It may have a different name this year, but EA FC is still celebrating the New Year with official Team of the Year cards, which means we all have more to discuss.
The EA FC 24 TOTY cards will feature a full Women’s XI alongside the Men’s XI, with the Women’s side also having its own full list of nominees. Do you have strong opinions on who has opportunities in the USWNT midfield and want to argue the merits of dominating the competition in the Saudi Pro League as a means to a Team of the Year nomination? You are in the right place!
As usual, the final Team of the Year will come down to a fan vote, which will open on the EA FC website on January 8. But until then, there is plenty of room for discussion and debate over who will get your vote.
Here are some of the biggest talking points for both male and female nominees.
Ronaldo’s return
After the shock of not seeing Cristiano Ronaldo’s name on the list last year, he is once again among the elite. He has lit up the Saudi Pro League with 20 goals and nine assists so far this season, and also bounced back from a dismal international year in 2022 by his standards to score 10 more goals for Portugal in nine Euro 2024 qualifying games.
Ronaldo finished 2023 as the world’s top scorer after scoring his 54th goal of the year in Al Nassr’s 4-1 win at Al Taawoun on December 30.
If you are voted into this year’s TOTY, you also have the chance to be one of the first players not to ply their trade in one of Europe’s biggest leagues (Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1) in receive the honor. It’s probably fitting that, if he does, he’ll probably have to share the recognition with another on this year’s shortlist: eternal rival Messi.
Messi seems to be the first member of the MLS TOTY
Lionel Messi is on the list after his final half-season with Paris Saint-Germain and his brief but explosive maiden voyage in MLS, scoring 11 goals and providing four assists in 14 appearances for Inter Miami CF, before succumbing to a an injury that doomed the rest of his campaign, along with Miami’s hopes of making the MLS Cup playoffs.
It’s clear that Messi has more than what it takes to set MLS on fire over the next two seasons, and perhaps he’s that kind of otherworldly talent, the likes of which MLS hasn’t really seen among them in league history. , which will help propel him to another TOTY appearance.
Obviously, every development in soccer is important to MLS, and the MLS logo appearing on a TOTY card will likely elicit at least some satisfaction from league executives who went to great lengths to achieve it.
Manchester City leads the male nominees
The men’s nominations reflect the best club in the world last year: Manchester City. After winning the Premier League and FA Cup along with the Champions League, the Club World Cup followed in December. It is appropriate to see City as the club with the most nominations.
Erling Haaland heads the list, which also includes Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Rúben Dias, John Stones and Éderson. It’s hard to argue with anyone’s inclusion here, and the fact that City have almost a full XI of players is indicative of how dominant they were in 2023.
Goalkeepers
Alisson Becker – Liverpool, Éderson – Manchester City, Brice Samba – Lens, Gregor Kobel – Borussia Dortmund, Wojciech Szczesny – Juventus, Mike Maignan – AC Milan, Jan Oblak – Atlético de Madrid, Marc-André ter Stegen – Barcelona
Defenders
William Saliba – Arsenal, Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool, Rúben Dias – Manchester City, John Stones – Manchester City, Dante – Nice, Marquinhos – Paris Saint-Germain, Kim Min-Jae – Bayern Munich, Mats Hummels – Borussia Dortmund, Lucas Martínez Quarta – Fiorentina, Alessandro Bastoni – Internazionale, Bremer – Juventus, Theo Hernández – AC Milan, Giovanni Di Lorenzo – Napoli, Nicolás Otamendi – Benfica, Jules Koundé – Barcelona, Jesús Navas – Sevilla, José Gayà – Valencia, Jonathan Clauss – Marseille, Jeremie Frimpong – Bayer Leverkusen, Alejandro Grimaldo – Bayer Leverkusen, Federico Dimarco – Inter
Midfielders
Martin Ødegaard – 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, Aleksandr Golovin – AS Monaco, Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen, Granit , Adrien Rabiot – Juventus, Riyad Mahrez – Al Ahli, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – Al Hilal, Pedri – Barcelona, Ilkay Gündogan – Barcelona, Aleix García – Girona, Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid, Toni Kroos – Real Madrid, Luka Modric – Real Madrid Madrid, Aurélien Tchouaméni – Real Madrid, Federico Valverde – Real Madrid
Attackers
Bukayo Saka – Arsenal, Mohamed Salah – Liverpool, Jack Grealish – Manchester City, Erling Haaland – Manchester City, Son Heung-Min – Tottenham Hotspur, Ousmane Dembélé – Paris Saint-Germain, Lee Kang-in – Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain, Randal Kolo Muani – Eintracht Frankfurt, Harry Kane – Bayern Munich, Loïs Openda – RB Leipzig, Serhou Guirassy – VfB Stuttgart, Lautaro Martínez – Inter, Rafael Leão – AC Milan, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – Napoli, Victor Osimhen – Naples, Domenico Berardi – Sassuolo, Mehdi Taremi – FC Porto, Karim Benzema – Al Ittihad, Cristiano Ronaldo – Al Nassr, Antoine Griezmann – Atlético de Madrid, Álvaro Morata – Atlético de Madrid, Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona, Vinícius Júnior – Real Madrid, Takefusa Kubo – Real Sociedad, Gerard Moreno – Villarreal, Lionel Messi – Inter Miami
Spain, Liga F and Barcelona dominate the female nominations
It was probably to be expected, as Spain won the Women’s World Cup and Barcelona also took home the Women’s Champions League crown last year, as there is a strong Spanish influence among the nominees. Seven of Spain’s World Cup stars are here, including favorites like Olga Carmona, Jenni Hermoso and Alexia Putellas.
