The Team of the Season event is seeing us through the final stages of FIFA 22, with FIFA 23 coming in the next few months.
This stage of the season gives us a great chance to take a retrospective look at what has gone before and what we would like to see emerge in the future, and who better to get that perspective from than a pro player?
Mind you, this isn't just any pro player, as we had the pleasure of chatting to Musaed "MsDossary" Al Dossary, one of, if not THE best, FIFA players of all time.
Fresh off the back of his Red Bull Unfold documentary, the serial winner talks to us about current and future gameplay, the best players, and shares some tips and tricks to improve in FIFA.
The Man Behind the Controls
In our interview, we kept things mainly FIFA focused, however, if you want to get a more in-depth look at MsDossary's rise to FIFA stardom and find out more about the man himself, the Red Bull Unfold documentary is a great place to go.
In the documentary we see MsDossary playing some real-life football, as well as FIFA. So we thought we would find out if he would rather have his current eFootball career, or have been a professional footballer.
"I always say football in one way or another. Depends on the team I'm going to play on and the level I'm playing at, but yeah, football."
It just goes to show that no matter what heights you reach in esports, the dream of playing the real game at a professional level will always have that big draw towards it!
Another thing that is highlighted in the documentary is how calm MsDossary stays under pressure. Obviously, he is playing in international events when doing it, but we can still take on his advice when we play some Weekend League.
"I think obviously everything comes with experience. I remember the first events I had in my career I was nervous and that was affecting my performance.
"Sometimes you don't need to overthink your goals. You just need to take it one step by another.
"Focus on the first game. Don't think I'm going to win the whole thing because then you're not going to win that game."
He also makes the point that you should stay hydrated, something that is often overlooked when considering esports.
"I always try to get caffeinated before the games to get the energy with Red Bull, and then within and between the games I always drink water."
If you want to watch the documentary, you can find it on YouTube here.
A Pro's Perspective
With FIFA 22 drawing to the end of its cycle, we took this opportunity with a pro to find out what he thinks EA has done well with its game this year.
"I think it's gonna be an easier question of what is wrong!" MsDossary jokes.
"But, from a competition side, LAN tournaments are back, so that's one good thing."
Due to the COVID pandemic, LAN tournaments - where competitors play on a local network in the same arena - had to be cancelled, which took away the special atmosphere of the events.
"The second thing is the two v two format, so you can play with your friends, and then the announcement of cross-play is something else I'm happy about."
That leads us on nicely to what MsDossary thinks could be improved with future releases.
"They should include more online events so outsider teams and players can enter, more LAN events, and some bigger tournaments as well. There's a lot of stuff that they will learn from this year."
He would also like developers to communicate with the pros more, in order to create a better game.
"They know we're always trying to help the whole community to get the best game possible, and as pros, we can know the overpowered stuff faster than others."
Change the Skill Gap
Insofar as the actual gameplay is concerned looking towards FIFA 23, MsDossary wants to see the skill gap really increase!
"They need to increase the skill gap and the game needs to be faster. Then, this gap between players will be more because not everyone can have a quick reaction time.
"Looking at the game currently, I think if you want to build the chances there's time for anyone to think about it. To do whatever you can do.
"In any sport, it's about the quick decision making, so you need to have a faster way of things in FIFA."
One way this could be implemented is by changing the game animation speeds, which currently puts a limit on just how quick actions in-game can be.
As for other changes he would like to see in FIFA 23's gameplay, MsDossary would like to see the AI defending a lot less than it is now.
"Everything needs to be more manual. If defending and everything is done by the AI then the game can be easy as there is no skill gap. So I'm just hoping for a more manual game."
With more manual defending this would really differentiate between players, showing how the pros are on a real next-level compared to other gamers.
A New King on the Throne
As FIFA 23 will be released soon, we've already speculated on who will be the highest-rated players, but who does MsDossary think will take the crown?
"The best player in the world right now for me is Karim Benzema, but I don't think he will be the highest-rated, I think that will be Mbappe."
We've seen Messi and Ronaldo reign over the highest-rated player spots for so long now, but time has caught up with them, with new players ready to take their spots.
Growing up, MsDossary has seen the two dominate as the best players in the world, and says "it's going to be a bit sad that we cannot use them in our best XI team for next year because I wanted to play with them."
It looks like he is expecting a big drop-off in rating for the pair!
A Balancing Act
Due to the gameplay, players like Karim Benzema don't see a lot of action because they don't always suit the meta.
Is that something else that could be changed with FIFA 23, where a larger and slower player is more effective?
The issue with this, MsDossary says, is that if you slow the whole game down to make these players more effective, once again there will be less of a skill gap, because of the slower game speed.
"Then the next thing is balancing the players. I think we would like to see these players used, just not by making the game slow or that every cross can be a goal.
"Unfortunately, in the last few FIFAs, the mechanics and the meta were not helping people to use players like Lewandowski and Benzema."
Let's hope that EA can find the sweet spot with gameplay in FIFA 23, so the best players in world football can also be utilised as the best players in-game.