The 2026 FIFA World Cup will mark a notable negative milestone for the EA FC franchise. For the first time since the tournament was last in the United States 32 years ago, there will be no officially licensed World Cup in the game for EA FC players to enjoy. This is the natural byproduct of severing ties between the series and the sport’s top governing body, which famously served as the series’ title for more than two decades.

Amazingly, the game that kicked off that legacy 28 years ago with the World Cup in France can still lay claim to a level of World Cup representation that the last edition in the series to cover the Cup officially, Qatar 2022, did not match. Here’s why FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 will always hold a special place in sports gaming lore.

The Long Legacy Of FIFA: Road To World Cup 98

When EA Sports debuted their World Cup games in 1998, there was little reason to expect that it would be in the form of a game that set a bar so high that nearly every successor has even come close to touching, let alone clearing.  

EA Swung Big On A Less Understood Part Of International Football

The World Cup is the most-watched sporting event in existence, with the sport known as “the World’s Game” for very good reason. With the final tournament being such a massive international spectacle, it can be easy to assume that everything related to it has always been appointment viewing, but this has not always been the case. This is particularly the case in the United States, one of the biggest gaming markets on the planet, but also a country that had only a passing interest in the sport as a spectator event in the 1990s.

After the US was chosen to host the 1994 World Cup, the game was on the upswing in the US, including the launch of Major League Soccer in the wake of the tournament. Despite that, in an era when the internet was just beginning to proliferate and was nowhere near as ever-present in the lives of everyday people as it is today, not many American gamers would have known or cared about the qualification procedures of European nations, let alone what was going on in Oceania.

Despite this, EA decided to recreate the qualifying process as faithfully as possible, trusting that a game with many options and opportunities would be inherently appealing on its own. They were right.

Few Games Have Matched Road To World Cup 98’s Depth

While the FIFA license stayed with EA Sports for nearly 30 years and spanned seven World Cups, this level of detail was uncommon for the series. Only twice did EA reproduce qualifying, and only with the 2010 edition did they attempt to do so for every confederation.

That such incredible detail was achieved on the Nintendo 64, a system with a fraction of the storage available to developers, makes it even more remarkable. The N64 version fit the entire game into 12 megabytes on its standard Nintendo 64 cartridge. For comparison, this week EA announced that Caleb Williams would be the cover artist of Madden 27 and included an image of the Deluxe Edition in the artwork for the release, which comes in at 12.7 megabytes.

For less space than one promo picture for a modern game, developers included 172 national teams, 16 stadiums for the matches, the underlying structure to guide those teams through six regions’ qualifying journeys, a World Cup, and the in-game engine used to play the games. It’s a staggering accomplishment.

The In-Depth Qualifying Made New Fans Of The International Game

The legacy of FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 doesn’t end with the impression it left on the gaming world; it was also a key part of many fans’ journey toward becoming international football obsessives. Still in its early days of home application, the internet was not yet an ever-present part of daily life in the late 90s. For many sports fans, myself included, Road to World Cup 98 was an introduction to the broad and deep world of World Cup qualification.

As with the 2010 edition, which popular Football Manager and soccer culture YouTuber Zealand has cited on stream as the start of his obsession with the various confederations, the game introduced many gamers to new high-stakes sports to follow. Many soccer fans can trace the intensity of their love for the game, if not their interest altogether, to the introduction provided by Road to World Cup 98.

As gamers around the world dive into The World’s Game update for EA FC 26 ahead of and during the World Cup, there will be plenty of fun on offer. But it will not be able to replicate the magic that was FIFA: Road to World Cup 98.

Acneproduction has revealed Mundialito 2, a high-energy sequel born from a lifelong passion for the beautiful game. Built with a "retro-first" mindset, this title aims to recapture the frenetic, wide-eyed joy of childhood gaming. While still in active development, Mundialito 2 promises a massive roster of 32 international teams all vying for championship glory. The final release is set to feature

Setting aside stat boosts for a handy Low Driven Shot+ and 5-star WF upgrade, Fantasy FC Path might actually be one of the trickiest evolutions to rate in EA FC 26. After all, is a second PS+ really enough to justify its premium price?

Well, it turns out it might, even if getting it there will demand very specific picks. Here’s who are the best players for the Fantasy FC Path evolution in EA FC 26, as well as a full breakdown of everything it brings to the table.

EA FC 26 Fantasy FC Path Evolution Requirements And Upgrades

Available for 50K Coins / 400 FC Points, Fantasy FC Path can only be used on under 87-OVR strikers, with a maximum of 10 PlayStyles and one PS+. Your chosen player must also not be an LM/RM, nor a World Tour Silver Icon. You can check out all of the upgrades your chosen card can get, including an ++ upgrade to all ST roles and a few handy regular PlayStyles, below.

