FC 26 Players

As the World Cup approaches, fans unable to attend in person, or simply wanting to play the matches themselves, are turning their attention to FC 26 to experience the magic of the tournament through a virtual football game.

Following the conclusion of the 2022 World Cup, players could continue to experience the World Cup Mode in FIFA 23. However, the situation has changed this time due to licensing issues.

Here, we explore the relationship between the World Cup and FC 26, as well as the best ways to experience the tournament's atmosphere within the game.

Can you play World Cup Mode in FC 26?

While people still colloquially refer to the game as FIFA 26, the series actually lost the official FIFA license after FIFA 23; its official branding now carries EA Sports FC prefix. Consequently, no specific license was sought for the World Cup in FC 26.

As a result, you won't find a dedicated World Cup Mode in the game. However, to provide a similar experience, FUT 26 has introduced The World's Game Update. You can think of this as an unofficial, yet content-rich, alternative to the traditional World Cup Mode.

What does The World's Game Update include?

Released on June 4, this update introduces a new tournament mode and adds World Cup-themed content to core modes like Ultimate Team and Career Mode. Additionally, Season 8: Festival of Football has launched alongside it.

The World's Game Mode

This mode serves as a new, indirect iteration of the classic World Cup Mode, specifically taking the form of a special tournament.

Thanks to licensing agreements with select teams, you can take control of your favorite squads in this limited-time tournament and lead them to victory.

There are currently 48 playable teams confirmed, with the tournament progressing through group stages, knockout rounds, and the final stages.

Ultimate Team updates

While not an official virtual World Cup game, The World's Game Update will roll out five promos in Ultimate Team throughout the tournament period.

These promos will introduce new player cards and allow you to upgrade them based on the real-world World Cup schedule. Path to Glory Team 1 promotion is currently live.

You can buy FC 26 coins on IGGM and then decide whether to trade cards directly on the transfer market or redeem packs for random draws.

Additionally, by logging into the game and entering Ultimate Team between June 5 and July 24, you can claim a 93 OVR Festival of Football ICON Pelé as a free reward.

Furthermore, until July 19, you can progressively apply additional Evolution effects to this player item through daily gameplay. Completing all Evolutions will boost OVR to 96 and significantly enhance the card's attributes.

While playing various modes within Ultimate Team, you can now earn extra tokens to redeem for rewards, with a maximum of 1,000 tokens earnable per week.

Another new feature, Journey of Nations, will periodically release five continental objectives one by one; completing each unlocks an ICON player, and finishing the entire set grants an additional JoN Diego Maradona:

• North America (June 4, 2026): Hugo Sánchez
• Asia & Oceania (June 12, 2026): Saeed Al-Owairan
• Africa (June 19, 2026): Jay-Jay Okocha
• South America (June 26, 2026): Carlos Alberto
• Europe - Friday (July 3, 2026): Gerd Müller

Career Mode updates

In this mode, you can build a glorious career as either a team manager or a player.

Building on this foundation, The World's Game Update introduces international men's tournaments to the mode, following the same basic rules as The World's Game Mode.

You can now add an available national team to manage when starting a Career Mode save and progress by completing specific objectives. You can also experience new ICONs and Heroes added as part of Festival of Football event.

Other changes

In addition to the World Cup-themed content, the simultaneous launch of Season 8 brings routine updates to FUT 26, including internal adjustments to the club system and AI optimizations.

Furthermore, starting June 19, a new batch of players will be added to the game as Greats of the Game versions, with their base items arriving after June 26.

Does The World's Game Update have any shortcomings?

Due to the lack of an official FIFA license, The World's Game Update misses out on many official elements found in a dedicated World Cup mode; furthermore, some teams are forced to use fictional players, which somewhat detracts from the overall experience.

Consequently, if you are looking for an experience that faithfully recreates the real-life World Cup, The World's Game might fall short; however, when combined with other game modes, it still offers a wealth of playable content.

In short, while a dedicated World Cup mode does not appear in EA FC 26 in the strict sense, The World's Game Update indirectly makes up for this absence. If you're interested, give it a try now!

World Cup mode in EA FC 26, arriving with World's Game update, will be the main focus for players over the coming months. The developers have made major adjustments to the reward system, with Festival of Football Tokens and FUT Champions Tokens becoming FC 26 Season 8's primary rewards.

These tokens change how FC 26 operates, yet some players might find them confusing. So let's take a look at both token types and the rewards you can exchange them for.

Festival of Football Tokens

What are Festival of Football Tokens?

Festival of Football Tokens are a time-limited reward that you can only earn by playing the game itself - not through any official trading system (otherwise they would work just like FC 26 coins). You can collect FoF tokens while playing Rivals, Squad Battles, Rush, Live Events, and certain Objectives and SBCs.

FoF tokens can be redeemed for various rewards in Festival of Football Token Store. It's important to note that there's a weekly cap on FoF token acquisition. This cap resets when the refresh timer reaches zero, allowing you to continue earning more tokens.

