Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
The release of EA Sports’ FIFA14 earlier this week may have given North American soccer fans a chance to finally play the newest version of their favorite video game. But it also gave them an opportunity to do something else they were looking forward to: Check out the player ratings of the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Gamers eager to learn what players like Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan were rated got to find out when FIFA14 dropped on Tuesday, and as is the case every year, there was quickly some debate about which players were rated too high and too low.
Howard and Dempsey are the best U.S. Men’s National Team players in the game (before any updated rosters drop), each of them boasting 81 overall ratings. The four players to follow are Brad Guzan with 79, Landon Donovan with 78 and both Jozy Altidore and Jermaine Jones with 77s.
Some of the U.S. players were rightfully rated by EA Sports but some were clearly slighted, including Michael Bradley and Fabian Johnson. Bradley, who many believe is the U.S.’s best field player currently, received a a 76, below midfield partner Jones. Johnson was given a 73, which still feels a point or two short despite him being the best-rated defender on the U.S. squad.
Of American players not on the U.S. roster in FIFA14, Brad Friedel once again is king with a 79. Following him are Timmy Chandler and Stuart Holden at 74, and then Danny Williams and Steve Cherundolo with 73.
Other notable American player ratings in the game are John Brooks and Aron Johannsson, both at 71, Brek Shea’s 70, Freddy Adu’s 69, Juan Agudelo’s 68 and Terrence Boyd’s 66.
Here are the FIFA14 player ratings of the U.S. Men’s National Team, other players in the pool and former and current youth national team players:
USMNT/American Player Ratings on FIFA 14
(FIFA14’s USMNT roster in bold)
Tim Howard – 81
Brad Guzan – 79
Nick Rimando – 71
Geoff Cameron – 72
Omar Gonzalez – 72
Matt Besler – 72
Fabian Johnson – 73
Clarence Goodson – 70
Michael Parkhurst – 67
Clint Dempsey – 81
Jermaine Jones – 77
Michael Bradley – 76
Graham Zusi – 73
Sacha Kljestan – 71
Alejandro Bedoya – 71
Mix Diskerud – 70
DaMarcus Beasley – 69
Brad Evans – 68
Joe Corona – 68
Landon Donovan – 78
Jozy Altidore – 77
Eddie Johnson – 72
Herculez Gomez – 71
Brad Friedel – 79
Timmy Chandler – 74
Stuart Holden – 74
Danny Williams – 73
Steve Cherundolo – 73
Chris Wondolowski – 72
John Brooks – 71
Aron Johannsson – 71
Maurice Edu – 71
Brad Davis – 71
Carlos Bocanegra – 71
Kyle Beckerman – 71
George John – 70
Brek Shea – 70
Jose Torres – 70
Josh Gatt – 69
Jack McInerney – 69
Dax McCarty – 69
Freddy Adu – 69
Juan Agudelo – 68
Eric Lichaj – 68
Benny Feilhaber – 68
Edgar Castillo – 68
Tim Ream – 67
Amobi Okugo – 67
Bill Hamid – 67
Terrence Boyd – 66
Sean Johnson – 66
Charlie Davies – 66
Jonathan Spector – 66
DeAndre Yedlin – 64
Connor Lade – 64
Alfredo Morales – 64
Teal Bunbury – 64
Jose Villarreal – 64
Ike Opara – 64
Benji Joya – 63
Zac MacMath – 63
Michael Orozco – 63
Gale Agbossoumonde – 62
Perry Kitchen – 60
Jared Jeffrey – 60
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What do think of the U.S. Men’s National Team FIFA14 player ratings? Whose do you think is too high, too low and just right? Who do you think plays better in the game than their overall rating states?
Share your thoughts below.