FIFA 17 cover player voting has begun

Electronic Arts is holding a vote to determine which of four of the best footballers in the world will grace the cover of FIFA 17. Beginning today, FIFA fans can cast daily ballots for James Rodríguez, Marco Reus, Anthony Martial, or Eden Hazard.

No need to worry if any of these names don't ring a bell. EA has posted bios of all four players that allow even a neophyte like me, who calls it “soccer” in casual conversation, to sound like he knows what he's talking about. And they're worth paying attention to, because any one of these footballers would be a worthy choice. Rodriguez won the Golden Boot in the 2014 World Cup, where he netted six goals in five games, but the young phenom Martial was last year's Golden Boy Award winner, making him the best under-21 player in Europe. The veteran Reus is a proven talent, rock-solid in the Bundesliga and international competition alike, and of course Hazard, the star turn at Chelsea, is a dazzling offensive wizard who can make things happen from anywhere on the field.

See how I did that?

The poll runs until July 19, and voting is easy: Just go to the FIFA website and click on your player of choice. Sadly, there's no write-in option, so voting for Iceland is a no-go. Might make for a fun social media campaign, though.

FIFA 17 comes out on September 27. We've got a closer look at its “aggressive play” and new story mode right here.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.