Argentina have produced the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano, Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta and of course Lionel Messi to grace the footballing world, with the South Americans lifting the World Cup on two occasions. But who will be next face of Argentinean football once Lionel Messi begins to fade? RealSport takes a look at the best wonderkids you can sign on FIFA 18’s Career Mode.
READ: FIFA 19 Wonderkids: Best Argentinians to sign in Career Mode
How to choose the best wonderkid for FIFA 18 Career Mode
Here we are looking at the best wonderkids from Argentina on FIFA 18. This has been opened up to players aged 23 and below, who have starting overall ratings of 72 or higher, with all our players having the potential to hit at least an 80 rating in the future. These are players you can trust now, but hold the potential to be amongst the best in the world.
It is worth mentioning that players can outgrow their potentials on FIFA 18’s Career Mode, but only if they are at the top of their game and performing week in, week out. Young players are also often expensive so don’t be alarmed if you have to take a huge chunk out of your transfer budget to get hold of them. In compiling our top 10, we have looked at player stats, potential and age.
Our full list of Argentinean wonderkids can be found at the bottom of this page.
Paulo Dybala (OVR 88 – POT 93)
Age: 23
Positions: CAM, ST
Club: Juventus
Best stats: 93 ball control, 92 dribbling, 91 agility
Cost: £119.9 million (release clause)
Wage: £189,000
Despite being just 23 years old, Paulo Dybala is already one of the world’s finest. The attacking midfielder and striker has scored 54 goals in 102 games for Juventus and has won the Serie A in both his seasons in Turin. He is yet to notch any goals for the Argentina national team however, as he struggles to make the first-choice line up behind Sergio Aguero, Lionel Messi, Angel di Maria and teammate Gonzalo Higuain.
On FIFA 18, the former Palermo man has an overall rating of 88 with the potential to hit 93. His 93 ball control, 92 dribbling and 91 agility give him the ‘Dribbler’ and ‘Acrobat’ specialities.
Angel Correa (OVR 79 – POT 87)
Age: 22
Positions: ST, CAM, RM, RW
Club: Atletico Madrid
Best stats: 87 dribbling, 87 agility, 85 acceleration
Cost: £37.6 million (release clause)
Wage: £52,000
With Antoine Griezmann, Kevin Gameiro, Fernando Torres and potentially Diego Costa joining them in January, Atletico Madrid look set to have a plethora of attacking options. Fellow striker Angel Correa will have a serious fight on his hands for minutes once Costa rejoins the club, but the 22-year-old does have the advantage of also being able to play as an attacking or right midfielder, as well as a right winger.
The 79-rated man has a surprisingly strong potential with 87, with his best stats being his 87 agility, 87 dribbling and 85 acceleration on the game.
Luciano Vietto (OVR 79 – POT 86)
Age: 23
Positions: ST
Club: Atletico Madrid
Best stats: 88 balance, 86 dribbling, 83 positioning
Cost: £35.3 million (release clause)
Wage: £52,000
Atletico Madrid’s attacking options just keep getting bigger with Luciano Vietto also on their books. The 23-year-old went out on loan to Sevilla last season, scoring 10 times in 31 appearances, but the Argentine will need to improve if he is to get any sort of regular game time under Diego Simeone.
On the game, Vietto has a 79 starting overall with the potential to reach 86. His most impressive stats include his 88 balance, 86 dribbling and 85 ball control.
Leandro Paredes (OVR 79 – POT 84)
Age: 23
Positions: CM, CDM
Club: Zenit St. Petersburg
Best stats: 84 short passing, 82 ball control, 82 vision
Cost: £22.9 million (release clause)
Wage: £56,000
Moving away from the attacking players we have central and defensive midfielder Leandro Paredes. The Zenit man made his Argentina debut back in June, scoring in the 6-0 rout over Singapore. In terms of club football, it has been up and down for Paredes, after finally finding some consistency with Roma last season, he was sold on to Zenit St. Petersburg and is a regular starter for the Russian club.
On FIFA 18, the 23-year-old Paredes has a very respectable 79 overall rating, with the potential to hit 84. His best stats include 84 short passing, 82 ball control, and 82 vision.
Franco Cervi (OVR 78 – POT 85)
Age: 23
Positions: LM
Club: Benfica
Best stats: 92 agility, 91 acceleration, 90 balance
Cost: £28.1 million (release clause)
Wage: £11,000
Over at Benfica, we have left midfielder Franco Cervi. The five-foot-five-inch Cervi picked up regular game time during his first season in Portugal, following his move from Argentine side Rosario Central. The 23-year-old will now want to keep picking up the minutes to raise attention from the rest of Europe and perhaps national team manager Jorge Sampaoli.
