Best FIFA 23 Starter Team: Best FUT Squads For All Budgets
The concept of a best FIFA 23 starter team is a bit of an abstract one, because it entirely depends on what direction you're wanting to take, which players you end up packing, and the general movement of the market. However, getting a good foundation in FIFA can really help you climb the ranks quickly, and make the most coins early on. So, to find out some great FIFA 23 starter team ideas, make sure to carry on reading down below.
- Plan for the future in Career Mode by checking out this list of FIFA 23 wonderkids.
Best Low Budget FIFA 23 Starter Team
Click to enlargeThe above FIFA 23 starter team is going to be a really great option for those wanting to jump straight in with a super low budget option. It features a hybrid between three leagues, and includes a few players which are likely to be overlooked in terms of price.
The core of your team is going to be the Portuguese line running straight through the middle, from Guedes at the top, right down to his Wolves teammate José Sá at the base. All of these options give you both pace and reliability for what is likely to not be a huge amount of coins.
There has been some hype about the Nunes and Guedes pairing, but it is likely to not be many players' first priority. The only thing that could drive their price up is if Adama Traore becomes a popular choice, but it might not end up being too bad.
The rest of the team is built out with Ligue 1 and Primeira Liga players, with particular highlights being Veretout and David Neres. The former is likely to go under a lot of players' radar due to having no face stats over 80, but he looks overall to be a very solid card. Furthermore, despite having relatively low shooting, the main appeal of David Neres comes from his five star skills, which can really help you break down your opponent's defensive lines.
Here's a full list of the players in our low budget FIFA 23 starter team:
- GK: José Sá
- RB: Clauss
- CB: Pepe
- CB: Gonçalo Inácio
- LB: Ismaily
- CM: Veretout
- CM: Matheus Nunes
- CM: Guendouzi
- RW: David Neres
- ST: Gonçalo Guedes
- LW: Terrier
- Find out all about the new FIFA 23 Icons in our handy guide.
Best Low-Mid Budget FIFA 23 Starter Team
Click to enlargeIf you're wanting to up your game a little bit, but still not spend too much, then this low to mid budget FIFA 23 starter team is definitely going to be for you. It offers a mix between Premier League and Serie A, with a few players who look to be very meta at the start of the game. Furthermore, the lowest pace in the team is 75, with most players being over 80, which guarantees that you're not going to be left in the dust by any speedy strikers.
The three key players in this team are going to be Muriel, McKennie, and Kim, but there are pretty much no weak links across the board. You've got a pacey defence, an all-around midfield, and a dangerous attack that can be really flexible too.
One of the more expensive players in the team is likely to be Alphonse Areola, as he maintained a price of 3,000-5,000 coins for a long time in the past FIFA cycle, offering good links and reliable goalkeeping.
Compared to the low budget team, this is a bit more inflexible in terms of changing players round, as it is generally on the edge if you're wanting to keep full chemistry on everyone. However, that's not to say you can't make multiple changes to suit your own situation.
Here's the full list of our low to mid budget FIFA 23 starter team:
- GK: Areola
- RB: Kristensen
- CB: Kim Min Jae
- CB: Saliba
- LB: Tierney
- CM: Zielinski
- CM: McKennie
- CM: Rabiot
- RW: Lozano
- ST: Muriel
- LW: Sinisterra
- Want to know which FIFA 23 stadiums are making their way into the game? Check out our guide for all the latest details.
Best Mid Budget FIFA 23 Starter Team
Click to enlargeThe key to achieving a mid budget FIFA 23 starter team is balancing high value players around lower rated ones which perform beyond their price point. This is the first team that really starts to incorporate some of the higher rated players in the game, but the great thing about picking them up early is that their rating has no real bearing as there's no SBCs to dictate their value.
Of course, this doesn't mean that cards like Sterling, Mendy, and De Ligt won't still be costly, but they don't have the added weight of an SBC driving their price up further. Beyond them, the most expensive players in the team are actually likely to be Werner and Lacroix, who have historically dictated a very high price at the start of an Ultimate Team cycle.
How much this squad will actually set you back is yet to be seen, and some of these players could end up growing in price quite a lot as the market progresses, but picking up this team will certainly get you started the right way.
The full list of players for the mid budget FIFA 23 starter team can be found below:
- GK: Mendy
- RB: Frimpong
- CB: Lacroix
- CB: De Ligt
- LB: Malacia
- CM: Zakaria
- CAM: Havertz
- CM: Bellingham
- RW: Diaby
- ST: Werner
- LW: Sterling
- Find out who makes the top 100 players in our FIFA 23 ratings guide right here.
Best Mid-High Budget FIFA 23 Starter Team
Click to enlargeStepping beyond the mid budget teams, we can start to include some players which are likely to cost quite a bit more than you might be able to afford, so you're probably going to need a couple of lucky pack pulls, or be good at trading to get to this level of team in the early stages.
The highlight of the team, and what is most definitely going to be the most expensive player is obviously Vinícius Jr. on the left wing, but that is not to say that the players around him will come for cheap either.
Dembélé always commands a high price no matter what the meta is due to his five stars in both weak foot and skills, Valverde will definitely command a high price due to his links and all-round stats, and De Jong has been one of the best early-game midfielders for the past few years now.
The Serie A backline will also end up being quite expensive, especially compared to previous years when the Italian league was comparatively underused and underpriced. Tomori will probably end up being the most expensive of the lot, but Theo Hernández will also be very pricey due to the comparative lack of good left-backs in the game.
The only issue with this team is the chemistry for the striker, as you're going to have to either compromise on a chemistry point, or a weaker player. In general, it would be better to lose a bit of chemistry than go for a lesser player, as two chem players still get a boost on their stats. While we have gone for Nkunku in our squad, you could just as easily go for Ben Yedder if he is more available to you, or if you prefer weak foot over skills.
Here's the full list of our mid to high budget FIFA 23 starter team:
- GK: Maignan
- RB: Carvajal
- CB: Koundé
- CB: Tomori
- LB: Hernández
- CM: Tonali
- CM: Valverde
- CM: De Jong
- RW: Dembélé
- ST: Nkunku
- LW: Vinícius Jr.
While we could go and do a high budget version, it is generally rather redundant due to it being both obvious, and unobtainable for the vast majority of the player base. At least with some solid trading skills and pack luck you could get your hands on the team above, but you would really need some luck in order to obtain the super-meta players that would populate a high budget team.
In general, the players you would be looking for in a high budget team would be the usual suspects like the top-rated PSG players, Virgil van Dijk, Cristiano Ronaldo, Son Heung-min, and N'Golo Kante. It will be very interesting to see where players like Sadio Mané and Erling Haaland land this year too, as well as Antonio Rudiger who has received quite a significant stats boost.
Overall, that should give you a good idea of a FIFA 23 starter team at every budget level, and at least identify a selection of players who should be on your radar to build around. If you're still struggling to get your head around the new chemistry system though, make sure to check out our FIFA 23 Ultimate Team guide for a full rundown and explanation.