This is an exciting time for the United States men’s national soccer team, with a whole host of young prospects promising to give the USMNT a strength in depth that it has not witnessed for a while. The failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup was devastating, but the emergence of the likes of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Giovanni Reyna is great cause for optimism.
When playing on career mode in EA Sports’ FIFA 20, you might find it difficult to pry those players away from Chelsea, Schalke and Borussia Dortmund respectively. Fortunately, the talent pool of young American prospects is deep. Whether you’re keen to give your side a USMNT feel or you’re seeking to bolster your MLS campaign with domestic talent, here are three players that should be on your FIFA 20 radar.
Timothy Weah
Weah traded PSG for Lille in 2019, a good move for his playing time but one that reduced his chances of winning the French top flight. PSG are favorites every year to top Ligue 1 and are a popular option in handicap betting because of their propensity to win matches comfortably. World Sports Network (WSN) know for a fact which US sportsbooks pay out the quickest, with many American-based soccer punters relying on a weekly PSG victory to potentially receive their winnings just a few hours or days after the final whistle.
That’s all well and good for the neutral, but it’s not ideal for Weah’s aspirations of winning the league. While Lille are an exciting side, they’re as likely to struggle to overcome PSG on FIFA as they are in real life. The quest for success might help you lure away Weah, an exciting 69-rated forward with a potential ability of 84. With a sprint speed of 87, Weah is a classic FIFA striker. Could you tempt him to make his MLS debut with the promise of titles?
Josh Sargent
Whereas Weah can play LM and ST, Sargent can fill in at RW or ST. Snap them both up and you could have an all-American striking duo, or two agile wide forwards to sandwich a main central striker. Sargent struts his stuff in the Bundesliga for Werder Bremen, beginning the game with a rating of 69 that could become an 83 if you harness his talent.
Other than some questionable long passing, Sargent scores well across the board and could be a good all-rounder in your attacking arsenal. 5 goals in 12 caps for the USMNT is proof that Sargent is already converting potential into performances – you could bag him for your career mode side for just a few million if you act fast.
Sergiño Dest
Dest has already made three appearances for the USMNT and his latest FIFA 20 rating is 72, impressive for a player who only turned 19 last November. On FIFA 20, Dest’s ceiling should be around 82. If you’ve got aspirations for winning continental competitions then you might be concerned that this potential is too low, but high sprint speed, stamina and passing stats should help Dest to hold his own in a forward-thinking side.
If you can entice him to MLS then you should have one of the league’s most productive players, with that pace and attacking ability enabling Dest to make a difference in the final third. Dest currently plays for Ajax, a side renowned for developing young talents in what CNN calls a $500 million football factory. For around $4 million, you could become the side that takes over his development.
Those are just three of the American starlets with bright futures, both in real life and in FIFA 20. Paxton Pomykal, James Sands, and Jaylin Lindsey should also be on your shortlist as prospective American stars, but Weah, Sargent and Dest in particular have attributes that are well suited to the rigors of a FIFA 20 career mode.