One of the biggest pet peeves in FIFA is the lack of an accurate player face.
And unfortunately, that has been the case for many young stars across world football within the FIFA 21 franchise, and now we know why.
COVID-19
EA confirmed to the Manchester Evening News that the reasoning behind the lack of an updated game face for Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood is that they have been unable to visit the club due to restrictions caused by the pandemic.
"Due to the current global pandemic, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to visit the training ground this year due to club restrictions on external party access.
"We were able to capture Brandon Williams’ head scan during a visit to Carrington in February 2020 but Mason was unavailable to attend this session.”
It's an understandable delay, given the current climate as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is understood that this is also the reason behind the lack of updated game faces for a number of other wonderkids.
James, Tonali lead face scan to-do list
Reece James has been one of the hottest youngsters in the Premier League this year, but he is unrecognisable in FIFA 21.
James could well be on his way to the 2022 World Cup, so an update before FIFA 22 - and any potential WC mode - drops would be well received.
Another youngster who is overdue a face scan update is Future Stars favourite, Sandro Tonali.
The Italian holding midfielder has been a regular feature for AC Milan in the Serie A this season and should be top of EA's to-do list before the next title arrives.
FIFA 22
We're hoping to see the updates as soon as possible, but it now appears more likely that we will see the face scan updates come into play for FIFA 22, rather than FIFA 21.
With the current FIFA title coming towards its peak and the global pandemic showing no signs of stopping anytime soon, EA is likely to put things on hold.
Fingers crossed for a lifelike Greenwood & co by the time EA's next release comes around.