EDITOR'S NOTE: The inaugural eMLS Cup will take place April 5-8, 2018, live at PAX East in Boston and streamed on Twitch. Learn more
Bigger stars, new stadiums, and a whole lot of action: Major League Soccer leveled up in EA SPORTS FIFA 18.
It’s no secret that The Journey, which brought teenage English sensation Alex Hunter to the StubHub Center — and the bright lights of Los Angeles to the forefront of the virtual footballing mainstream — opened the eyes of a brand new audience to the world of MLS. Now, you’re just as likely to see Andrea Pirlo’s NYCFC player card next to an in-form Sebastian Giovinco in your opponent’s FIFA Ultimate Team squad as you are a Paul Pogba or a Team of the Season Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s simply the new reality, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun.
The league’s most liked players on FUThead.com include the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (welcome to the party!), Ike Opara and Orlando City SC fullback PC.
With eMLS Cup on the horizon, the stage is about to get even bigger for everyone mentioned above. It’s the biggest eSports event in MLS history, and we’re going to see some serious skills on display.
Before everything kicks off, let’s take a look at who’s who and what’s what in the MLS FIFA-verse.
Most used MLS players in FIFA Ultimate Team
- Romain Alessandrini — LA Galaxy
- Gyasi Zardes — Columbus Crew SC
- Bradley Wright-Phillips — New York Red Bulls
- Jonathan dos Santos — LA Galaxy
- Bastian Schweinsteiger — Chicago Fire
As one might expect, getting featured prominently in The Journey will send your stock soaring; especially if you’re a tricky winger, a pacy, physical striker, or a box-to-box powerhouse midfielder.
There’s quite a bit of LA Galaxy on this list, but don’t underestimate the love for Chicago’s World Cup-winner or the Red Bulls’ talisman. After all, both of BWP’s goals from this weekend’s real-life action look like they came straight out of a video game. Hopefully we’ll see a re-creation of at least one of them during eMLS Cup.
Top 10 MLS goalscorers in FIFA Ultimate Team
- Romain Alessandrini — LA Galaxy
- Gyasi Zardes — Columbus Crew SC
- Andrea Pirlo — NYCFC
- Giovani dos Santos — LA Galaxy
- Sebastian Giovinco — Toronto FC
- Bradley Wright-Phillips — New York Red Bulls
- David Villa — NYCFC
- Jonathan dos Santos — LA Galaxy
- Josef Martinez — Atlanta United
- Sebastian Lletget — LA Galaxy
Set-piece headers, late runs into the box, mind-bending free kicks, or a good old-fashioned laser into the top corner: the players on this list know all kinds of ways to put the ball in the back of the net.
Most-used MLS teams in FIFA 18
- LA Galaxy
- Atlanta United
- NYCFC
- Toronto FC
- Seattle Sounders FC
If you’re big fan of career mode, you know how fun it is to take your favorite club and build them into an unstoppable force of nature. Going out and buying Ibrahimovic or something is certainly one way to flex on your opponents, but it’s not the only one. You could also sign promising youngster Alex Hunter and have him bag goals for fun, just in case you need some help making the playoffs. There’s no wrong way to wreak havoc en route to the domestic double ‚ although the jury is still out on whether selling Ezequiel Barco for upwards of $50 million can be considered cheating.
Top MLS use outside US and Canada
- United Kingdom
- Brazil
- Germany
- France
- Italy
Beyond the countries MLS calls home, a lineup of heavyweights are having fun with the league in FIFA 18. Fun fact: Every country on this list has won a World Cup. Pretty cool, right?
As MLS grows, more and more folks are exploring the league through FIFA 18. The community using video games to build digital bridges in the world of soccer is huge, and the overlap between the virtual world and the real world is getting bigger — especially in our sport.
If you want to see your favorite player on one of these lists any time soon, now’s your chance: Pick up a controller and go bag a few goals.