Barcelona is the most represented women’s club, with 10 nominees. And there are also more present from other clubs and countries, such as the Colombian powerhouse and the Real Madrid attacker Linda Caicedo.
The F League was the league with the most nominations with 15, beating the English Women’s Super League by a couple of nominations.
If there is something important to take away, it is that Spanish women’s football is reaping its fruits.
Goalkeepers
Christiane Endler – Lyon, Mary Earps – Manchester United, Merle Frohms – VfL Wolfsburg, Chiamaka Nnadozie – Paris FC, Jane Campbell – Houston Dash
Defenders
Wendie Renard – Lyon, Mapi León – Barcelona, Irene Paredes – Barcelona, Sakina Karchaoui – Paris Saint-Germain, Fridolina Rolfö – Barcelona, Katie McCabe – Arsenal, Millie Bright – Chelsea, Selma Bacha – Lyon, Ona Batlle – Barcelona, Amanda Ilestedt – Arsenal, Ellie Carpenter – Lyon, Glodis Viggosdottir – Bayern Munich, Niamh Charles – Chelsea, Naomi Girma – San Diego Wave FC, Olga Carmona – Real Madrid, Jenna Nighswonger – NJ/NY Gotham FC
Midfielders
Alexia Putellas – Barcelona, Aitana Bonmatí – Barcelona, Patri Guijarro – Barcelona, Debinha – Kansas City Current, Lena Oberdorf – VfL Wolfsburg, Grace Geyoro – Paris Saint-Germain, Keira Walsh – Barcelona, Clara Matéo – Paris FC, Caroline Weir – Real Madrid, Georgia Stanway – Bayern Munich, Leicy Santos – Atlético de Madrid, Frida Maanum – Arsenal, Gaëtane Thiney – Paris FC, Janina Minge – SC Freiburg, Kerolin – North Carolina Courage, Estefanía Banini – Atlético from Madrid, Barbara Dunst – Eintracht Frankfurt, Samantha Coffey – Portland Thorns FC
Attackers
Sam Kerr – Chelsea, Caroline Graham Hansen – Barcelona, Kadidiatou Diani – Lyon, Guro Reiten – Chelsea, Alexandra Popp – VfL Wolfsburg, Sophia Smith – Portland Thorns FC, Ewa Pajor – VfL Wolfsburg, Lauren Hemp – Manchester City, Lea Schüller – Bayern Munich, Salma Paralluelo – Barcelona, Racheal Kundananji – Real Madrid, Lynn Williams – NJ/NY Gotham FC, Rachel Daly – Aston Villa, Khadija Shaw – Manchester City, Chloe Kelly – Manchester City, Eugénie Le Sommer – Lyon, Trinity Rodman – Washington Spirit, Beth England – Tottenham Hotspur, Alba Redondo – Levante, Tabitha Chawinga – Paris Saint-Germain, Melissa Kössler – TSG Hoffenheim, Linda Caicedo – Real Madrid
NWSL lags behind other major women’s leagues
Five leagues are represented on the women’s nomination list, and while there are several NWSL players here, American fans might be surprised to see the league trailing the rest in terms of total nominations, with leagues in Spain, Germany, England and France. receive more nods from players.
It was, of course, something of a transition year for the United States after their disappointing performance at the Women’s World Cup, and the international team’s presence in the NWSL makes the league’s relative lack of nominees a little more understandable.
Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith lead the US representatives, a group that also includes Lynn Williams, Samantha Coffey, Naomi Girma, Jenna Nighswonger and Jane Campbell. They are joined by the Brazilian duo of Kerolin and Debinha to represent the league.
Even the video game knows the USWNT should have played Lynn Williams.
One name noticeably absent from the list of female nominees is Alex Morgan, especially considering Lynn Williams is on it. Williams was second only to another American in the NWSL last season (Sophia Smith) and scored an opening goal in the NWSL championship game while leading the line for NJ/NY Gotham FC, which won the top prize of the league last time. year.
Williams, however, only had two opportunities to play for the United States in the Women’s World Cup. The team only managed to score four goals in total in the tournament before being eliminated in the round of 16, three of those goals coming in their first group match against Vietnam. Hindsight is 20/20, but it’s hard to imagine a player of Williams’ caliber not being a star for almost any other country in the world.
Unfortunately, she has rarely been given the opportunity to make a difference for her country when it matters most, with Morgan selected ahead of her.
