FIFA 15: 10 Players Who Need Upgrading After World Cup
2. Stefan De Vrij 76
Going into the World Cup, the team which would ultimately come a much-deserved third were rated as being even worse than England by bookmakers. Nobody not even the notoriously fanatical Dutch fans predicted how well the Netherlands would do. It was believed that while the teams offence comprising the potent duo of Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie was one of the worlds best, the under-seasoned, mediocre defense would let them down. However, this was far from the case. The final three pivotal games of the tournament for the Dutch were all clean sheets, thanks in no small part to superb young centre-back Stefan De Vrij. The 22-year-old looked like he was going to have a rough time of it in Brazil after Diego Costa drew a questionable penalty kick from the centre-back after just 26 minutes of his first World Cup game. However, De Vrij made up for this bad refereeing call with a goal which led to the Netherlands 5-1 drubbing of the former champions the first of his international career. From this point on the centre-back continued to improve, not only using his large frame to defend the Dutch box but also proving himself to be a stellar passing outlet from the back. Indeed, he completed 86% of his attempted passes an impressive stat for any player, particularly a 62 centre-back. It came as little surprise when he was one of the two Dutch players selected for the Team of the Tournament alongside Arjen Robben. It is also unsurprising that Louis van Gaal is rumoured to want to bring De Vrij in to strengthen Manchester Uniteds leaky back four. Suggested Rating: 81
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
