
Football
Share
Published 11:03 16 Sept 2016 BST
Or this? It's bad enough that Robbie Brady missed out on a Premier League, La Liga or Serie A move over the summer, to be left out of FIFA 17's top 10 free-takers is the biggest scandal since they changed Opal Fruits to Starburst. Brady does free-kicks. He scores regularly from the placed ball and does it in style. Still, he languishes outside the top 10. Cristiano Ronaldo does too but maybe he'll get back in for FIFA 18 if he keeps taking frees with the inside of his boot.07: Goal! Ireland 1-0 Oman. What a strike from Robbie Brady! #ThanksRobbie https://t.co/2XZrEnzE9t
— eir Sport (@eirSport) August 31, 2016
Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick was pretty spectacular too ?? pic.twitter.com/wPKItr4baO — TheSportsHangout (@Sports_Hangout) September 14, 2016Memphis didn't have the best of debut seasons in the Premier League after joining Manchester United from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2015, but maybe he would have done if Louis van Gaal just let him take more free-kicks. The Dutch winger scored just seven times last season, none of them from dead-ball situations, and has just half an hour under his belt so far this season (with no goals to show for it). But Memphis has retained his spot among the top 10 free-kick takers in EA Sports' FIFA series, dropping one place year-on-year from sixth to seventh. He is no longer the best-placed Premier League player, though. That honour goes to West Ham's Dimitri Payet, whose FA Cup quarter-final effort meant he has scored more free-kicks at Old Trafford than the United player.
All in all there are three Premier League players in the top 10 - Swansea's Gylfi Sigurðsson climbs to 10th after scoring twice from direct free-kicks last season.
There's also a new number one, with New York City FC's Andrea Pirlo and Bayer Leverkusen star Hakan Çalhanoğlu switching places so the Italian now holds down top spot.
And Celtic fans will be pleased to see a familiar name on the list. Shunsuke Nakamura is not only still playing, but he's still the free-kick god we all remember him as. The 38-year-old former Japan international, now with Yokohama F. Marinos in the J-League, is ninth on the list.
FIFA 17 - Top 10 free-kick takers (check out the individual profiles here)
Ireland warned of huge punishment for wider sport if Israel game had been boycotted
The Minister of state for Sport outlined that if Ireland hadn’t fulfilled their Nations League fixture vs Israel, there would be wider sport ramifications. Earlier on Friday, the FAI confirmed the fixture will take place. However, the controversial match will be played behind closed doors. While still being listed as a ‘home game’ for Ireland, […]
Football
1 day ago
FAI announce official decision for Ireland v Israel venue
BREAKING The FAI have confirmed that Ireland’s home fixture v Israel in the Nations League will be moved to a neutral venue according to RTE. Originally, the match was scheduled to take place on the 4th of October, in the Aviva Stadium. After a meeting on Thursday, the decision has been made to move the […]
Football
1 day ago
Football
Ranking the jerseys for all 48 World Cup teams
Football