Ahead of Leicester City's FA cup clash with Sheffield Utd EA SPORTS spoke to Leicester City and England Centre back, Harry Maguire. The centre back gave us his thoughts on the cup, what it’s been like playing for England and his thoughts on his FIFA 18 ratings!
EA SPORTS™: Do you and your Leicester City teammates play much FIFA 18 in between games?
Harry Maguire: Some of the lads play the game to and from away games on the coach. I usually see Wilfried N’didi and Kelechi Iheanacho playing each other at the game.
EA SPORTS™: Do you look at your FIFA ratings when they get unveiled?
HM: Definitely, your mates will always send through your stats once they’ve seen them, they go straight on the groupchat and there’s always a bit of banter about that.
EA SPORTS™: What were your thoughts on your FIFA 18 rating this year?
HM: They were ok, not bad but hopefully I’ll be getting an upgrade at some point during this season.
EA SPORTS™: Obviously, you’re now part of the England set-up, do many of the guys play FIFA 18 on international duty?
HM: There’s a console always set-up in the hotel and you’ll always find a couple of the lads. I haven’t actually managed to have a game against anyone yet so I’m not sure who the best is yet but as I say, it’s always being played so I’m sure some of the lads are very good at the game.
EA SPORTS™: What’s it been like to be part of the England set-up?
HM: It’s really good, the lads have been great and it’s a great environment to be a part of. The spirit within the team has been great and everyone has made it really easy to settle in. Going into a new team with a new group of lads is always nerve racking but having Jamie there and also Jake Livermore who I played with at Hull made things a lot easier.
EA SPORTS™: What are your thoughts on the season so far?
HM: We had a tough run of fixtures at the start of the season and obviously we didn’t pick up as many points as we would have liked to. We were playing ok at the time but then obviously the change in manager happened and now Claude Puel has come in we’re looking really strong and solid and now up to 8th in the league. I think if the season finished now with us in 8th spot, we could consider the season as a good one for ourselves.
EA SPORTS™: What are Claude Puel’s training methods like?
HM: He’s a very tactical manager; we’re always on the pitch working on our shape, game plans and other bits like that. Every now and then he likes to get involved which is great to see.
EA SPORTS™: You’re still in the FA Cup this season, how far do you think you can make it in the tournament?
HM: It’s a cup we want to go far in. We made a lot of changes at the weekend but with the squad we have at our disposal is more than capable of winning games. We can afford to change 5/6/7 players because we have such a good strength in depth. You never know what can happen, as we have seen in years gone by, you see more and more underdogs defying the odds and in with a chance of winning the cup. Hopefully we can go as far as we possibly can.
EA SPORTS™: How far do you think England can go in the World Cup this year?
HM: The draws come out and people have been saying that it has been kind to us as a nation, but we know it is going to be tough. We obviously expect to make it through the group and then see where the knockout stages take us, but as we all know with football, it’s one game, 90 minutes, anyone can win and hopefully we can go far in the tournament.
EA SPORTS™: Who is the best player you have played against this season?
HM: You’d have to look at the Man City team for the answer to that. Obviously Kevin De Bruyne has been on top-form this season, he creates loads of chances but he also works hard for the team, up and down the pitch.
FIFA 18 is Available Now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Conditions and restrictions apply. See https://www.easports.com/uk/fifa/fifa-18-game-and-offer-disclaimers for details.
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