FIFA 23 best defenders: The best CB, RB, and LB players
Discover the best defenders in FIFA 23
Want to know the best defenders in FIFA 23? If you want to win matches and earn trophies in FIFA 23, you’ll need to have the best defenders on your backline, waiting to pursue any incoming attackers. While the best strikers in FIFA 23 will help you get ahead on goals, the best defenders will ensure that the opposing team can’t score and get an easy advantage. Finding the top defenders isn’t a simple task, though. They need to be fast so they’re able to keep up with the best attackers, but a high strength score is equally important if you want to win the ball in a tackle.
In this guide, we’ll break down the best defenders in FIFA 23, explaining what makes them so useful on the pitch and giving some key insights that might change your team for the better.
FIFA 23 best defenders
Virgil Van Dijk is the best defender in FIFA 23. With an overall rating of 90, Van Dijk is able to wrestle the ball from the best attackers. He does have a slow acceleration that might put you off, but with a sprint speed stat of 91, Van Dijk will easily keep up with most strikers at full speed. His defensive stats such as interceptions, defensive awareness, standing tackle, and strength are all 90 or higher, while other key stats such as sliding tackle and jumping sit in the high 80s. They combine for a total defence score of 91, ensuring that he’s going to play a key role in any team.
Below, we’ll list the best defenders in FIFA 23, ranked by their overall rating. We’ll also list their defence, pace, and physical scores, which should help you see why they rank in their position and which defender would fit well on your team.
| Name | Position | Overall rating | Defence | Pace | Physical | Club | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgil Van Dijk | CB | 90 | 91 | 81 | 86 | Liverpool | Holland |
| Marquinhos | CB | 88 | 89 | 79 | 80 | PSG | Brazil |
| Joao Cancelo | LB | 88 | 81 | 85 | 73 | Manchester City | Portugal |
| Ruben Dias | CB | 88 | 88 | 63 | 88 | Manchester City | Portugal |
| Antonio Rudiger | CB | 87 | 86 | 82 | 85 | Real Madrid | Germany |
| Andrew Robertson | LB | 87 | 82 | 80 | 76 | Liverpool | Scotland |
| Kalidou Koulibaly | CB | 87 | 88 | 82 | 85 | Chelsea | Senegal |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | RB | 87 | 80 | 76 | 73 | Liverpool | England |
| Aymeric Laporte | CB | 86 | 86 | 61 | 79 | Manchester City | Spain |
| Thiago Silva | CB | 86 | 87 | 49 | 76 | Chelsea | Brazil |
| David Alaba | CB | 86 | 85 | 79 | 77 | Real Madrid | Austria |
| Milan Skriniar | CB | 86 | 88 | 78 | 86 | Inter Milan | Slovakia |
| Theo Hernandez | LB | 85 | 78 | 93 | 83 | AC Milan | France |
| Kyle Walker | RB | 85 | 80 | 91 | 82 | Manchester City | England |
| Niklas Sule | CB | 85 | 85 | 85 | 83 | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| Matthijs de Ligt | CB | 85 | 84 | 75 | 87 | Bayern Munich | Holland |
| Jordi Alba | LB | 85 | 77 | 84 | 70 | FC Barcelona | Spain |
| Marcos Acuna | LB | 85 | 80 | 76 | 83 | Seville FC | Argentina |
| Achraf Hakimi | RB | 84 | 75 | 92 | 78 | PSG | Morocco |
| Jules Kounde | CB | 84 | 85 | 84 | 78 | FC Barcelona | France |
| Eder Militao | CB | 84 | 85 | 86 | 82 | Real Madrid | Brazil |
| Lucas Hernandez | CB | 84 | 84 | 77 | 80 | Bayern Munich | France |
| Reece James | RWB | 84 | 80 | 81 | 82 | Chelsea | England |
| Sergio Ramos | CB | 84 | 83 | 61 | 77 | PSG | Spain |
| Alphonso Davies | LB | 84 | 76 | 94 | 77 | Bayern Munich | Canada |
While Van Dijk is one of the best players in FIFA 23 and an obvious pick for any team, there are other important insights to glean from this table. Alphonso Davies might round off the list at number 25, for example, but he's also the fastest defender available in FIFA 23. If you want someone with pace who can quickly react to any counterattacking players, get Davies on your squad.
If you're after some stronger defenders who can win the ball back in almost any confrontation, consider putting Ruben Dias and Matthijs de Ligt in your CB slots. With physical scores of 88 and 87 respectively, they're among the strongest defenders and will reliably regain possession in 1v1 situations.
That wraps up our guide on the best defenders in FIFA 23. If you're playing in career mode and want to future proof your defence, check out our list of FIFA 23 career mode wonderkids and hidden gems. If you want to nab some of these top players in Ultimate Team, you might get them as rewards with our Around the World, First XI, Puzzle Master, and Seven League Boots SBC solution guides. Of course, you'll need to know how chemistry works if you want your defense to work at the highest level. If you're after top players who will grow over the season, take a look at our FIFA 23 OTW tracker to see which Ones to Watch are close to getting upgrades.