The name may change this year, but EA FC is still ringing in the new year with an official Team of the Year card. That means there’s still a lot for all of us to discuss.
In addition to the men’s eleven, the EA FC 24 TOTY card also features a full women’s eleven, with the women’s side also having its own list of candidates. Do you have very strong opinions about who gets a chance in the USWNT’s midfield and want to argue the merits of dominating the competition in the Saudi Pro League as a way to earn a Team of the Year nomination? you are in the right place!
As always, the final Team of the Year will be determined by fan voting, which will be published on the EA FC website on January 8th. But until then, there’s plenty of room for discussion and debate about who gets to vote.
Here are some of the biggest talking points for both male and female candidates.
Ronaldo’s return
Last year, after the shock of not seeing Cristiano Ronaldo’s name on the list, he has joined the ranks of the elite. He has lit up the Saudi Pro League so far this season with 20 goals and nine assists. He also bounced back by his own standards from a disastrous 2022 international campaign to score a further 10 goals for Portugal in nine Euro 2024 qualifying games.
Ronaldo finished 2023 as the world’s top scorer, scoring his 54th goal of the year in Al Nasr’s 4-1 win against Al Ta’oun on December 30.
If voted into this year’s TOTY, he will be one of the first players not to have been traded to one of Europe’s major leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1) to receive the honour. You will also get a chance. If he does, it would be no surprise that he would share the same recognition with his eternal rival Messi, who is probably on this year’s shortlist.
Messi looks like MLS’s first TOTY member
Lionel Messi earns his place on the list after his last half-season with Paris Saint-Germain and a short but explosive maiden voyage in MLS, with 11 goals and 4 assists in 14 appearances for Inter Miami CF. He later died from his injuries. The rest of his campaign with Miami’s MLS Cup playoff hopes.
It’s clear that Messi has more than what it takes to lead MLS for the next few seasons, and perhaps it’s the likes of which MLS has never actually seen played in the league’s history. , perhaps it is a talent that is out of this world. It would help get him to his TOTY appearance again.
Obviously, any first in soccer is a big deal for MLS, and having the MLS logo on a TOTY card brings at least some satisfaction to league executives who went to extraordinary lengths to acquire H.M. will bring about.
Manchester City paces up men’s candidates
The men’s nominations reflect Manchester City, who were the best club in the world last year. Winning the Premier League and FA Cup alongside the Champions League was followed by the Club World Cup in December. It would be fair to say that City are the club with the most nominations.
Erling Haaland is on the list, along with Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Ederson. It’s hard to argue with anyone’s inclusion here, but the fact that City have almost 11 players shows how dominant they will be in 2023.
goalkeeper
Alisson Becker – Liverpool, Ederson – Manchester City, Bryce Samba – Lens, Gregor Kobel – Borussia Dortmund, Wojciech Szczesny – Juventus, Mike Manninan – AC Milan, Jan Oblak – Atletico Madrid, Marc Andre ter Stegen – Barcelona
defender
William Saliba – Arsenal, Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool, Ruben Dias – Manchester City, John Stones – Manchester City, Dante – Nice, Marquinhos – Paris Saint-Germain, Kim Min-jae – Bayern Munich, Mats Hummels – Borussia Dortmund, Lucas Martinez Quarta – Fiorentina, Alessandro Bastoni – Inter, Bremer – Juventus, Theo Hernandez – AC Milan, Giovanni di Lorenzo – Napoli, Nicolas Otamendi – Benfica, Jules Kounde – Barcelona, Jesus Navas – Sevilla, Jose Gaya – Valencia, Jonathan Kraus – Marseille, Jeremy Frimpong – Bayer Leverkusen, Alejandro Grimaldo – Bayer Leverkusen, Federico DiMarco – intel
midfielder
Martin Odegaard – Arsenal, Declan Rice – Arsenal, Kaoru Mitoma – Brighton & Hove Albion, Bernardo Silva – Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City, Rodri – Manchester City, Bruno Guimarães – Newcastle United, Jarrod Bowen – West Ham United, Alexander Golovin – AS Monaco, Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen, Granit Xhaka – Bayer Leverkusen, Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich, Leroy Sane – Bayern Munich , Julian Brandt – Borussia Dortmund, Vincenzo Grifo – SC Freiburg, Nicolo Barella – Inter, Federico Chiesa – Juventus, Adrien Rabiot – Juventus, Riyad Mahrez – Al Ahly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – Al. Hilal, Pedri – Barcelona, Ilkay Gundogan – Barcelona, Aleix Garcia – Girona, Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid, Toni Kroos – Real Madrid, Luka Modric – Real Madrid, Aurélien Choameni – Real Madrid, Federico・Valverde – Real Madrid
attacker
Bukayo Saka – Arsenal, Mohamed Salah – Liverpool, Jack Grealish – Manchester City, Erling Haaland – Manchester City, Son Heung-min – Tottenham Hotspur, Ousmane Dembele – Paris Saint-Germain, Lee Gang-in – Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain, Randall Kolo Muani – Eintracht Frankfurt, Harry Kane – Bayern Munich, Reus Openda – RB Leipzig, Selhau Guilassie – VfB Stuttgart, Lautaro Martínez – Inter, Rafael Leon – AC Milan, Juvica Kvaratsjeria – Napoli, Victor Osimhen – Napoli, Domenico Berardi – Sassuolo, Mehdi Taremi – FC Porto, Karim Benzema – Al Ittihad, Cristiano Ronaldo – Al Nasr, Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid, Alvaro Morata – Atletico Madrid, Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona, Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid, Takefusa Kubo – Real Sociedad, Gerard Moreno – Villarreal, Lionel・Messi – Inter Miami
Spain, Liga F and Barcelona dominate female candidates
This was perhaps to be expected, given the strong Spanish influence among the candidates, as Spain won the Women’s World Cup last year and Barcelona also won the Women’s Champions League. Seven of Spain’s World Cup stars will be here, including favorites such as Olga Carmona, Jenni Hermoso and Alexia Putelas.
