I’d like to start by saying that I’m fully aware that this article is not for everyone. If you’re not interested in the FIFA 21 player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s squad then that’s fine, just don’t read on.
We all know the ratings made up by a video games company don’t have any effect on reality (although I’ll come back to this later) so this article is really just a bit of fun and might be interesting to those people that are curious about how the geeks at EA have rated our current squad. If nothing else, at least its not another article speculating about Karlan Grant’s future.
In case you’re not familiar with how FIFA works, each player is given an overall rating out of 100 with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo getting scores in the 90s and Bradford City players being in the 40s and 50s.
Here’s how our current squad ranks:
Huddersfield Town players’ FIFA 21 rankings from highest to lowest
- Christopher Schindler – 73
- Jonathan Hogg – 73
- Karlan Grant – 73
- Alex Pritchard – 71
- Terence Kongolo – 71
- Isaac Mbenza – 70
- Juninho Bacuna – 70
- Carel Eiting – 70
- Adama Diakhaby – 70
- Pipa – 69
- Harry Toffolo – 69
- Tommy Elphick – 69
- Richard Stearman – 68
- Lewis O’Brien – 68
- Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr – 68
- Danny Ward – 68
- Ben Hamer – 67
- Fraizer Campbell – 67
- Joel Pereira – 66
- Jaden Brown – 65
- Ben Jackson – 62
- Demeaco Duhaney – 62
- Ryan Schofield – 60
- Josh Koroma – 59
- Rarmani Edmonds-Green – 59
- Kieran Phillips – 59
- Matty Daly – 58
- Aaron Rowe – 58
- Kian Harratt – 58
- Romoney Crichlow – 57
FIFA 21 reflecting reality
If these ratings show anything, it’s the massive lack of quality Town have in the forward positions. If Grant goes then our next best attackers are Mbenza and Diakhaby (“not my ratings Carol, the ratings of FIFA 21”). When you consider how badly that pair have underperformed in their time at Huddersfield, we’re in bother if we don’t bring in at least one quality attacker before the end of the window.
The ratings for Town’s youngsters also act as a reminder that even though we hope these kids will make a big splash when they are given chances, they’re unproven at this level and will take time to make the step up to Championship football.
A few scores that seem to be a little bit off
Schindler and Hogg are both long serving members of the squad and the only remaining players from our promotion season. But are they our best two players?
Schindler was by far our best player in the Premier League but has dipped in the last season, possibly suffering more than most from the relegation hangover. Hogg, for all his qualities, is quite a limited player and struggled with the attacking side of the game. So both these players seem somewhat overrated.
Josh Koroma (59) and Matty Daly (58) both seem to be underrated despite neither having an abundance of first team experience. Ben Jackson is given a 62 rating despite having only played about an hour of first team football, which shows Koroma and Daly should be in the mid sixties based on how other players are rated.
Do these ratings have any bearing on reality?
I was writing above that FIFA ratings don’t have any bearing on reality but then it occurred to me that they do in a small way. Most football players play FIFA or will at least check out their rating out of pure vanity. Being given a score out of 100 gives players a quick and easy way to compare themselves to their peers.
I’ve seen players take to social media to berate the official EA Sports accounts for giving them a rating they disagree with. Given the competitive nature of professional sportsmen it’s easy to imagine these ratings being used as ammunition in disputes about who is the better player.
I’m guessing most players won’t give it a great deal of thought but some might quietly stew about teammates they perceive as being less talented being awarded a higher rating.
What is Huddersfield Town’s starting XI based on FIFA 21 ratings?
Here’s the best possible 4-3-3 lineup you can make with Town’s available squad.
GK: Hamer
RB: Pipa
CB: Schindler
CB: Kongolo
LB: Toffolo
CDM: Hogg
CM: Pritchard
CM: Bacuna
RW: Diakhaby
CF: Grant
LW: Mbenza
Obviously, we know that Grant isn’t best suited to playing centrally but this is FIFA not really life, so I’ve played in through the middle. I’d also far rather have O’Brien and Eiting in central midfield but I’ve put this team together based purely on the numbers.
What does Town’s second choice team look like?
With a tight fixture list this season we’re likely to need to rotate our squad to keep everyone fresh, particularly with the physically demanding tactical approach Corberán wants to use.
Here’s a look at the next best XI based on the FIFA 21 ratings:
GK: Pereira
RB: Duhaney
CB: Elphick
CB: Stearman
LB: J. Brown
DM: Eiting
CM: O’Brien
CM: Jackson
RW: Koroma
CF: Campbell
LW: Ward
That central defensive pairing looks worryingly slow, with a combined age approaching 70. Sarr could be switched with Stearman as they’re both rated as 68s but I’ve gone with experience over youth.
I’d also be reluctant to play Ward out on the wing but there are literally no other viable options in this squad (Obiero and Pat Jones from the B Team aren’t included).
I’m actually surprised how good this second string team is. I’ve banged on about how weak our squad is but if everyone is fit and we keep all our players (unlikely with Grant and Kongolo wanting away) we’ve not far off having a reasonable squad.
As we already know, there’s a lack of quality in the final third but otherwise we more or less have two players for every position and often Academy players as third options.
(These player ratings were taken from the fifaindex.com as FIFA 21 isn’t released until tomorrow.)