In FIFA 23, Erling Haaland is more true to his real-life counterpart than ever before. In the Premier League, the Norwegian scores goals at an incredible rate – and he is also hard to stop on the virtual pitch.
Many play with Haaland in FIFA 23: Looking at current numbers from the portal futbin, Haaland is probably the most popular striker in FIFA 23. For starters, he is at the top of the popularity list for forwards, even ahead of Ronaldo, the new Falcao, and Karim Benzema (via futbin).
Only Danjuma, who received a very affordable SBC, ranks ahead of him. However, he is actually a left midfielder and not a striker, but he can be played as an alternative position in the center of attack.
Moreover, futbin maintains a list of players with the most matches in Ultimate Team. This is based on data from the transfer market and is solely led by Haaland: According to “PGP” (via futbin), Haaland has amassed around 3,986,204 matches in Ultimate Team, standing ahead of players like Dembélé, Vinícius, or Cristiano Ronaldo. No other player has more.
Additionally, Haaland scores an average of 1.14 goals per game according to PGP – an extremely high value considering the number of games Haaland has played.
However, this is only mildly surprising – for when you play against Haaland yourself, you quickly feel how effective the striker can be in FIFA 23. Haaland is extremely fast, can assert himself against good defenders with his strength, and has an absolutely lethal finish.
The higher you climb in Division Rivals, the more often you encounter opponents who rely on the Manchester City striker.
But what makes him so good this year? What has changed?
Haaland fits perfectly with the new gameplay in FIFA 23
What defines Haaland? Even during his time at Dortmund, Haaland was an extremely good striker, despite his young age. In his last season alone, he scored 22 goals and provided 8 assists in 24 matches in the Bundesliga. However, Haaland also missed some games due to injury (via transfermarkt.de).
Now Haaland has moved to England and is causing fear and terror among opposing teams. In just 11 matches, Haaland has already scored 17 goals and provided 3 assists. This has already resulted in a TOTW card and an OTW upgrade – more will surely follow.
Against his speed, finishing strength, and ability to assert himself, it seems that no one can cope right now. And these points are what make him virtually OP in FIFA 23.
With the same strengths, he also scored well in previous years – but until now, it has always been the small, nimble, trickster players who ultimately prevailed in the FIFA meta.
In FIFA 23, however, pure dribbling currently takes a backseat. Players are now opting for tall, strong, and fast strikers. Forwards with the “Lengthy” running style are currently preferred by many – and Haaland is one of them, as he can easily outpace many defenders.
Moreover, there are new, very effective attacking techniques like the outside-of-the-foot shot or the finesse shot, that benefit from good finishing stats. Here as well, Haaland offers everything you need.
No wonder that Haaland is currently an extremely popular forward in Ultimate Team – at least when you play with him and don’t have to defend against him.
However, Haaland is still quite expensive: his gold card currently costs about 180,000 coins. For comparison: On October 27, 2021, Haaland’s gold card in FIFA 22 was already only 15,000 coins. This also shows: This year, Haaland simply fits better into the gameplay than before. He is finally as strong as his real-life counterpart.
Anyone looking for an affordable alternative might find it here: Players celebrate an 11,000-coin striker, the “Budget Haaland.”
