With the release of FIFA 22 imminent and only being around the corner, it’s for certain that there will be many eager fans of the franchise piecing together their starter squads to give them an idea of who to target on the transfer list and who to keep their eyes pealed for in packs.
As many avid players of the game know, it’s key to have pace in your starting 11 and on your bench to make sure you’re able to capitalise on attacks and to defend in numbers.
As we're sure many fans of the Premier League would know, Kyle Walker’s blistering speed on the right flank sees him often being in the high 80’s early 90’s when it comes to his pace rating on FIFA.
Leading on from this, we're confident fans are also aware of players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Adama Traore and Marcus Rashford using their pace to their advantage in matches and people on FIFA putting it to their advantage in division rivals and weekend league games.
Yet, this year’s FIFA sees only one of the four people mentioned being in the top 18 fastest players in the game and that would be Adama Traore being joint-second alongside Bayern Munich’s American superstar Alphonso Davies, who has be nicknamed in the past by legendary striker Muller as the roadrunner.
This year's top 18 pace list is as follows:
1. Kylian Mbappe, PSG, Striker - 97
2. Adama Traore, Wolves, Right Wing - 96
3. Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich, Left Back - 96
4. Daniel James, Leeds, Right Midfielder - 95
5. Achraf Hakimi, PSG, Right back - 95
6. Vinicius Jr, Real Madrid, Left Winger - 95
7. Goerges Kevin Nkoudou, Beskitas, Left Midfielder - 95
8. Gerrit Holtman, VfL Bochum, Left Midfielder - 94
9. Ismailar Sarr, Watford, Right Winger - 94
10. Sebastian Villa, Boca Juniors, Right Midfielder - 94
11. Moussa Diaby, Bayer Leverkusen, Left Winger - 94
12. Rafa, Benfica, Right Midfielder - 94
13. Inaki Williams, Athletic Bilbao, Striker - 94
14. Frank Acheampong, Shenzhen FC, Left Winger - 94
15. Rhayner, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Right Midfielder - 94
16. Chidera Ejuke, CSKA Moscow, Left Midfielder - 94
17. Linton Maina, Hannover 96, Right Midfielder - 94
18. Takeshi Kanamori, Avispa Fukuoka, Right Midfielder - 94
For an injection of pace into your sides, these are the top players to keep a keen eye out for.
Although there are a fair few players who have been served an injustice, like Kingsley Coman of Bayern Munich, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, Karim Bellerabi of Bayer Leverkusen and arguably one of the brightest young talents in world football Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund, who clocked in a speed of 36.04 km/h, matching his sprint speed with his fellow young superstar Mbappe, who we see top the pace rating list.
But we don’t just see Mbappe top the pace list, we also see him alongside fellow teammates in the 5-star skillers club. Mbappe is for sure this year showing his footballing dominance through topping stats and being once again this year's cover star for the brand new game.
A tactic which is often common early on is players using various formations which include full-backs, wing-backs, right and left hand-side midfielders and wingers, and we're sure this will be ever more common this year also.
So make sure you're doing all you can to protect yourself against the lightning pace of many players as there are many amongst that list that will have clear links with one and other. If you're old enough to know of the nostalgic Gervinho, Doumbia and Ibarbo front three, we're sure there will be many players hoping to capitalise and prioritising pace over rating early on.