• Level 1: +1 OVR (max 88), +1 PAS (max 87), +1 DRI (max 88), +1 PHY (max 85), +1 Acceleration (max 92), and +1 Sprint Speed (max 92)
• Level 2: +1 OVR (max 88), +70 Shot Power (max 99). Advanced Forward++ (ST), Poacher++ (ST), False 9++ (ST), and Target Forward++ (ST)
• Level 3: +3 SM (max -star) and +4 WF (max 5-star). Low Driven Shot+
• Level 4: Low Driven Shot, First Touch, Finesse Shot, and Power Shot PlayStyles

Best Players For The Fantasy FC Chain Evolution In EA FC 26

Although the evolution’s PlayStyle focus might make it a better fit for those looking to build meta slayers with long chains, its upgrades can also allow many already high-rated picks to shine. The best examples of that can be seen in Base Icon Fernando Torres and Gianfranco Zola, who can use it to get both a welcome PAC increase and the meta 5-star WF/Finesse Shot+ and Low Driven Shot+ combo.

TOTW Endrick and Thunderstruck Dumornay can also be worthy picks for it, as their Rapid+ only makes Low Driven Shot + more lethal. It’s also worth pointing out that we don’t recommend using promo icons here, in special Winter Wildcards Baby Henry and Cruyff. Why? Apart from not getting a second PS+ from it, the evo also locks them away for the foreseeable future. To recap, here are the best players for Fantasy FC Chain in EA FC 26, as well as a few alternatives sure to excel.

• Base Icon Fernando Torres (87 OVR / ST)
• Base Icon Gianfranco Zola (87 OVR / CAM)
• Flashback Viktor Gyökeres (87 OVR / ST)
• Ayoze Peréz (87 OVR / ST)
• Thunderstruck Melchie Dumornay (87 OVR / ST)
• TOTW Rasmus Højlund (87 OVR / ST)
• TOTW Eberechi Eze (87 OVR / CAM)
• TOTW Endrick (86 OVR / ST)

Now that you know who the best players for the Fantasy FC Chain evolution are, make sure to also take a look at All EA FC 26 Fantasy FC Upgrades, Explained. Since no team can survive without an elite guardian between the sticks, we also highly recommend that you check out The Best Ultimate Team Goalkeepers, Ranked.

One of the biggest complaints with eFootball is the online experience. It’s been a pain point for the entire community. But things are going to get better, if Konami is to be believed.

Konami has dropped a fresh update on what they’re doing to finally improve the online experience in eFootball, and it’s definitely something fans have been waiting to hear. The studio posted a full thread on X talking about connection upgrades, input lag fixes, and even new ways for players to give feedback directly in-game. Here is the thread for context:

[Efforts underway to improve the online match environment]

eFootball is undertaking various measures in order to provide a smoother and more enjoyable online match environment.

Based on the number of matches and connection quality in each location, we are expanding the amount…

— eFootball (@play_eFootball) December 3, 2025

With online play still being the biggest issue for a lot of the community, this update gives a clearer idea of what’s changing and what players can actually expect in the coming weeks.

What Konami Is Changing To Fix eFootball’s Online Issues

According to the thread, Konami is expanding the number of server sites around the world. This means more server locations around the globe. This should help resolve the connection issues caused by a server being too far away from the player or being overloaded. Simply put, the ping issues should start to get better as there are more servers to connect to.

It’s one of the most requested improvements from players who’ve been dealing with lag spikes and random delays during competitive matches.

Then, they went on to talk about the server updates they rolled out on October 29th for both consoles and mobile. According to them, the data shows that these updates have been successful. They have helped reduce input delays, which was also a major problem with online play. For a title where timing literally decides goals, tackles, and wins, every millisecond matters.

To continue to improve the online play experience, they are implementing an in-game survey. Basically, after a few matches, you might see a short survey asking for feedback about things like connection quality or responsiveness. This helps Konami get direct feedback from the community instead of relying on technical metrics behind the scenes.

The thread then wraps up by saying that the development team is working diligently to improve the online play experience and appreciates players for their patience. The community has been very vocal about connection problems, so these steps are at least a sign that Konami is listening.

eFootball is one of the biggest football games after EA FC, and has a small but dedicated community behind it. These steps should make the experience better for them and allow them to enjoy online play more.

Football Manager 26 has pushed out another significant update for its Console editions, with the most recent patch now live on PlayStation and Xbox and set to arrive on FM Touch for Apple Arcade in the coming days.

This latest build focuses heavily on stability, UI refinement, and a long list of quality-of-life improvements across tactics, navigation, and squad management. From controller-specific fixes to revamped wage-demand logic and several long-standing visual bugs being addressed, Update 26.0.6 is one of the broader maintenance drops of the cycle. Sports Interactive has also provided a non-exhaustive changelist and continues to encourage players to submit any new issues via the official Bug Tracker.

