FIFA 19: Predicting The 10 Best Players
Not long to wait now!
If all goes well, a week from now we'll be ignoring all other responsibilities in life to dedicate our time into getting to grips with the demo of FIFA 19, which is due for release on September 13th.
Considering who the cover star is for this year's iteration of the game, it's safe to assume that Cristiano Ronaldo is still going to be a rather good player. Lionel Messi and Neymar, despite underwhelming World Cup performances, will also be highly-rated.
Beyond that however, it completely depends on minute shifts in statistics who EA deems to be the star players of FIFA 19.
The fact that we aren't just taking into account the previous season, but accomplishments in Russia this summer, means we may see certain players drastically improve, whilst others may never return to glory days of FIFA 18.
Honourable mentions must go to Kylian Mbappe and Mo Salah. Mbappe had a great season at PSG and announced his arrival on the world stage at the World Cup, whilst Salah had an almost unprecedented first season at Liverpool, but they don't make this list due to their rating last year. Despite being some of the top performers of 2018-19, they miss out as a result of FIFA's rating system being built on cumulative seasons of success rather than a breakout year.
Regardless, FIFA 19's release date is fast approaching, and here are my predictions for the best players on the game...
10. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
Neuer was by far the best goalkeeper on the game last year. He ranked over 90 in diving, handling, positioning, and kicking, which gave him an impressive 92 rating overall.
This year however, a combination of lack of game time due to injuries last season and a disastrous World Cup campaign with Germany over the summer (which concluded with him on the left wing as the Germans were knocked out), will mean the 32-year-old misses out on the #1 goalkeeper slot and only just makes my list of the best players.
Furthermore, expect keepers like Jan Oblak and Thibaut Courtois to be rated at at a similar level to the German, as they continue to improve and reach their prime.