FIFA 23 Ultimate team: The fastest players by position
Whether you like it or not, Pace is important on FIFA.
It may not be as important as it once was, as the best players also need to utilise other aspects such as Dribbling stats and Stamina, among many others, but Pace can be the difference between a decent player and a great one.
Of course, as we get towards the end of the cycle with all the promos and special cards on Ultimate Team, including the ongoing Teams of the Season there will be a lot of players with max Pace, which makes running down the wing one of the best ways to get at your opponents in FUT Champs.
But if you wanted to build the quickest squad on FIFA Ultimate Team, how would it look? We’ve broken it down into a 4-3-3 to see how Pace could be used across the pitch. However, we are just focusing on the so-called “normal cards” here, so no In-forms, Icons, Heroes or promo cards etc.
Goalkeeper: Robin Zentner
Pace: 65
Overall: 76
Club: Mainz
Goalkeepers don’t have a Pace rating but they do have Speed, so we’re ranking on that. But even then the stats aren’t too high, with Mainz’s shot-stopper Robin Zentner having the top speed among normal goalkeepers at just 65 – one more than Ederson.
Right-back: Jeremie Frimpong
Pace: 94
Overall: 80
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Jeremie Frimpong is one of a number of players to have 99 Pace when you look at special cards etc, but even without any boosts, he’s a pretty pacey man at right-back. Clocking Pace of 94, Frimpong enjoyed a boost of +3 from his initial Ultimate Team card in FIFA 22 when he was also a 73-rated silver.
Centre-back: Jeremiah St. Juste
Pace: 93
Overall: 76
Club: Sporting CP
A centre-back with 93 Pace? Yes, please. Jeremiah St. Juste is unfortunately let down by his overall of 76, so won’t have been in people’s teams since October – if at all – but he’s still the best of the “normal” centre-backs, with no upgrades this year. Last year his Pace persuaded EA to release a Shapeshifters card switching St. Juste to a right-winger with 99 Pace and 91 Dribbling.
Centre-back: Allan Arigoni
Pace: 90
Overall: 61
Club: FC Lugano
With alternate positions we could have stuck a right-back here but we’ve decided to just stick with actual centre-backs, so Allan Arigoni partners St. Juste. While he has Pace of 90, only three fewer than St. Juste, the Swiss centre-back is a bronze card with an overall rating of just 61. Arigoni’s Pace is also his only attribute higher than 71, with naturally low stats across the rest of the board. However, it’s worth noting that Origoni did enjoy a significant Pace boost of +22 from FIFA 22.
Left-back: Alphonso Davies
Pace: 94
Overall: 84
Club: Bayern Munich
Let’s be real, who else was it going to be? Alphonso Davies is another defender who has an Ultimate Team card with 99 Pace (his Team of the Season), but his base card is still frankly ridiculous at 94. But, Davies has taken a hit with his Pace having been the joint-second fastest player in FIFA 22 with 96 Pace, dropping two.
Central midfield: Marcos Llorente
Pace: 88
Overall: 84
Club: Atletico Madrid
We could’ve been a bit cheeky here and brought in alternate positions for a bit more pace, but if we’re looking for a more functional team it’s best to stick with the players in their best roles. So Marcos Llorente comes in with a pretty low Pace (compared to the rest of the team) of 88, keeping the level he had in FIFA 22.
Central midfield: Federico Valverde
Pace: 87
Overall: 84
Club: Real Madrid
Moving one Pace down, and across Madrid, Federico Valverde has Pace of 87 on his base card and cannot play any other position (unlike Llorente who can also convert to right-back and right-midfielder). Valverde’s Pace is broken into 82 Acceleration and 91 Sprint Speed, and combines pretty well with his 86 Stamina, though you’d probably want that to be higher.
Central midfield: Fredy
Pace: 86
Overall: 71
Club: Antalyaspor
Completing the midfield is a name not many will recognise. Known as Fredy in-game, Alfredo Kulembe Ribeiro is a 71-rated silver card currently playing in the Turkish Super Lig and can play all up the centre of the midfield. Interestingly, Fredy has had his Pace cut in consecutive FIFAs, dropping from 90 in FIFA 20 to 87 in FIFA 22 and now 86 in FIFA 23.
Right-winger: Adama Traore
Pace: 96
Overall: 79
Club: Wolves
The front three is probably pretty predictable, starting with Adama Traore. He may not be in the top 10 fastest Premier League players of 2022/23, but Traore is the second-fastest player in FIFA 23 with his ridiculous 96 Pace.
Striker: Kylian Mbappe
Pace: 97
Overall: 91
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Kylian Mbappe’s base card is still in use in May, which goes to show just how ridiculous he is. Of course, Mbappe is about more than just his Pace but being the quickest normal card in the game, with 97 Pace, certainly helps. Mbappe’s Pace is so high that he has three different special cards already at 99 Pace, making him one of the most expensive players in Ultimate Team.
Left-winger: Vinicius Jr
Pace: 95
Overall: 86
Club: Real Madrid
And, last but not least, Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian has had 95 Pace since FIFA 21, but it feels weird that it wasn’t boosted as he went from 80-rated last year to 86 now. Nevertheless, he’s still pretty tough to stop with 95 Pace and, like Mbappe, has three special cards on Ultimate Team with 99 Pace.