Among the women’s clubs, Barcelona has the highest number of representatives, with 10 candidates. Additionally, a number of players from other clubs and countries are also taking part, including the electric Colombian and Real Madrid attacker Linda Caicedo.
Liga F was the league with the most picks, with 15, beating England’s Women’s Super League by a few picks.
If there is a big takeaway, it is that the Spanish women’s game has flourished.
goalkeeper
Christian Endler – Lyon, Mary Earps – Manchester United, Merle Froms – VfL Wolfsburg, Chiamaka Nadozi – Paris FC, Jane Campbell – Houston Dash
defender
Wendy Renard – Lyon, Mapi Leon – Barcelona, Irene Paredes – Barcelona, Sakina Karchaoui – Paris Saint-Germain, Fridrina Rolfo – Barcelona, Katie McCabe – Arsenal, Millie Bright – Chelsea, Selma Bacha – Lyon, Ona Batje – Barcelona, Amanda Illestedt – Arsenal, Ellie Carpenter – Lyon, Glodis Vigosdottir – Bayern Munich, Niamh Charles – Chelsea, Naomi Girma – San Diego Wave FC, Olga Carmona – Real Jenna Neiswonger, Madrid – New Jersey/New York Gotham FC
midfielder
Alexia Puteras – Barcelona, Aitana Bommati – Barcelona, Patry Guijarro – Barcelona, Debinha – Kansas City Current, Lena Oberdorf – VfL Wolfsburg, Grace Guello – Paris Saint-Germain, Kyra Walsh – Barcelona, Clara Mateo – Paris FC, Caroline Weir – Real Madrid, Georgia Stanway – Bayern Munich, Lacey Santos – Atletico Madrid, Frida Mahnum – Arsenal, Gaetan Tiny – Paris FC, Yanina Minguet – SC Freiburg, Kerorin – North Carolina – Courage, Estefania Vanini – Atletico Madrid, Barbara Dunst – Eintracht Frankfurt, Samantha Coffey – Portland Thorns FC
attacker
Sam Kerr – Chelsea, Caroline Graham Hansen – Barcelona, Kadidiatou Diani – Lyon, Gro Leiten – Chelsea, Alexandra Popp – VfL Wolfsburg, Sophia Smith – Portland Thorns FC, Eva Pahor – VfL Wolfsburg, Lauren Hemp – Manchester City, Lee Schuller – Bayern Munich, Salma Palaluello – Barcelona, Rachel Kundananji – Real Madrid, Lynn Williams – New Jersey/New York Gotham FC, Rachel Daly – Aston Villa, Khadijah Shaw – Manchester City, Chloe Kelly – Manchester City, Eugenie Le Sommer – Lyon, Trinity Rodman – Washington Spirit, Beth England – Tottenham Hotspur, Alba Redondo – Levante, Tabatha Chawinga – Paris Saint-Germain, Melissa Kessler – TSG Hoffenheim, Linda Caicedo – Real Madrid
NWSL lags behind other major women’s leagues
The women’s nomination list includes five leagues, and while there are some NWSL players here, the Spanish, German, English and French leagues all lag behind the other leagues in terms of total number of nominations. American fans may be surprised to see that. Receive more player nods.
Of course, this was a year of transition of sorts for the U.S. after a disappointing showing at the Women’s World Cup, but the presence of a national team in the NWSL makes the relative lack of league contenders a little more Be able to understand.
Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith lead the U.S. squad, a group that also includes Lynn Williams, Samantha Coffey, Naomi Girma, Jenna Neiswonger and Jane Campbell. They will be joined by the Brazilian duo Kerorin and Debinha to represent the league.
Even in video games, we know the USWNT should have played Lynn Williams.
One name conspicuously absent from the list of female nominees is Alex Morgan, especially considering Lynn Williams is also on the list. Last season, Williams only beat one other American (Sophia Smith) in the NWSL, leading the way and scoring the opening goal for New Jersey/New York Gotham FC in the NWSL Championship Game, and finishing with the league’s biggest won the prize. Year.
However, Williams only had the opportunity to play for the United States in the Women’s World Cup twice. Her team only scored a total of four goals in the tournament en route to the round of 16, three of which came in their first group match against Vietnam. It’s 20/20 in hindsight, but it’s hard to imagine a player of Williams’ caliber not being a star in almost any country in the world.
Unfortunately, Mr. Morgan was chosen before her, giving her little opportunity to make a difference in her country when it matters most.