EA Sports FIFA 17: Fastest XI

EA Sports FIFA 17 has been the gaming giants’ highest selling edition in the history of the widely popular FIFA series. Complete with the FIFA Ultimate Team offering, the video game has become a must have for any gamer who even remotely follows football.

With FIFA now offering the FUT feature with all of its instalments, players need an ever increasing amount of knowledge about the game, its players and more specifically their attributes, like pace, finishing, dribbling and so on.

Pace has been an ever important attribute in the game. Imagine a 2014 David Moyes’s Manchester United version of Rio Ferdinand coming up against an Arjen Robben in the Champions League. The results will not be good.

As always, FIFA 17 also gives significant importance to pace and it remains one of the most keenly checked attributes among players. We constructed a fastest FIFA 17 XI which will undoubtedly be useful for FUT addicts. Have a look.

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Goalkeeper: Guillermo Ochoa (Pace - 87)

Guillermo Ochoa was excellent for Mexico in the 2014 World Cup but is exceptionally fast

The Mexican goalkeeper rose to fame with his excellent performances in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where the El Tri reached the Round of 16 on the back of Ochoa’s heroics in goal. The goalkeeper went to the World Cup a free agent and was picked up by Malaga after his impressive performances.

Shot stopping and reflexes are not the only attributes in Ochoa’s locker, he is equally adept at coming off his line to operate as a sweeper and snuff out chances with his lightning quick speed rating of 87, which is equal to his reflexes attribute.

For comparison’s sake, Ochoa’s speed rating of 87 is one attribute point more than that of Antoine Griezmann who has a pace rating of 86.

Defenders

Hector Bellerin’s pace sets him apart from regular full-backs

RB- Hector Bellerin (Pace- 95)

One of the quickest players in FIFA 17, the Arsenal right-back is a shoe in for the fastest right fullback spot. The pace provided down the right flank by Bellerin is essential to the free-flowing, attacking football the Gunners aspire to play with his speed coming in handy for defensive recoveries as well as marauding runs down the flank on counter attacks.

CB- Nathan Smith (Pace- 88)

A pace rating of 88 is pretty good for a central defender and the former Jamaican international has loads of it. The 29-year-old currently plays for League Two side Yeovil Town in England. While Yeovil Town’s defence may not be top notch, they are 17^th in the league and under threat of relegation, Smith remains one of the fastest defenders in the game and a great addition to an FUT team if pace is the need of the hour.

CB- Kebba Ceesay (Pace- 88)

The central defensive pairing consisting of Nathan Smith and Gabonese international is unlikely to be outpaced on the game with the 28-year-old also boasting at 88 pace rating on FIFA 17. Playing for Djurgardens in the Swedish league, Ceesay is on top of the pile of the fastest defenders in FIFA 17

LB- Jordi Alba (Pace- 93)

Barcelona’s marauding full-back Jordi Alba is one of the best attacking fullbacks in the game with an overall rating of 86 points. The Spain international’s quality is augmented by his pace rating of 93 which makes him almost impossible to keep up with when in full flow.

The soon to be 28-year old’s pace can be exploited for its attacking utility as well as coping with nimble, speedy wingers on the video game series.

Midfielders

Taison is an exceptionally fast central midfielder for Shakhtar Donetsk

RM- Mathias Bolly (Pace- 96)

Playing for Greuther Furth in the second division of the Bundesliga, Mathias Bolly has been the fastest player in the past editions of the game. FIFA 17 gives Bolly a pace attribute of 96, which makes him the joint fastest player in the game alongside Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, resulting in a deadly quick winger-striker combination that is bound to wreak havoc in opposition defences.

LM- Nnamdi Oduamadi (Pace- 94)

The left winger is currently on contract with fallen Italian giants Milan but plays for Finnish club HJK Helsinki on loan from the Italians. The Nigerian-born winger has come through Milan’s youth system and has shown great potential with his electric speed and knack of scoring goals at the big stage for Helsinki.

CM– Taison (Pace-90)

The Brazilian midfielder plies his trade for Ukranian club Shakhtar Donetsk as an attacking midfielder who can also play as a winger. The speedster, who was rumoured to have become a naturalised Ukranian after his long stint in the Ukranian Premier League was recently called up to the Brazilian squad by newly appointed manager Tite after his impressive performances with Shakhtar.

The Brazilian’s speed is his most destructive asset and can be deadly on the counter attack in a FIFA 17 FUT team built around him.

CM- Jeff Louis (Pace- 90)

The Haiti-born midfielder plays for French Ligue 1 club Caen as a central midfielder and has an overall rating of 71 with his standout attribute being his explosive pace which has been given a rating of 90, similar to his midfield partner Taison. Deadly on the counter attack a good dribbler, he has the potential to be a great bargain buy on FUT squads.

Strikers

Aubameyang’s pace rivals that of Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt

Jamie Vardy (Pace- 93)

The Leicester City striker turned 30 in January but his recent goals against Liverpool suggest that the spark which was missing the entire season is returning. Although the Englishman’s form has tailed off after last season’s heroics, with him scoring only 5 goals compared to last season’s tally of 24, the lightning pace that he was known for has not deserted him.

Given a sky-high pace rating of 93 by EA, Jamie Vardy is the second fastest striker in the game, perfectly reflecting his most favourable attributes which saw him score in 11 consecutive games for the Foxes en-route to the Premier League title last season.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Pace- 96)

The Gabonese international has set the Bundesliga alight this season with his dynamic performances as the spearhead of Thomas Tuchel’s Borussia Dortmund attack and has already scored 25 goals this season in all competitions.

Apart from establishing himself as one of the best strikers in world football, Aubameyang is also one of the fastest footballers on the planet with his speed over 30m being faster than three-time 100m Olympic Gold medallist Usain Bolt.

Taking into account Aubameyang’s extreme pace, EA have provided him with a pace rating of 96, making him the fastest player in the game.