FIFA 18’s free World Cup DLC has earned mixed reviews – click here to read GamesRadar’s verdict – but one area it definitely gets right is player likenesses. Contained within the mode are 47 new or updated player faces, including refreshed hairstyles for Antoine Griezmann and (at long last) Mo Salah, and a farewell to the generic mugs of Ederson, Casemiro and Kalidou Koulibaly.
Until now, though, there’s been no definitive list of which likenesses have been added. So, I figured it was time to make that list. I’ve been through every international team, including non-qualifiers such as Italy, and picked out every updated face. Below you’ll find images and profiles of the best 15, followed by a comprehensive rundown of the full 47. Enjoy…
Denis Cheryshev (Russia)
Villarrael’s winger came off the bench to net twice in the hosts’ day-one thrashing of Saudi Arabia, and those who rush to add him in World Cup Ultimate Team get a surprise bonus: he’s one of three members of the Russia squad with new faces, alongside Alan Dzagoev and Igor Akinfeev.
Osama Hawsawi (Saudi Arabia)
Kicking off the tournament with a 0-5 defeat to Russia means Saudi Arabia already need a miracle to progress, but World Cup mode delivers some small consolation in three fresh likenesses. Joining captain Hawsawi are Al-Hilal team-mates Nawaf Al Abed and Salman Al-Faraj.
Timo Werner (Germany)
Red Bull Leipzig’s star forward looks set for a breakout World Cup with Bayern Munich said to be sniffing around his signature, and EA has got his chiseled jaw and boy-band blonde locks just right.
Alessandro Florenzi (Italy)
One of Ultimate Team’s cult heroes due to his flexibility at both full-back and defensive midfield, Florenzi finally gets his real face added to the game – ironically, as part of a competition for which Italy failed to qualify in real life.
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)
Florenzi isn’t the only Italian added, despite the nation’s failure to make a World Cup finals for the first time since 1958. Donnarumma, heir apparent to Gianluigi Buffon, gets a real face, as does balletic Torino frontman Andrea Belotti.
Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
GR has campaigned for months to have Salah’s likeness updated given his incredible feats on the field for Liverpool, and after picking up both the PFA and Football Writers’ Player Of The Year gongs, he’s finally rewarded with this big-haired doppelgänger.
Ederson (Brazil)
Most major English top-flight signings are immediately added to FIFA thanks to EA’s deal with the Premier League, but Manchester City’s keeper missed out last summer. That’s been rectified ahead of his second campaign with the champions.
Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland)
A golden summer for the Iceland skipper continues. First he scored promotion to the Premier League with Cardiff City and now, ahead of wearing the captain’s armband against Argentina and Croatia, his perfectly manicured beard has made it into FIFA 18.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal)
Many, myself included, consider the broad-shouldered Koulibaly to be the best centre-back in FUT – making his nondescript likeness as deflating as Florenzi’s. Now he finally gets a more accurate depiction, as does international comrade Keita Balde Diao.
Marco Asensio (Spain)
Some community lists have Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Spanish counterpart Saul down as upgraded, but both remain generic for now. Not so the latter’s international team-mates Asensio and Vitolo, who each get overdue faces.
Casemiro (Brazil)
Real Madrid’s midfield powerhouse has been puzzlingly omitted from recent scanning updates despite the Spanish giants being an official EA partner club since FIFA 16. No matter, now: the oversight has been rectified, and he looks great.
Thomas Meunier (Belgium)
PSG’s right-back has spent the last two years as one of FUT’s most popular defenders, with many fans’ only criticism a likeness that could be any bloke walking down any Brussels street. This new face means those dark days can now be left behind.
Youri Tielemans (Belgium)
In addition to Meunier, there’s more good news for FIFA’s Belgian audience: almost the entirety of its squad is now scanned. Joining the overlapping full-back are Tielemans (Monaco), Dries Mertens (Napoli) and Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang).
Jesus Corona (Mexico)
Mexico get more face updates through World Cup mode than any other nation, with a total of five: Hirving Lozano (PSV), Rodolfo Pizarro (Monterrey), Andrés Guardado (Betis), Héctor Moreno (Sociedad), and Jesus Corona (Porto). As you can see, the latter even has his questionable love-bite tattoo.
Antoine Griezmann (France)
Griezmann has had a real face in FIFA for years, but now it’s been updated to include his eye-watering crewcut. Two French team-mates also score new likenesses for World Cup mode: tricksy left-winger Thomas Lemar, and right-sided speed merchant Ousmane Dembele.
Full list of new faces in FIFA 18 World Cup mode:
- Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang / Belgium)
- Dries Mertens (Napoli / Belgium)
- Thomas Meunier (PSG / Belgium)
- Youri Tielemans (Monaco / Belgium)
- Casemiro (Real Madrid / Brazil)
- Ederson (Manchester City / Brazil)
- Yerry Mina (Barcelona / Colombia)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool / Egypt)
- Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona / France)
- Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid / France)
- Thomas Lemar (Monaco / France)
- Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen / Germany)
- Jonas Hector (Koln / Germany)
- Timo Werner (RB Leipzig / Germany)
- Alfred Finnbogason (Augsburg / Iceland)
- Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff / Iceland)
- Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan / Iran)
- Saman Ghoddos (Ostersunds / Iran)
- Alireza Jahanbakhsh (AZ Alkmaar / Iran)
- Andrea Belotti (Torino / Italy)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan / Italy)
- Alessandro Florenzi (Roma / Italy)
- Jesus Corona (Porto / Mexico)
- Andrés Guardado (Real Betis / Mexico)
- Hirving Lozano (PSV / Mexico)
- Héctor Moreno (Real Sociedad / Mexico)
- Rodolfo Pizarro (Monterrey / Mexico)
- Hakim Ziyech (Ajax / Morocco)
- Michal Pazdan (Legia Warsaw / Poland)
- William Carvalho (Free agent / Portugal)
- Joao Mario (Inter Milan / Portugal)
- Rui Patricio (Free agent / Portugal)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City / Portugal)
- Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow / Russia)
- Denis Cheryshev (Villarreal / Russia)
- Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow / Russia)
- Oleg Shatov (Zenit / Russia)
- Nawaf Al Abed (Al Hilal / Saudi Arabia)
- Salman Al-Faraj (Al Hilal / Saudi Arabia)
- Osama Hawsawi (Al Hilal / Saudi Arabia)
- Keita Balde (Monaco / Senegal)
- Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli / Senegal)
- Marco Asensio (Real Madrid / Spain)
- Vitolo (Atletico Madrid / Spain)
- Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig / Sweden)
- Ricardo Rodriguez (AC Milan / Switzerland)
- Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund / USA)
FIFA 18 World Cup is out now, and free to anyone who owns the standard version. Already moved on to next year? Then check out 5 things you need to know about FIFA 19’s Champions League mode.