Each week, players can earn up to 1,000 tokens. Since World's Game event lasts about five weeks in total, you can obtain a maximum of 5,000 FoF tokens.

Festival of Football Tokens Store

Token Store is the centrepiece of this update. Unlike the traditional model where you open packs after matches and often end up disappointed, Token Store gives the choice back to the players. Based on your own needs, you can decide whether to redeem packs, Evolutions, cosmetics, or high-quality players.

Permanent Rewards

• 2,500 FoF tokens: 96-rated Greats of the Game ICON – Rivaldo
• 2,500 FoF tokens: 96-rated Greats of the Game ICON – Michael Owen
• 2,500 FoF tokens: 96-rated Greats of the Game ICON – Andrea Pirlo
• 2,500 FoF tokens: 96-rated Greats of the Game ICON – Emmanuel Petit
• 2,500 FoF tokens: 96-rated Greats of the Game ICON – Zanetti
• 500 FoF tokens: Gold Standard Evolution
• 2,000 FoF tokens: The Main Event Evolution
• 1,000 FoF tokens: 93+ Encore Icon Player Pick (1 of 4)

Weekly Rotating Rewards

• 500 FoF tokens: Seasonal Token Store Pack 4 (Untradeable)
• 500 FoF tokens: Gold Stand
• 250 FoF tokens: 3x 93+ FOF PTG Team 1 Players Pack (Untradeable)
• 200 FoF tokens: 94 Path to Glory – Amad Diallo
• 100 FoF tokens: Seasonal Token Store Pack 1 (Untradeable)
• 100 FoF tokens: Seasonal Token Store Pack 2
• 100 FoF tokens: One Step Ahead Evolution
• 15 FoF tokens: Path to Glory Cosmetic Evolution
• 10 FoF tokens: 10x 81+ Rare Gold Players Pack (Untradeable)

Which Rewards Should You Choose?

Packs

100-token bundle includes several packs and is a good fit for players who need to quickly restock on fodder. Meanwhile, 3x 93+ FOF PTG Team 1 Players Pack can drop high-overall Path to Glory players, whose attributes are quite impressive.

If you are willing to save up for a week, 93+ Encore Icon Player Pick (1 of 4) is also a solid choice. You get to choose one from four players coming from powerful series such as Time Warp, Thunder Struck, Team of the Year, Winter Wildcards, Future Stars, and Knockout Royalty. This option is great for those who enjoy testing their luck.

Players from Path to Glory series are generally stronger than those from the above series. If you want to obtain players from this series, participating in IGGM Discord Path to Glory Giveaway might help you accumulate coins.

The Main Event Evolution

This ultimate Evolution can raise a player to a 97 overall rating and grant up to 4 PlayStyle+ slots. There are many possibilities. For example, you could turn Kylian Mbappé into a completely transformed player with this Evolution.

Greats of the Game ICONs

These 96-rated ICONs all come with four PlayStyle+ slots. Their attribute and trait combinations are designed specifically for the current meta. Some of these players have appeared in the season pass before. Keep in mind that to redeem a reward costing 2,500 tokens, you need to save up for at least 2.5 weeks.

FUT Champions Tokens

What are Champions Tokens?

FUT Champions Tokens are a special currency that refreshes every week. The number you earn depends on your final rank in Weekend League.

In FUT26 season 8, instead of directly receiving player cards with fixed PlayStyles, you can use tokens to choose and add PlayStyle+ yourself. Think of these tokens as a flexible resource that you can exchange for the players or packs you want.

How to Earn Champions Tokens?

FUT Champions Tokens can only be obtained by participating in Weekend League. All players, whether they are in Division 10 or Elite Division, are eligible to take part.

The number of tokens you earn is tied to your wins. Even if you do not win a single match, you still get 50 tokens. And if you win all 15 matches, you can earn 1,500 tokens.

You can collect all possible tokens within a single weekend. Although the store interface shows a 46-day refresh timer, the tokens themselves can be saved across weeks. This means you can combine tokens from several weeks to redeem higher-tier rewards. However, some rewards - especially player cards - are only available for one week, so be sure to check the remaining days for each reward.

Store Rewards

Champions Token Store offers two main types of rewards: player cards and packs. Rewards worth 1,000 FUT Champions Tokens are more likely to yield high-overall players. If you need to fill up on fodder, packs like the 10x 86+ Players Pack at 100 tokens are also a good option.

Most players will have a chance to obtain 1,000-token rewards. Even if you only get 6 wins each week, you can still save up for a few weeks and exchange for a higher-tier reward. If you have a poor result one week, do not use your tokens right away. Instead, wait for a better week and combine the tokens from two or three weeks.

This token system overhaul is a positive change. Both FUT Champions Tokens and FoF tokens give players much more freedom of choice. Furthermore, all rewards are shown in advance, allowing you to plan your goals for Season 8 ahead of time.