FC 26 Players

EA FC 26 has introduced a week-long penalty shootout tournament, A Star Is Born Cup, as part of Festival of Football Phenoms event.

The rewards on offer are generous and well worth the effort. The tournament concludes on Friday, 17 July, so be sure to complete all objectives before the event ends.

A Star Is Born Cup Objectives and Rewards

Unlike a standard penalty shootout, A Star Is Born Cup adopts a tournament format. Each day, you receive five tournament entry tokens; with each entry, you can play up to three matches if you keep winning consecutively.

The regular objectives within the tournament are fairly straightforward and mainly include:

• Win 1 match, play 5, 10, and 15 matches
• Win 3 and 5 matches
• Score a total of 25 penalties

Beyond A Star Is Born Cup objectives, there is also a slightly more demanding set called A Star Is Born Bonus Completionist, which requires you to win the cup 1, 2, 3, and 4 times respectively. The rewards are tempting, but the challenge is undeniable.

All rewards from both objective sets are as follows:

• Phenom Rising Evolution
• No Stutter Evolution
• All Out Attack Evolution
• 250 FUTTIES Tokens
• 750 Season Points
• 2×85+ Rare Gold Players Pack ×1
• 2×87+ Rare Gold Players Pack ×1
• 5×85+ Rare Gold Players Pack ×2
• 5×86+ Rare Gold Players Pack ×2
• 7×87+ Rare Gold Players Pack ×1
• 8×88+ Rare Gold Players Pack ×1

Connections with Other Objectives

Do not overlook this mode simply because of the higher-difficulty challenges. It offers an extremely efficient way to concurrently complete many other tedious season objectives in the game. Numerous tasks that would normally consume a lot of time in regular matches can be handled easily here.

Since goals from penalty shootouts count toward goal-related tasks, and clean sheets during regular time count toward objectives requiring a clean sheet or conceding fewer than X goals, you automatically earn a clean sheet as long as the match goes to a shootout.

Better Late Than Never Objective

This series of tasks requires using players with specific nationalities or birth dates:

• Score 5 goals with players born on or before 10 July 1996.
• In 3 different matches, concede 1 goal or fewer while using a player from Congo.
• In 3 different matches, score 1 goal with a player from Uzbekistan.
• In 3 different matches, score 1 goal with a player from Cabo Verde.
• In 3 different matches, provide 1 assist with a Czech player.
• In 3 different matches, provide 1 assist with an Austrian player.

For scoring tasks, simply place the required players in your starting penalty-shootout lineup and have them take the spot kick when their turn arrives.

Nations Objectives

For the continental Nations Objectives, you can also use the shootout mode to speed up progress.

For example, under Europe Objective, Norway + Belgium Objective requires you to win a match with 6 Norwegian or Belgian players in your starting eleven. Just assemble the squad and win the shootout.

Similarly, England + Spain Objective includes a task where you need to score 4 goals and concede fewer than 2 while having 3 English players in the starting lineup. Scoring 4 in the shootout is straightforward, and conceding is almost never an issue.

Beyond these 2 objective types, several more demanding Milestones Objectives can also be comfortably completed with the help of the penalty tournament.

If you find yourself lacking players of the corresponding nationality, you can buy FC 26 coins at IGGM to quickly add players. Many of these objectives are time-limited; if you miss the time, you may lose a lot of rewards.

Squad Building

When using Squad Builder, there are no special restrictions - you do not need to use any specific player type. You can simply include the players required by the objectives. Since it is a penalty shootout, player Chemistry has no effect whatsoever.

Apart from the goalkeeper, all outfield players can be strikers with the best penalty attributes. Be sure to use your finest keeper, and it is advisable to choose a tall shot-stopper.

If you need to complete other tasks simultaneously, prioritise those conditions; otherwise, aim for all your designated penalty takers to have at least 90 in penalty stats. Some players also feature unique penalty animations, which can give you an extra edge. Make the most of every favourable factor.

If you want to improve your win rate, participate in FC 26 coins Giveaway from IGGM Discord during Phenoms Promo. If you win, you can get a large number of coins to add powerful players to your team.

Penalty Taking and Defending Tips

Defending

In FIFA 26, the keeper's direction choice is not merely left or right - you also need to select high or low corners. Opponents often aim for the top corners, and if you only dive low, you will not save the shot even if you guess the correct side.

Try to make your save just before the opponent strikes the ball, as this results in a more precise diving motion. If you hold the direction too early during the run-up, the save quality will drop.

While the opponent is approaching the ball, you can nudge the keeper slightly to one side to unsettle them, then dive to your true chosen direction just before the shot. This mimics the mind-games real keepers use.

Shooting

Penalties are a psychological battle. Observe your opponent's habits - if they have gone down the middle before, they may repeat that choice in a critical moment.

