FIFA’s controversial first ever winter World Cup in Qatar takes place throughout November and December 2022, and the tournament is going to be pretty unavoidable if you play EA Sports’ FIFA 23 Ultimate Team during that time.
While there isn’t a dedicated World Cup game mode for this tournament in FIFA 23, as we have often seen for summer World Cups, EA Sports is nevertheless rolling out more content than ever before, with multiple new promo teams (including Path to Glory), World Cup Swaps Tokens, and numerous SBCs and Objectives.
World Cup content is available in FUT 23 from Friday, 11th November until Friday, 23rd December, with extra ‘End of Event Rewards’ tabulated and handed out starting Wednesday, 4th January. In this guide we will break down everything to expect, and also help you keep track of World Cup Swap Token sources and Path to Glory progress so you don’t miss out on any benefits.
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If you’re interested in Ultimate Team, we have pages on best starter teams, Squad Battles, Milestone rewards and FUT Coins and trading.
- World Cup Player Items in FIFA 23 explained
- How to get World Cup Player Items in FIFA 23
- How World Cup Swaps works in FIFA 23
- World Cup Swaps Token tracker for FIFA 23
- World Cup Path to Glory, Heroes and Icons in FIFA 23
- World Cup Path to Glory progress tracker for FIFA 23
- End of World Cup Event Rewards in FIFA 23
World Cup Player Items in FIFA 23 explained
FUT 23 will be awash with red versions of regular FIFA 23 player items, which are special time-limited World Cup items. Time limited?! Yep, these red players can be used to complete objectives and earn progress towards End of Event Rewards, but they will be removed from all of our clubs starting Wednesday, 4th January .
Fortunately, they are very much an additive thing. EA is adding them to packs in addition to existing content, so they won’t be robbing you of proper pack rewards. You can also track any World Cup Player Item duplicates you pick up, which also count towards your End of Event Rewards, which suggests that these red players will be easy to pack.
This would be in keeping with past World Cup modes, where even the top players were pretty easy to obtain, because their limited shelf life meant they were not going to cause any problems for the FUT cycle power curve.
How to get World Cup Player Items in FIFA 23
World Cup Player Item sources will include:
- World Cup Starter Pack, available the first time you log in after Friday, 11th November
- Packs bought from the store or obtained in event rewards
- Objectives
- Squad Building Challenges
- Moments mode rewards
Initially, World Cup Player Items will be released for every player who was involved in their nation’s qualifying campaign. However, the list of available red players will be trimmed down once official squads are announced, so you will only be able to pack players playing in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
How World Cup Swaps works in FIFA 23
Similar to Icon Swaps, World Cup Swaps Tokens will be obtainable through a mixture of gameplay, SBCs and packs in the store. You will be able to unlock a certain number of them as soon as the campaign begins, and more as the World Cup progresses. They can then be redeemed for specific rewards in the World Cup Swaps area of the SBC section.
The full list of rewards is now available in-game via the Squad Building Challenges “Swaps” tab, and is as follows:
World Cup Swaps Token tracker for FIFA 23
Below you’ll find our World Cup Swaps Token tracker in FIFA 23, which we’ll keep updated throughout the World Cup:
Last Updated: Friday, December 16th, 2022.
World Cup Path to Glory, Heroes and Icons in FIFA 23
EA Sports has also released multiple promo teams during the World Cup. These included:
- Path to Glory (live cards) - Cards that receive upgrades based on a nation’s progression in the tournament.
- World Cup Heroes - Upgraded versions of key Hero cards with unique Marvel Comics artwork.
- World Cup Icons - Icon players with stats between Mid and Prime versions and a dynamic image.
- Road to the World Cup - A team of in-form style upgrades for players pivotal to their nation’s qualification.
- World Cup Stories - Another team of in-form style upgrades for players with memorable World Cup moments in their past.
- World Cup Phenoms - Highly juiced cards for players under 24 starring at the World Cup, similar to the traditional “Future Stars” promo.
These cards were released via packs in the store, Squad Building Challenges and Objectives.
Path to Glory will be familiar to FUT fans who played during past World Cups and the last European Championship, and functions in a similar way. EA has released a squad of players that receive an initial boost, and then those players’ stats will be upgraded based on their team’s performance during the tournament. The qualifying path looks like this:
- Campaign launch: Base Stats, e.g. 85 overall, 3* skills, 4* weak foot
- Qualify from group stages: +1 in-form upgrade, e.g. 85 > 86
- Win Round of 16: +1 in-form upgrade, e.g. 86 > 87
- Win Quarter Finals: 5* weak foot upgrade
- Win Semi Finals: 5* skill move upgrade
- Win the World Cup: +1 in-form upgrade and 3x new traits
Players do not have to play for their country in order to be upgraded, but they obviously do have to be in the Path to Glory squad and this only applies to PtG cards.
Then there are the World Cup Heroes. A selection of its Hero cards received juiced-up World Cup versions, complete with card artwork designed by Marvel Comics. They were added to packs in two batches, with the first landing on Friday, 11th November.
What’s more, anyone who pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition of FIFA 23 before August 21st will receive a free untradeable World Cup Hero on Friday, 11th November when they next log into the game. The free World Cup Hero will be drawn from the 22 new Heroes, regardless of who is available in packs at the time. It is also worth noting that some of the World Cup Heroes will only be available via SBCs and Objectives, according to the developer.
On Black Friday, November 25th, EA also released a Road to the World Cup squad of special promo cards including Mbappe, Heung-Min Son and Modric. These appear to be one-off upgrades and will be available in packs.
Then on Friday, December 2nd, EA Sports dropped the World Cup Stories squad, which was another team of promo cards with in-form style upgrades, this time focusing on players who have had memorable moments in past World Cups.
On Friday, December 9th, EA released the World Cup Phenoms squad, which was one of the most highly anticipated. Similar to the “FUT Future Stars” promo of previous years, Phenoms were drawn from under-24 players who have starred for their countries at the World Cup, with a squad including Jude Bellingham and Rafa Leao.
Finally, there are World Cup Icons, which are special Icon cards featuring World Cup dynamic images. The ratings for these sit between Mid and Prime, and EA Sports is releasing them into packs in batches. The first batch was released on Black Friday and includes Ronaldo, Zidane, Cruyff and other familiar names. Cards for Vieira and Cafu can also be earned by trading in (a lot of) Swap Tokens. Subsequent bundles included Garrincha and Lothar Matthaus among many others.
World Cup Path to Glory progress tracker for FIFA 23
As with Road to the Knockouts and Ones to Watch, Path to Glory items are ‘dynamic’, meaning they can receive upgrades based on certain criteria. Players with a “Current” rating in bold have received their most recent upgrade, while players who have advanced but are not bold are still waiting on theirs.
End of World Cup Event Rewards in FIFA 23
The final thing to look out for in FUT 23’s World Cup festivities is the ‘End of Event Rewards’ feature. In addition to all of the above, you will be able to qualify for extra rewards post-campaign by accumulating large numbers of World Cup time-limited players in your club over the course of the tournament.
You can track your ‘End of Event Rewards’ progress through a tile in FUT’s main menu, which will also help to keep track of any duplicate FIFA World Cup Player Items. You will then receive any rewards you earned starting Wednesday, 4th January, which is also when World Cup Player Items expire and start to be removed from the game.
