Team USA faces the impossible vs. the Netherlands, according to FIFA 23

Team USA made every American soccer fan proud by making it out of the group stage at the 2022 World Cup earlier this week. To achieve that, the USMNT had to deal with the likes of Iran and Wales. Now that they’ve reached the elimination phase, the challenge level goes just slightly up, and by slightly we mean a whole lot.

The USA’s opponent in the round of 16 is the Netherlands, who finished top of Group A over Senegal, Ecuador, and the host nation Qatar. Despite winning the group, it’s fair to say the Dutch weren’t all too impressive in their three World Cup games so far, which opens the window for an American upset.

What does FIFA 23 have to say on the matter? Well, if we’re going by pure numbers, the odds are firmly stacked against the United States. To get this comparison off the ground, the average FIFA 23 player ratings of the Netherlands are way higher than that of the U.S.—83 to 77. For some perspective on these numbers, the Dutch are within the top 10 at the World Cup while Team USA just barely makes it into the top 20.

Then we have the starting lineups. We picked the starters for both nations from their final group match, the Netherlands’ 2-0 win over Qatar and the USMNT’s 1-0 victory against Iran. Once again, the European nation wins the numbers game in a landslide.

The FIFA 23 World Cup player ratings of the Netherlands

• GK: Andries Noppert – 75 OVR
• RB: Denzel Dumphries – 83 OVR
• CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 90 OVR
• CB: Jurriën Timber – 81 OVR
• CB: Nathan Aké – 80 OVR
• LB: Daley Blind – 81 OVR
• CM: Marten de Roon – 81 OVR
• CM: Frenkie de Jong – 87 OVR
• CAM: Davy Klaassen – 81 OVR
• ST: Memphis Depay – 85 OVR
• ST: Cody Gakpo – 84 OVR

The FIFA 23 World Cup player ratings of Team USA

• GK: Matthew Turner – 80 OVR
• RB: Sergiño Dest – 80 OVR
• CB: Cameron Carter-Vickers – 78 OVR
• CB: Tim Ream – 78 OVR
• LB: Antonee Robinson – 78 OVR
• CM: Weston McKennie – 81 OVR
• CM: Tyler Adams – 79 OVR
• CM: Yunus Musah – 78 OVR
• RW: Timothy Weah – 78 OVR
• LW: Christian Pulisic – 82 OVR
• ST: Joshua Sargent – 77 OVR

The best news FIFA 23 has for the U.S. is that they have a firm advantage at the goalkeeper position. If you’re going to be better at just one spot on the field, this is arguably the best option. One mistake by the goalie can make or break a soccer game and FIFA 23 suggests that Matthew Turner and Andries Noppert will be the key to an upset on Saturday.