FIFA 23 World Cup Hero Keane SBC - Cop or Flop?

Perform a cartwheel, do a forward roll and bring out the gun fingers because Sheriff Robbie Keane has been dropped on a very unsuspecting public! After the mayhem of Friday’s release, EA came right back with the most expensive non-icon player SBC we’ve had so far!

Check out the card! - Keane 88

You requested clips, we heard you! Here’s in-game footage of the Robbie Keane WC Hero SBC, now coming to all our Cop or Flop content!

I didn’t know how to feel when we first saw the Marvel Hero designs. On the one hand, it’s something different but on the other, it could be perceived as EA jumping the shark a little. However, I’ve warmed to them.

The card itself is an absolute stunner and the dynamic images are a fun little switch-up. Robbie Keane has arguably one of the best alongside Al Owairan, it’s just a real shame he doesn’t take after Petr Cech and wear his cowboy hat in-game!

World Cup Hero Keane SBC Requirements

Here are the following SBC Requirements you’ll need to complete for the World Cup Hero Robbie Keane SBC:

#1 - Premier League

Premier League Players - Min 1 

Squad Rating - Min 84

Reward - Premium Gold Pack

#2 - Top Form

IF Players - Min 1 

Squad Rating - Min 85

Reward - Jumbo Premium Gold Pack

#3 - 86 Rated Squad

IF Players - Min 1 

Squad Rating - Min 86

Reward - Premium Gold Players Pack

#4 - 87 Rated Squad

Squad Rating - Min 87

Reward - Prime Gold Players Pack

#5 - 88 Rated Squad

Squad Rating - Min 88

Reward - Rare Players Pack

#6 - 89 Rated Squad

Squad Rating - Min 89

Reward - Rare Mega Pack

Total Cost from scratch ~ 875K

Average Return From Pack ~ 60k (although high chance of bigger pull from these packs)

The SBC squad namers did give up quickly on this one! Just 2 named squads! On that point, does anyone else miss when we had even slightly creative requirements for SBCs like this? I would have loved a squad that needed players from Wolves, Leeds, Spurs, Liverpool etc just as a bit of a fun addition. However, let’s not go back to the days of Ibrahimovich going extinct because you needed him for a POTM segment!

This is expensive. Any SBC that kicks on for almost 1 million coins from scratch requires a lot of thought and consideration before completing. The price itself has fluctuated between 800k and 900k over the last 24 hours since its release and whilst 100k is a fairly sizeable figure, with the packs back also offering immense potential for decent reimbursement, I think settling around a net 750k-800k figure is fair.

At the time of writing, he is the 12th most expensive non-icon player in the game. Messi, Mbappe (twice), Neymar, Ronaldo, Haaland, Yaya (twice), Lucio, Ginola, and Vinicius Jr make up the first 11. If I’d had 100 guesses, at the start of the year, at who would be the 12th most expensive player in the middle of November, Robbie Keane would not have featured among any of those 100 guesses. But here we are.

This price tag has him in the company of the 2 most recently released World Cup Hero strikers in Voller and Forlan at 880k and 790k respectively. Both players are 91 rated and, if we’re being fair, their stats show the extra 3 rating. However, the Premier League tax and fantastic 4-star SM and 5-star WF do pull heavily in favour of the Irishman.

On the market, I honestly don’t know how much cheaper this card would be. When you take into account Salah’s OOP card that has worse weak foot and skill moves and doesn’t have Hero chemistry is 710k, I think it makes it tough to say this is overpriced.

Keane World Cup Hero SBC Analysis

The card itself is one of the most complete poachers in the game. 90 Pace, 91 Shooting and 91 Dribbling are the clear headline face card stats. Couple those with 4-star skill moves and 5-star weak foot and you just have an absolute assassin who can run all day with his 91 stamina.

The absolute ‘strikerness’ (let’s get it in the dictionary) of this card is shown by his inability to play anywhere other than striker or centre forward. This is not an all-rounder. This isn’t someone who can drop into midfield. And with 74 crossing and 66 long passing, this isn’t someone who can be shunted out to the wing!

When it comes to chemistry styles, the card allows you to fully lean into having a central striker whose sole job it is to score goals. His 91 dribbling is like a negroni, sbagliatio, with prosecco in it. In other words, stunning. 95 reactions, 92 ball control, and 90 composure are the standouts but with no stat below 89, there is no weak point here. As such, there is no reason to boost this dribbling.

It lays the path for a Hawk chemistry style, pumping Keane up to 94 pace, with 97 positioning, 96 finishing and 99 shot power. However, the hawk comes into its own with the physical boost. Whilst Keane’s physicals aren’t bad, they aren’t stellar either. Now with a Hawk, 75 jumping becomes 83, 74 strength becomes 78 and makes him controlled, and 79 aggression becomes 87 and you have almost the complete attacking package.

I think that’s where the real contemplation around completing this card needs to start. This is going to have to play striker in any team you put together for the next 2 months+. He can’t move out to the wing or back into midfield. However, with a hawk, our Robert is an absolute monster striker who’ll shoot the sheriff and the deputy…hang on, he’s the sheriff, so he’d shoot the outlaws…but there’s no Marley song about shooting outlaws…shut up precious.

