These KC Current players rank among highest-rated NWSL players in new EAFC 24 video game

Every year, hype about player ratings accompanies the highly anticipated release of EA Sports’ soccer video game.

This year’s edition is set to be released Sept. 29, and three Kansas City Current standouts rank among the highest-rated players in the game.

First, some background: EA’s licensing contract with FIFA expired not long ago, thus ending a 30-year partnership in the world’s most popular sports video game. The first edition of the FIFA game — “FIFA International Soccer” — was released in 1993.

Last year’s edition, FIFA23, was the last release under the old name. This year’s edition is called EA FC 24.

The NWSL and MLS are included in EA FC, meaning fans can play as the Current or Sporting KC of Major League Soccer. They can test their managerial skills for either team in Career Mode or, for the first time, choose women’s players past or present in the popular Ultimate Team mode.

While no Sporting KC players rank among the game’s top 24-rated players in MLS, three Current players are among the big names in women’s soccer:

Debinha (88 overall ranking): A central attacking midfielder (or CAM), Debinha is one of the highest-rated players in the game, period. She’s Top 10 and ranks as the second-highest-rated NWSL player. She has a dribbling rating of 91 and a passing rating of 87, but those marks shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the fact that she’s on the shortlist to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or Fémenin — an award bestowed annually by France Football to the best women’s player in the world.

Desiree Scott (84 overall): A central defensive midfielder (CDM), Scott has been unable to play this season as she recovers from offseason knee surgery. But her reputation as one of the best in the game endures. Her ratings of 83 on defense and 85 on physicality will make her a force in the middle of the field. The Current are hopeful she might return as soon as a matter of weeks, as she entered training under a non-contact designation this week.

AD Franch (83 overall): A goalkeeper (GK) and native of Salina, Kansas, Franch has returned to form after a tough start to the season and is staking her claim as one of the NWSL’s best shot-stoppers. She has high ratings across the board for a keeper, from making saves on quick reactions to her comfort in passing the ball out of the back.

KC Current players on national team rosters

After Saturday’s match against the San Diego Wave, the NWSL will pause for international play. And two KC Current players have been called up for duty with their respective national teams.

Debinha is joining Brazil’s first training camp under new coach Arthur Elias (with no games scheduled), while Stine Ballisager Pedersen joins Denmark, which will play in the UEFA Women’s Nations League against Germany on Sept. 22 and Wales on Sept. 26.

Both players will be available for KC’s match against the Wave on Saturday.

Current loan 2023 draft pick to Australian club

The Current have loaned their second-round NWSL Draft pick, Jordan Silkowitz, to Australian team Brisbane Roar FC.

A goalkeeper, Silkowitz will join the Australian club in October after the Current complete the NWSL regular season. The loan runs through April 2024 and the conclusion of the Australian A-League season.

Silkowitz has not played for the Current this season. She’s stuck behind AD Franch and Cassie Miller on the depth chart. And she’s been sidelined with a hand injury recently.

Silkowitz made 324 career saves at Iowa State before the Current selected her No. 18 overall in the 2023 draft.