FIFA 15 Cover Adds US Player Clint Dempsey in North America

North American gamers will see a member of the United States national team on the cover of this year's FIFA game.

Argentina's Lionel Messi being named to the cover of this year's FIFA game, FIFA 15, for the third year running was an unsurprising--if a bit unexciting--choice. As it does every year, EA Sports said last week it would offer regional cover stars in addition to the global Messi-only one, and it turns out North America is one region getting its own special cover: Joining Messi will be Clint Dempsey of the United States national team and Seattle Sounders FC.

Announced over the weekend at a friendly match between Tottenham Hotspur and the Sounders (the Major League Soccer team Dempsey plays for), this altered version of the cover pushes Messi slightly to the side and places Dempsey just behind him. Depending upon which platform you purchase the game on, you'll see him wearing a different jersey.

The only cover appearing at the game showed Dempsey in his Xbox-clad Sounders jersey, likely due to a marketing deal Microsoft has with the Sounders. However, as you'd imagine, that will only be the case when buying the Xbox One or Xbox 360 versions. On PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, you'll see Dempsey in one of the red-white-and-blue jerseys worn by the US team during this year's World Cup.

This marks the first time a player from the US has been on the cover since FIFA 12. That year saw England's Wayne Rooney joined by Mexico's Rafael Márquez and the US' Landon Donovan. Consequently, FIFA 15 isn't the first time we've seen more than one player on the cover of the game.

The 31-year-old Dempsey is among the best players on the US team, as evidenced by his three straight World Cup appearances and the goals he scored against Ghana and Portugal this year (the former of which came only 30 seconds into the game).

EA Sports has promised a "whole new level of visuals" with FIFA 15, which features minute details like visible breathing and hair movement. The game launches on September 23 in North America, September 25 in Europe, and September 26 in the UK.