FIFA 18: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi make it to TOTY forwards' list

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

What’s the story?

EA Sports has revealed the first lot of its Team of The Year (TOTY). The strikers have been named and next up will be the midfielders.

In case you didn’t know...

The line-up for the TOTY is decided by members of the FIFA community and football professionals. The players, who make it to the line-up, will receive special TOTY cards in FIFA Ultimate Team, making them the highest rated players in the game.

The heart of the matter

England international Harry Kane has found a place alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the first lot which involves the strikers.

Kane has been in tremendous form for Tottenham Hotspurs this season, scoring goals at will and his inclusion come as no surprise.

Kane has got a rating of 96 while Ronaldo has received a rating of 99 and Messi has fetched 98. The trio has decimated a lot of opponents in the past one year and now they will have special in-form cards available.

However, there's one player who must feel hard done for not getting selected in the strikers' lot. It is none other than former Barcelona star Neymar. Despite scoring for fun at Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain, he has not managed to get a slot.

A week back the nominees for every position were announced. 17 out of the 55 players who were nominated are from the Premier League.

What’s next?

The next set of players which will be revealed is the midfielders. The midfielder's lot is a talented one for sure. Real Madrid regulars Casemiro, Isco, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are present beside Barcelona star Andres Iniesta and Chelsea's main man N'Golo Kante. It will be a difficult pool to choose from.

Author’s take

While Ronaldo and Messi’s presence was expected in the first lot, Kane’s superlative performance has helped him to feature alongside these legends.

It will be very interesting to see which players finally end up being in the Team of The Year. There are a lot of worthy candidates for the undecided slots in defence and goalkeeper’s position is one which will finally go to a top shot-stopper amongst a series of talented custodians.

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