How Does He Compare?

It’s time now for me to pull out the well-trodden line with expensive SBCs. It’s hard to compare them to players around their price because, as they are untradeable, this is like burning 800k and getting Keane back. If we compare to Voller for example, you loan the 800k to, in all likelihood, a terrible bank, and when you’ve had your fun with Voller and want to bring him back, you’ll take your 700k back and wonder what happened to the other 100k you deposited. Essentially, completing this Keane is a commitment of coins you’ll never get back, buying an 800k player gives you the player and the ability to get the majority of those coins back when you’re finished with them.

With that in mind then, let’s do exactly what I said you can’t do and compare to the players around him. Namely Voller and Forlan’s World Cup hero cards which are at the top and bottom of Keane’s price fluctuation. Whilst neither offers the premier league links of Keane, they are both from major leagues and both have much easier nations to link to.

So let’s start with the good for old Robbie. His 4/5 is better than Forlan’s 4/4 and incomparable to Voller’s 3/4. His dribbling is comparable to both players and is arguably the most well-rounded. His 89 balance blows Voller’s 80 balance away and is a comfortable victory over Forlan’s 89. In fact, in all stats, Keane is either highest or second in dribbling. Unfortunately, unless we want to extoll the virtues of 79 aggression over 76 and 68, that is where the good news ends.

Both Forlan and Voller are controlled and stay controlled with any chemistry style (apart from artist on Forlan but don’t do that you fruit loop). And whilst a Hawk on Keane also makes him controlled, both Forlan and Voller body Keane in 2 areas that allow for more chemistry style creativity. Forlan has 83 passing but that hides 88 short passing and 90 vision compared to Robbie’s 83 in both.

Even the 12 extra long passing on Forlan makes hitting cross field balls easier. For Voller, whilst his passing is just as bad as Keane’s, I haven’t seen a physical domination on this level since Wilshere tried starting on Fellaini. 21 extra jumping and 13 extra strength give Voller an a prowess that Keane couldn’t dream of. With his shooting almost maxed anyway, an Engine on Voller just makes him something Keane can’t get to.

If we look past the world cup Heroes you get to Icons.

I find it difficult to compare icons because not only do they have the icon special sauce, but they also have terrible chemistry links. For example, Eto’o’s mid icon is around the same price as Keane. He only has 4/4 but is again, both physically superior and his passing stats are much better across the board. Despite this, the chemistry that Keane provides is a huge plus in his column and makes stats comparison much harder.

So we’re going to stick with Premier League and a Hero for the next 2 comparisons. The first is Salah’s OOP card. Whilst I use his price earlier to justify Keane being expensive when you compare the 2, Salah is just plain better everywhere apart from his weak foot. Quicker, a better finisher, an absolute annihilation in passing, dribbling better across the board apart from 2 less ball control, and he even has 4 more strength! He may not provide the double league link but he does provide the Liverpool club link and with the number of special cards they have pouring out, he could definitely utilise that.

Di Natale’s base hero is the final player to compare with. Better nation, arguably worse league and 75% of the price of Keane. 4/4 instead of 4/5 is a negligible deficit here. Pace is matched, shooting is almost identical, dribbling Keane has the upper hand winning in 5 of the 6 categories and physically Keane dominates too. However we once again come to the passing. Di Natale has 2 more vision, 12 more crossing, 3 more short passing, 13 extra long passing and 6 more curve, it’s not even close. With the ability to play Left Wing too, Di Natale offers a flexibility that Keane just doesn’t. I think Keane is the better card, but only just, and not 25% better.

Whilst usually I would go through a player’s links or lack thereof, Keane gets 3 chem as long as he’s started in his correct position. Whilst the links he gives to Prem players is great, we do usually look for how players get chemistry and so for Keane we’ll just give him a big tick!

World Cup Hero Keane SBC - Cop or Flop?

As I write this piece, the SBC is sat at 25% upvotes. I’m not surprised.

Not because this isn’t a good card, but because the price tag alienates a large portion of the player base. Oh, and Arsenal fans.

For our comment on this one, we’re going to the fountain of football knowledge, known for his calm and considered takes on football, Chris Basham Is The Goat.

And so there it is really. That’s the problem we have when deciding if this is a cop or flop. Because without swaps here, it really wouldn’t be difficult to make this a flop. But we live in a twilight world, the swaps packs will provide most, if not all, of the fodder you need to complete this SBC. With the hope of League SBC type content just around the corner too, there is an argument that the price of this SBC needs to be considered in those terms.

However, there are no friends at dusk, and when we did the Alaba cop or flop I said that we would take the from-scratch price regardless when considering what we rate a player. As such we’re going off an 800k+ price tag.

However, however, I’m Keane on this SBC, and I wouldn’t want to Rob you of the chance to play with this card if you felt like it.

So in a Cop or Flop first, I’m offering two resolutions. I know it’s different, but it’s my article and I’ll do what I want.

With Swaps Packs Considered

COP

Without Swaps Packs

(Say, if you want that Vieira)

FLOP

SBC Rating: 6.5/10

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