FIFA 15: Tim Howard and the Top 20 Goalies in New Game

Tim Howard is the United States' pride and joy, but while the 35-year-old Everton goalkeeper is still quite valuable and effective, he's not amongst the top five in net, say the ratings makers for FIFA 15.

On the recently released list of top goalkeepers in the game, Howard came in at a respectable overall rating of an 82. That makes him tied for 14th in the FIFA universe of keepers. Who's No. 1? Germany and Bayern Munich's star Manuel Neuer tops all of his peers with a 90 overall rating.

Per EA Sports.com, here's a look at the entire top-20 rated keepers in the game:

1.       Manuel Neuer 90

2.       Thibaut Courtois 86

3.       Petr Cech 85

4.       Hugo Lloris 85

5.       Iker Casillas 84

6.       Salvatore Sirigu 84

7.       David De Gea 83

8.       Diego Lopez 83

9.       Igor Akinfeev 83

10.      Roman Weidenfeller 83 

11.   Samir Handanovic 83

12.   Claudio Bravo 83

13.   Stephane Ruffier 83

14.   Gianluigi Buffon 82

15.   Joe Hart 82

16.   Simon Mignolet 82

17.   Tim Howard 82

18.   Marc-Andre ter Stegen 82

19.   Steve Mandanda 82

20.   Bernd Leno 82

We could all debate which keeper deserves to be ranked where, but let's face it, there's only eight points separating the top guy and the 20th highest-rated player. When you consider the slim margin between stars, it seems as though a player like Howard could still be a hero for his own club and a nuisance for an opponent.

This year, EA Sports has completely redone the keeper physics and artificial intelligence.

In the video below, Howard speaks about the process, and you can see him in the motion-capture gear lending his likeness to help create the lifelike animations in the game.

If you've had the opportunity to play the demo that released on Sept. 9, you've seen a glimpse of the new ball physics around the net. 

For the most part, instant replays of goals and saves are worth a second look as you marvel at how realistic the objects, the ground and the players interact.

From a physics standpoint, the game looks to be functioning as well as it ever has in the series. The full game releases for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PC on Sept. 23 in North America but on Sept. 26 in the United Kingdom. 

The wait is almost over.

Follow Brian Mazique aka FranchisePlay, the Sports Video Game Journalist