remember Sommer, Zakaria and Akanji (they gave 5 points in total), but still ask: how did the Swiss overtake Senegal with Mane and Koulibaly? FIFA magic worked. The Swiss national team has no stars, but it has selected selected runners who will be dangerous on the counterattack. Take a closer look!
Spain — 15 points
FIFA is not interested in subtle passes, so they did not appreciate the composition of the Spanish national team. Marcos Llorente is the only player on the roster to score 3 points, and young Barcelona stars Pedri (2) and Gavi (1) are not yet considered big stars in football. The situation could be corrected by De Gea, but he lost the competition to Simon and has not been called up to the national team lately. Questions about the goalkeeper line to Enrique still remained: according to the FIFA rating, English collections are much worse than Kepa and many other goalkeepers from La Liga. However, the Spaniards really have a meager choice. FIFA believes that the «Fury of Roja» will fly to the 1/4 finals.
England — 16 points
But the place of the England team will definitely surprise you! We are used to the star status of the British, but EA analysts have a different opinion. Kyle Walker is the only meta this year. Good cards were received by young Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden (2 points each), but slow defense and a support zone made England a mediocre team. Especially notable was Tomori’s non-challenge, who received a phenomenal card with an 84 rating. In FIFA, England is as dull as it was at Southgate.
Argentina — 17 points
FIFA adequately appreciated the Argentine players, but did not include them among the obvious favorites of the 2022 World Cup. The blue-and-whites have a weak defense, the midfield is pulled by De Paul’s wagon (2), and the attacking group has long passed the peak and lost in speed (Messi, Dybala, Gomez — 2 points each). In FIFA 23, Lionel received a sprint of 76, so he is only used in lineups with rebuilding positions. So far, the Argentina national team refutes the calculations of the football simulator — it has only one match left before Italy’s record unbeaten streak.
Portugal — 17 points
Ironically, the 6th place with the Argentines was shared by Portugal. Cristiano lost his speed, but the footsim still gave him a rating of 90 and considers him the leader of the national team. A scattering of attacking players speaks for the Portuguese — Silva, Fernandes, Leau and Felix (all — 2 points each) and the best flank defender of FIFA 23 Canselo (3). I was disappointed by the absence of the cheat box-to-box Sanches in the application, but he was injured a lot and did not make it to the base of PSG. Ronaldo has every chance to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup and sweeten the unfortunate end of his career.
Belgium — 18 points
Fans believe that the generation of Belgians has passed the peak. The leaders of the national team have really aged, but FIFA is confident that they are good enough for the last chance. Courtois (3) and De Bruyne (2) are in perfect shape, Hazard and Lukaku (2 each) are capable of the tournament of life, and young Doku and Openda (1 each) can step up the game from a stand-in. Defense is a monstrous weakness of the Belgians. Its leaders are frankly playing out, and the new faces have not lived up to expectations. Our bold prediction is that the Belgians will compete for the semi-finals of the tournament.
Netherlands — 18 points
The Dutch national team has a very unbalanced composition. FIFA singled out four stars — van Dijk, de Jong (3 each), de Ligt and Depay (2 each), but the rest frankly do not pull the top level. The midfield of the Netherlands is very weak. I was surprised by the absence of Arno Danjuma in the application, and the newcomer of Bayern Ryan Gravenberh in the footsima would have played at the start. On the other hand, the new generation of oranges has a lot of athletic players like Dumfries and Gakpo (1 each), whom FIFA loves a lot. The semi-final is a good achievement for this team.
Germany — 28 points
Germany has failed the last two major tournaments, and fans call the current squad weak. FIFA categorically disagrees with this opinion. Neuer, ter Stegen (3 each) and Trapp (2) are the top three goalkeepers of the tournament, while Rüdiger and Goretzka (3 each) have already tortured FUT players. Young Bayern star Jamal Musiala (1) could be the tournament’s biggest revelation. FIFA is confident that Germany will compete for victory in the World Cup with such a squad.
Brazil — 30 points
A confident second place in the top was taken by the Brazilian team. Selesao are good in all lines: two great goalkeepers from the giants of the Premier League, a huge selection of cheating defenders (Marquinhos, Militao, Bremer), and Neymar and Vinicius are on fire in attack (3 points each). FIFA only dislikes midfield: Casemiro and Fabinho with low speed are not valued in the game, so Fred took the rap for everyone (1). We are waiting for the star Brazilians in the final?
France — 32 points
France is the main favorite of the World Cup in terms of stats in FIFA. The team lost Kante, Kimpembe, Nkunka and Menyan, who are very good at the game, but still noticeably pulled away from most of the top teams. France has a great defense, and the attack is even brighter than the Brazilians — Mbappe, Coman and Dembele are phenomenal in footsime. The only weak area is midfield. EA was surprised that Fekir and Lemar didn’t get into the bid, but Veretout and Rabiot (1 each) are even more valued in the game than in real life. It seems that the curse of the champions will not work this time — France cannot be stopped.
