When EA SPORTS unveils the Team of the Year (TOTY) in FIFA 22, one name will surely not be there: Toni Kroos. The German professional footballer is not even on the list of nominees – and he’s not alone.
Although the game developer has pre-selected 80 footballers for the Team of the Year vote, it has surprisingly not nominated some star players. Two Germans in particular are conspicuous by their absence.
For one, there is Toni Kroos. Behind the 32-year-old midfielder lies another successful year at Real Madrid. Although the team fell just short of the La Liga title, the German was nevertheless convincing.
In the current and the previous season, Kroos impressed with his high passing accuracy: 95 per cent of his passes found their target on average. He also created more goal-scoring chances in midfield than his teammates Modric and Casemiro, both of whom are on the TOTY ballot.
From One to No Man’s Land
Just like Kroos at Real Madrid, Manuel Neuer has been a constant at FC Bayern München in 2021. The German goalkeeper will remain a key player for the record champions – unlike in the TOTY. Last year he was still in the box, but this time he didn’t even make the list of nominees.
What is curious about Neuer’s non-nomination is that the goalkeeper can look back on a good year: The 35-year-old did not concede a single goal in the national team. Fitting, because in 2021 he also set Oliver Kahn’s record for the most “white waistcoats” in the Bundesliga.
Whether Neuer was the best goalkeeper of the year in 2021 is debatable. However, he is at least among the five nominees for FIFA’s World Goalkeeper of 2021. When it comes to keepers, however, FIFA and EA SPORTS generally show significantly different lists for their awards. Similar to Neuer, Liverpool FC’s Alisson Becker and Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel were not nominated for the TOTY.
The goal threat from midfield
Some professional footballers outside Germany will also have been puzzled by their non-nomination. Franck Kessié, for example. In FIFA 21, the professional footballer from AC Milan still made it into the Team of the Season (TOTS). Now EA SPORTS no longer seems to be in favour of him.
After the summer break, Kessié picked up where he left off – as a goal-scoring defensive midfielder. In 2021, he scored on average in every third league game. Although it was highly unlikely that he would have made the final TOTY, he could have been nominated.
Which players will make it into the Team of the Year in FIFA 22 will probably be revealed on 21 or 22 January. The TOTY voting will run until 18 January.
