Happy New Year from everybody at GIVEMESPORT.

We're now four days in to 2020 and unless you've been living under a rock for the last month, you'll be well aware that the arrival of January has also marked a new decade as well as a year.

As a result, we've been looking back on the 2010s by deciding on the best teams, games, players, kits and more from the last 10 years.

However, one area that has been somewhat neglected amidst the festivities has been EA Sports' flagship game series FIFA.

Plenty of gamers would argue that FIFA has been going downhill over the last decade, but if we put the gameplay and features aside, it serves as a time capsule for how the sport has changed.

FIFA 10 vs FIFA 20

And in recognition of that, YouTuber 'BMonus' decided to compile the best XI from both FIFA 10 and FIFA 20 to simulate which team would win between the two.

He used the contemporary release of the game, recreated the exact in-game stats of the FIFA 10 team and allowed the computer to play out the all-star fixture on 'legendary' difficulty.

But before we reveal how the clash of the titans played out, here are the two highest-rated starting XIs from the last game of the 2000s and the final release of the 2010s.

LINE-UPS

FIFA 10: Iker Casillas (92), Dani Alves (87), Nemanja Vidic (89), Carles Puyol (90), Patrice Evra (85), Cesc Fabregas (90), Frank Lampard (89), Steven Gerrard (90), Lionel Messi (92), Wayne Rooney (91) and Cristiano Ronaldo (90).

FIFA 20: Jan Oblak (91), Joshua Kimmich (86), Virgil van Dijk (90), Sergio Ramos (89), Jordi Alba (87), N'Golo Kante (89), Kevin De Bruyne (91), Luka Modric (90), Lionel Messi (94), Cristiano Ronaldo (93) and Neymar (92).

FULL VIDEO

Talk about a star-studded match-up. You can check out the full simulation down below (skip to 13:38), but keep scrolling for our breakdown of the virtual madness.

MATCH REPORT

The FIFA 10 squad flew out of the blocks to take the lead after just 10 minutes.

The younger Ronaldo bombed down the left flank, whipping in a cross that Messi met with a diving header and forced a save from Oblak that allowed Rooney to smash home the rebound.

And it was 2-0 just after the half-hour mark with Ronaldo causing chaos once again, combining with Gerrard and eventually finding the top corner after bullying Van Dijk in the penalty area.

The score remained that way until half-time with the modern-day team failing to muster a single shot on goal.

In fact, things didn't improve after the break either and Lampard would have sealed the deal with 10 minutes to play if it wasn't for a smart save from Oblak.

So, there you have it, the world's best players were actually better 10 years ago if you believe FIFA and a final score of 2-0 didn't do their dominance justice.

GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says

FIFA can throw up some pretty weird results in simulations like these, but 2-0 to the FIFA 10 side looks absolutely spot on.

You'd rather have Ronaldo and Messi in their primes for a kick-off, 2009 Rooney would outscore a contemporary Neymar and the duo of Lampard and Gerrard would outshine Modric and Kante.

The defences are pretty even, in fairness, but even a peak Van Dijk and Ramos would struggle to deal with the versions of Ronaldo and Messi who were bagging over 50 goals a season.

That being said, I reckon the FIFA 20 side would actually manage a shot on goal, they just wouldn't be able to beat Casillas more than their forbearers would get past Oblak.