FIFA 17: Lukas Podolski's upgraded card has a thunderous 99 shot power

What’s the story?

Lukas Podolski is famed for taking powerful shots on the football field, however, in the new FIFA 17 card, EA has made it even more vigorous with the recent upgrade. If one closely analyses the various figures of the Galatasaray forward's shooting skills, he scores an unrealistic 99 on shot power, 98 for valleys and concludes with a 91 for finishing.

What comes in as heartening news for FIFA fans across the globe is that in the new Team of the Week, the former German international is invincible in front of goal, for it renders him unstoppable from any possible range.

In case you didn’t know...

Lukas Podolski retired from international football just last week ago post a friendly fixture against England wherein he scored a brilliant goal. In his 130^th and final appearance for Germany, Podolski fired a shot from 30 yards out into the top corner for his effort was beyond the reach of English keeper Joe Hart.

Making his debut way back in 2004 against Hungary, Podolski notched up a total of 49 international goals to his name. In a career that spanned 13 years, he was named the Best Young Player at the 2006 World Cup, played in the EURO 2008 final and won the World Cup in 2014.

The heart of the matter

Following the spectacular effort against England, FIFA sort of rewarded the 31-year old forward with an upgraded FUT card. The earlier standard card for Podolski had ratings of 93 in shot power, 91 in volleying and 85 in finishing all of which have risen to 99, 98 and 91 respectively.

This means that the shot power is equivalent to Team of the Year version of Cristiano Ronaldo. Although elsewhere, there’s been minor improvements with his pace increasing from 86 to 87 while dribbling climbs on from 84 to 87.

The new FIFA 17 card for Lukas Podolski. Image credits: Dream Team FC

What’s next?

The new card will ensure that there is renewed boost in the demand for the German forward for the card is currently selling for approximately 200K on both platforms PS4 AND Xbox One, according to the latest data provided by Futbin.

Author’s take

The German star was already a fan favourite amongst the regular FIFA players even prior to the recent upgrade. However, only a minor concern regarding his overall statistics negatively affected his demand.

But with the new card and the boosts in all areas, especially shot power, he will surely make the cut and his demand will sooner or later exceed supply. However, honestly, there are many players better than Podolski who rightly deserved this tag before him.