Football fans love arguing about football, and EA Sports has given fans new fodder with the release of the FIFA 22 Team of the Year. Millions of fans from around the globe choose the team that celebrates the best of football in the world round for 2021.
The FIFA series is an absolute money-maker for EA Sports, bringing in more than £1 billion from game sales and a massive £4 billion from Ultimate Team and other microtransactions. Events like this give fans a great opportunity to provide their own input to the beautiful game.
FIFA 22 Team of the Year
Former England great and perennial smoke show David Beckham announced the final team, whittled down from a long list of 80 players. The final XI includes eight players from Europe, two from South America, and one from Africa. The team boasts an array of players that would make any FIFA 22 Ultimate Team player feel invincible.
Attackers
Kylian Mbappé (France) – Paris Saint-Germain
Kylian Mbappé is one of the best players in the world right now, with unbelievable ball control and finishing abilities. At a tickle under 23 years of age, Mbappé is the youngest ever player to reach 100 goals in Ligue 1. Also, he was the youngest to reach 100 goals with a single club when he did this for Paris Saint-Germain.
Robert Lewandowski (Poland) – Bayern Munich
Polish captain and surefire Hall of Famer Robert Lewandowski scored the most league goals of any player in Europe’s big five leagues in 2021 with 43 goals. By doing this, he set a new Bundesliga record in the process.
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – Paris Saint-Germain
Lionel Messi is perhaps the greatest player ever, and if not, he is certainly in the top 5. He won Best Player for the second time at the 2021 Copa America, and he’s only the fourth player to win the award on two occasions.
Midfielders
Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) – Manchester City
The Belgian midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, is an all-around menace on the field. He created 3.7 chances per 90 minutes in the Premier League across 2021, the best rate of any player in the competition.
Jorginho (Italy) – Chelsea
Versatile Italian midfielder and defensive beast Jorginho made 25 interceptions with Italy in the summer. This was a record for the most, by any player, at a single edition of the Euros.
N’Golo Kanté (France) – Chelsea
N’Golo Kanté is considered by some to be the best player in the English Premier League at the moment. He averaged 1.8 interceptions per 90 minutes in all competitions for Chelsea in 2021. This was the best mark of any player with at least 2,000 minutes played for the club over that period.
Defenders
João Cancelo (Portugal) – Manchester City
The speedy and tactical João Cancelo completed the most passes of any full-back in Europe’s big five leagues in 2021, with a whopping 2,403!
Rúben Dias (Portugal) – Manchester City
Portuguese defender Ruben Dias is considered one of the best defensive players in the world right now. He finished on the winning side in 32 league matches in 2021. Not only was it just out of 39 games, but it was the most of any defender in Europe’s big five leagues.
Marquinhos (Brazil) – Paris Saint-Germain
PSG captain Marquinhos completed 2,901 out of 3,131 attempted passes in all competitions for his team in 2021. A staggering number that was more than any other player at the club.
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) – Paris Saint-Germain
The only African player in the XI, Hakimi had 151 touches in the opposition box in league matches in 2021. This was comfortably the most of any defender in Europe’s big five leagues over the course of the year.
Goalkeeper
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy) – Paris Saint-Germain
Gianluigi Donnarumma is probably the best goalkeeper in the world and played a vital role in Italy’s successful 2021 Euros campaign. He was the Player of the Tournament and the only goalkeeper ever to win the award.
FIFA 22 Team of the Year Available in Ultimate Team
Obviously, the players won’t be receiving any major rewards for being included in this team. While they are given a cute wee shield to celebrate their triumph, they are not the real winners here.
Instead, fans are the ones who will be benefitting. You will be able to access the FIFA 22 Team of the Year players for use in Ultimate Team. The players are being released in groups, starting on January 21, 2022, with the Attackers.