If you notice the opponent moving early during your run-up, do not panic and change direction at the last second, as that usually lowers the quality of your shot.

Do not underestimate FUT 26 A Star Is Born tournament. Completing every task may be tough, but it can greatly ease your progress on other objectives. Used wisely, it will help you earn rewards with much less effort.

EA FC 26 World Tour Season 9: Spain, Portugal, & Morocco '30 for the latest football title officially kicked off on July 9. This season is packed with content, including a host of fresh Objectives and a wealth of powerful players.

It features the best Season Pass so far, with every reward being quite impressive. Let's now explore the ways you can earn Season Points to unlock Season Pass rewards as quickly as possible.

Ultimate Team

National Pride Ngumoha

At the start of Season 9, you can earn 500 Season Points and a 96 OVR Pride Ngumoha card by completing Rio Ngumoha Objectives. These tasks include keeping five clean sheets and scoring five goals with players stationed at Left Mid.

Make sure the player you use has Left Mid as their Preferred Position; if a player is a Left Wing who can also play Left Mid, the game will not count it. This is a common pitfall for most players.

Daily Objectives

Daily Objectives require you to score two goals and play one match, together yielding 100 Season Points. While the daily total may seem modest, it adds up significantly over time.

Check all Objectives tabs daily for any newly added tasks, since Season Points are often tucked away in various objective categories.

Weekly Objectives

Weekly Objectives are the biggest source of Season Points this week, offering a total of 1,500. They typically involve transferring players and playing matches.

For the tasks involving listing and acquiring players, you can get 10 Bronze Cards at 200 FC 26 coins each and then list them again at 200 coins, easily ticking off both tasks.

When working on match and win tasks, you can combine them with Rio Ngumoha Objectives while ensuring your squad includes a Spanish player to also cover the scoring tasks. Within ten matches, you can finish both Weekly Objectives (1,500 SP) and Rio Ngumoha Objectives (500 SP).

Seasonal Objectives

Within Seasonal Objectives, there are additional Weekly Objectives that are very simple match and goal tasks, offering around 250 points. You do not need to focus on them deliberately, as they will be completed naturally during your gameplay.

Manager Career

Weekly Objectives

In EA FC 26 Manager Career mode, Weekly Objective offers 400 Season Points. The condition is to play 5 Full Matches within the same save.

You can set the difficulty to Beginner and the half length to three minutes. After kickoff, you do not need to do anything further; however, be aware that at half time you will need to press continue, otherwise the game will not proceed automatically.

With three-minute halves, each match lasts about six minutes, so five matches total 30 minutes. Adding loading times, you can earn 700 Season Points in roughly 40 minutes.

Manager Live Objectives

Manager Live Objectives are relatively more complex, with most tasks requiring World Class difficulty. Once you enter the mode, you will see various challenges, including African Qualifiers and others.

Festival of Football tasks within Manager Live Objectives fall under Internationals category. You need to complete three of them and then two additional tasks from other categories, making five in total to meet the condition.

If World Class difficulty is too high for you, skip the tasks that require it. Also, give priority to tasks with shorter durations.

Player Career

FIFA 26 Player Objectives can provide 500 Season Points and consist of a single task: complete ten Player Career Mode matches.

Player Career objectives offer 750 Season Points in total, including 500 for completing the task and 250 as group rewards. Completing these is much faster than Manager Objectives, taking about 15–20 minutes.

How to Complete Player Objectives Quickly?

Start by selecting New Player Career, then choose Fresh New Season. Set the difficulty to Beginner and the half length to three minutes.

It is quicker to use Play as a Real Player rather than creating a new player. A recommended choice is a Striker, such as Viktor Gyökeres from Arsenal.

Once loaded, simulate to the next match via Calendar. During this process, your status may drop from starter to Substitute, but this is actually the best scenario.

When you come on as a substitute, you only go through four Highlights instead of seven or eight for a full match, which means less on-pitch time and faster match progression.

After entering the match, the game displays the match objectives to complete. On Beginner difficulty, the opposition AI does not tackle, so you can easily dribble and finish all tasks. Repeat this process after each match; usually, five to six matches are enough to complete all the required objectives.

Display Bugs

A word of caution: the tracking system in Player Career mode suffers from serious display bugs. You may see your objective progress showing as zero, but that does not mean the tasks are incomplete.

Sometimes it may show 0, then jump to 2 after the next match; other times it may count as 1 or not count at all. Overall, you should be able to complete all required objectives within about five to six matches.

Do not give up because of the display anomalies; just keep playing the matches. The 750 Season Points can be earned in about 15 minutes.

Manager Objectives and Player Objectives are not mandatory; you can rely solely on Objectives in Ultimate Team mode to complete FUT 26 Season Pass. However, if you hope to get Season Pass cards ahead of other players, then take a closer look at all Objectives to see which ones offer Season Points.