EA Sports has released the FIFA 23 Team of the Year, with Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema starring in the forward line.
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe may have faced off against one another in the World Cup final in Qatar, but they line up in the same XI in FIFA 23’s Team of the Year.
While Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the tournament’s showpiece match, it was Messi’s Argentina who lifted the World Cup for a third time with a penalty shoot-out victory following a 3-3 draw after extra-time.
The Paris Saint-Germain team-mates have both made FIFA 23’s Team of the Year, though, with the selections made from over 10 million votes from fans.
Despite Argentina’s World Cup win, Messi is the only player from Lionel Scaloni’s team to be included, with Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema completing the front three after scoring 44 goals in 46 matches in the 2021-22 season to help Real Madrid to a LaLiga title and Champions League win.
Kevin De Bruyne finished third in the Ballon d’Or rankings and is part of the midfield, alongside the evergreen Madrid star Luka Modric and Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, with the latter playing a key role for England at the World Cup at the age of just 19.
The Madrid theme running through the line-up continues at the back, with Thibaut Courtois between in goal and Eder Militao at the heart of the defence.
Virgil van Dijk joins Militao, while Theo Hernandez and Achraf Hakimi, who enjoyed excellent World Cups with France and Morocco respectively, fill the full-back roles.
FIFA 23 Team of the Year
GK – Thibaut Courtois – A UEFA Champions League winner in 2022, Courtois cemented himself as an all-time great over the last 12 months.
RB – Achraf Hakimi – With Trent Alexander-Arnold not impressing as much as he has in previous years, Hakimi took the crown as ‘best right-back in the world’ in 2022.
CB – Virgil van Dijk – Imperious in the first half of 2022…not so much in the second.
CB – Eder Militao – Surprisingly made the cut ahead of his centre-back partner David Alaba.
LB – Theo Hernandez – One of the best attacking full-backs around, Theo Hernandez was key to Milan winning their first Scudetto in a decade.
CM – Kevin De Bruyne – Outrageously brilliant for Manchester City in 2022, and 2021, and 2020 etc.
CM – Luka Modric – Now 37, it’s rather remarkable that Luka Modric is still this good.
CM – Jude Bellingham – The England star went to another level in 2022 at BVB and is surely set for a mega-money move in the summer.
CF – Lionel Messi – Finally added a FIFA World Cup to his trophy cabinet and proved he’s the best player of all time. That’s a pretty decent 2022.
CF – Karim Benzema – There was no better player in the world at the tailend of the 2022/23 season. Almost single-handedly dragged Real Madrid to another CL crown.
ST – Kylian Mbappe – He deserved to be in this team for his hat-trick in the World Cup final alone.