Cervi has a 78 overall rating with the potential to go on and hit 85. He holds 92 agility, 91 acceleration and 90 balance in his game, making him a tricky man to defend against.
Alan Ruiz (OVR 78 – POT 84)
Age: 23
Positions: CF, CAM, ST
Club: Sporting
Best stats: 88 shot power, 86 long shots, 86 dribbling
Cost: £28.1 million (release clause)
Wage: £16,000
Centre forwards or ‘second strikers’ are rare on FIFA games, with Sporting’s Alan Ruiz amongst the finest on the game. The 23-year-old can also play as an attacking midfielder or striker, with his finishing shown by his decent return of seven goals during his first season in Portugal.
On FIFA 18 Ruiz has a reliable overall rating of 78 with a potential of 84. His top stats include 88 shot power, 86 long shots and 86 dribbling.
Sebastian Driussi (OVR 77 – POT 85)
Age: 21
Positions: ST, LW
Club: Zenit St. Petersburg
Best stats: 84 acceleration, 83 agility, 82 stamina
Cost: £20.2 million (release clause)
Wage: £47,000
Another man at Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg, Sebastian Driussi is already a certain starter in his first season at the club. The 21-year-old made the move from Argentinean giants River Plate in the summer and has already chalked up 14 appearances in Zenit colours.
The striker or left winger has an overall rating of 77 on the game with an 85 potential. His best stats include his 84 acceleration, 83 agility and 82 stamina.
Giovanni Simeone (OVR 76 – POT 86)
Age: 21
Positions: ST, RM
Club: Fiorentina
Best stats: 82 jumping, 79 sprint speed, 79 positioning
Cost: £20.9 million (release clause)
Wage: £47,000
The son of Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone, Giovanni is building a reputation in his own right. The striker or right midfielder scored 12 goals in 31 games at Genoa last season, which earned him a summer move to Fiorentina. He has gone straight into the Fiorentina starting line-up and has struck the back of the net once in his opening six games.
The 22-year-old has a starting overall rating on FIFA 18, with the potential to hit 86. His most impressive stats are his 82 jumping, 79 sprint speed and 79 positioning.
Lucas Ocampos (OVR 76 – POT 83)
Age: 22
Positions: LW, RM
Club: Olympique Marseille
Best stats: 79 dribbling, 78 sprint speed, 78 strength
Cost: £20.3 million (release clause)
Wage: £27,000
After a series of loan spells, 23-year-old left winger Lucas Ocampos is looking for a definitive season at Marseille. Whilst at Monaco he was sent on loan to Marseille, who then snapped him up permanently in 2015, only to be loaned out for spells at Genoa and AC Milan. However, he is back in the fold in the South of France, with two goals and an assist in four Ligue 1 games this campaign.
Ocampos, who can also play as a right midfielder, has a 76 overall rating on FIFA 18, with the potential to hit 82. His best attributes are his 79 dribbling, 79 ball control and 78 sprint speed.
Jose Luis Gomez (OVR 76 – POT 82)
Age: 23
Positions: RB, RM
Club: Club Atletico Lanus
Best stats: 93 acceleration, 92 sprint speed, 85 agility
Cost: £13.5 million (release clause)
Wage: £14,000
Finally, we have a player based in their native Argentina. Jose Luis Gomez plays for Club Atletico Lanus, who finished eighth in the Primera Division last season. The 23-year-old right back or right midfielder has already featured for the national team, with Jorge Sampaoli trying various full back options ahead of the 2018 World Cup next summer.
Gomez has an overall rating of 76 with a decent potential of 82. His best stats are his 93 acceleration, 92 sprint speed and his 85 agility.
Other Argentinean wonderkids
Name | Age | Pos. | Club | OVR | POT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emanuel Mammana | 21 | CB | Zenit | 75 | 86 |
Cristian Pavon | 21 | RW RM ST | Boca Juniors | 75 | 84 |
German Conti | 22 | CB | Colon | 75 | 83 |
Valentin Vada | 21 | CM | Bordeaux | 75 | 82 |
Jorge Figal | 23 | CB RB | Independiente | 75 | 82 |
Jonathan Calleri | 23 | ST | Las Palmas | 75 | 81 |
Jonathan Silva | 23 | LB | Sporting | 75 | 80 |
Giovani Lo Celso | 21 | CAM CM | PSG | 74 | 86 |
Andres Cubas | 21 | CDM CM | Defensa* | 74 | 84 |
Rodrigo De Paul | 21 | RW CAM LM | Udinese | 74 | 82 |
*Denoted players on loan
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Which wonderkids are you going to sign on FIFA 18's Career Mode? Let us know in the comments section below.