FIFA joined the Guinness Book Of World records in 2018 as the best-selling sports videogame series of all time selling over 193 million copies. The game’s developer, EA Sports, has since added to the series with FIFA ‘19, ‘20 & ‘21 ensuring the title remains the heavyweight of the sports videogame sector. To read more on FIFA check out this article on Gamespedition.com.
Over the last 28 years, EA Sports has developed a game where both casual and “hardcore” audiences have found a home. Many players love the realistic nature of the game and feel it has perfectly captured the excitement of the real thing while others prefer the more laid back, arcade experience. To address this there are multiple gameplay modes and options and players can tweak difficulty levels according to their abilities.
Ultimate Team
The most popular feature in the game these days is Ultimate Team, more commonly referred to as FUT. Introduced in FIFA ‘09, FUT allows you to create your own squad with unique players from all around the world. FUT rewards players for playing the game by giving them coins and rewards for each match they play. These coins can be used to build up their Ultimate Squad which players can use to battle online in ‘Head to Heads’ or ‘Squad Battles’.
Obviously, you can’t have all the best players at once or the game would be no fun, getting the squad mix right is essential, therefore, so today we are going to look at a player that we think you should seriously consider, Erling Braut Haaland.
Erling Braut Haaland - IRL
Erling Braut Haaland is a Norwegian footballer who, at just 20 years old, has already made a name for himself as a prolific goalscorer. Haaland has scored 28 goals for his club Borussia Dortmund whom he joined in 2020 from Red Bull Salzburg for a rumored transfer fee of €20 million.
Haaland has made a name for himself as a quirky interviewee with several strange TV interviews which have somewhat added to his appeal and is the recipient of a number of awards already including the Golden Boot in the 2019 U-20 World Cup, a tournament in which he memorably scored 9 goals in a match versus Honduras.
So how does Haaland’s profile compare to that in FIFA 21? Read on to find out.
Erling Braut Haaland in FIFA 21
Haaland’s stats are impressive. Very impressive! With an overall current rating of 86 out of 100, Haaland is already one of the top strikers in the game. That score puts him in the upper echelon but it is his potential that should make the player attractive to you. With an overall potential of 92, Haaland is capable of being as good as Christiano Ronaldo and better than the players of the caliber of Mane, Salah, and Mbappe.
Haaland began FIFA ‘20 as a silver card boasting a 73-rating but soon received a scarcely believable 13 upgrades including a 95-rated Team of the Season card. The players’ shooting rating increased by a whole 17 points! 17!! If that hasn’t swayed you to go out and get him, some of his headline stats are equally impressive.
Haaland’s Top Stats
Ok, we haven’t sold you on Haaland yet? Well, maybe these will help make up your mind;
- Ball Control 81 Aggression 83
- Acceleration 82 Reactions 86
- Strength 91 Att. Position 88
- Spring Speed 91 Composure 83
Still here? Ok then;
- Shot Power 93 Finishing 92
Remember, Haaland has a potential of 92. His stats are only going to get better and better.
The Downside
No player is perfect and Haaland is no different. He’s an accomplished finisher but with average enough passing stats. Short passes are an acceptable 74 but his crossing attribute is weak at 46 and his long pass is not much better at 49. His weakest stat of all is his slide tackle at 30 with stand tackle only marginally better (40) while his interceptions and marking sit as 41 and 45 respectively.
At the time of writing, Haaland's price on the Xbox market is 19,000 coins and PlayStation is 19,500. Back in September 2020, you would have had to part with 171,718 coins on Xbox to acquire him and 91,843 on Playstation so there appears to be value there but also a lack of appetite.
As already mentioned, FIFA is the most popular sports series videogame in the world. Period. The simplest explanation for the popularity of FIFA is that soccer fans are some of the most dedicated fans in the world. Whichever team they support, soccer fans feel a sense of ownership and belonging. Through FUT, FIFA builds on this by allowing fans to take ownership of their club in ways they cannot do in the real world.
Like Haaland’s left foot, it’s a thing of beauty.