Below are the listed changes in the latest patch. To read the source for yourself, check it out here.

Football Manager 26 Update 26.0.6 (PlayStation and Xbox) – Patch Notes

• The latest update for FM26 Console is now available on PlayStation and Xbox, with a rollout for FM Touch on Apple Arcade to follow in the coming days.  
• The update includes further improvements to game stability and performance, as well as a wealth of gameplay fixes. A non-exhaustive changelist is provided below.  
• For queries about how to update on your respective platform, please review this FAQ.  
• As always, please continue to make use of our Bug Tracker for any new issues you encounter, and our dedicated team will be on hand for support. 
• 26.0.6 Changelist 
• Further extensive polish and refinement done to the User Interface. 
• Further extensive crash and stability fixes.  
• Further fixes to freezes at Half-Time during Human vs. Human Online Matches. (PS/XB Only) 
• Further improvements made to in game translations.  
• Adds Substitutes to the iOS Tactics Planner  
• Improvements to controller navigation in dashboards 
• Adds the ability to view Condition and Match Rating via a toggle in the Tactics Planner  
• Fixes an issue where mouse emulation was active when trying to use the Radial wheel 
• Fixed soft lock while trying to view a past match. 
• Added button to view match stats, match momentum, and xG story during highlights. 
• Tweaks made to the general screen flow. 
• Improved logic behind youth player wage demands.   
• Improved logic behind player wage demands in the lower leagues. 
• Fixed issue where player condition would always display full. 
• Tweaked frequency of rain occurring during matches. 
• Fixed crash when continuing with club from United Arab Emirates (UAE) during Advanced Game Setup.  
• Loading a tactic within a match now functions as intended.  
• Fixed issue preventing user from assigning shirt number to players out on loan.  
• Fixed issue where home shirt icon would always display in the in-match Tactics Planner, regardless of the kit worn on the day.  
• Data Hub > Last Match > Summary will now display data from the correct match.  
• Fixed Place of Birth functionality within Manager Creation.  
• Clicking ‘Apply’ when selecting which attributes to filter between on the Player Search now takes you back to the correct landing page.  
• Fixed issue where all subs would display as “S1” on team talks.  
• Fixed issue where Ligue 1 trophy image would display regardless of the competition.  
• Fixed an issue where the Prize Money portal message would incorrectly state that the user had drawn.  
• Added a Recruitment Budgets tile to the Finance Summary.  
• Fixed an issue allowing the user to create a Recruitment Focus for a Women’s competition despite managing a Men’s team, and vice versa.  
• Refined AI logic of Saudi based clubs when it comes to buying players.  
• Passing Risk player instruction will now display correctly locked as “Take More Risks” for a Midfield Playmaker role. 
• Fixed issue where the sub keeper would display in an outfield kit in the in-match Tactics Planner.  
• Fixed an issue allowing user to renegotiate transfer/loan fee despite contract terms already being agreed.  
• Improved squad building logic of top clubs.  
• Players will more appropriately decline entering contract negotiations upfront if there is a large discrepancy between the desired wage and the max wage the club can offer. 
• Fixed issue where Finance Graph would always display in USD.  
• Club > Finances will now display the correct data for Income and Expenditure.  
• In match Opposition Instructions will now correctly reflect any substitutions that have been made.  
• Fixed issue preventing the Sponsorships card in Finances from being opened.  
• Fixed issue where sponsorship end date would display as 1/1/1900.  
• First team players no longer wear a substitutes bib during pre-match team talk. 
• Tweaks to how a player’s current reputation is processed following a match.  
• Fixed issue preventing user from leading of all required team talks if they are in charge of multiple teams. 
• Player Comparison polygon graph will now display the correct attribute points. 
• Fixed an issue where the Squad Bar could not be expanded after being collapsed. 
• Added ability to add columns to tables and autosize them. 

These days, the gaming industry prioritizes expanding audiences over retaining core elements that make a game good or unique. For developers, this means lowering the barrier to entry and making the niche universally palatable. Sports Interactive’s Football Manager 26 is the latest example of this philosophy. 

On paper, the idea of streamlining and simplifying complex systems sounds like a good idea. But if you’re going to do it in a way that makes long-time players more confused, you’re kinda losing the plot. Don’t get us wrong, FM26 is still highly complex, but it makes some decisions that leave you scratching your head. 

Many other games have also been pulled in two opposing directions, trying to appeal to newcomers without fully committing to their original audience. 

What’s Wrong With Football Manager?

The Football Manager series is known for its uncompromising depth, making it not just a sports game but a digital obsession. You might not master every system, but you’ll at least have the chance to understand how everything works. Unfortunately, things have never been more confusing for this franchise. 

At launch, FM26 quickly garnered negative reviews on Steam. Our own FM26 Review praised the match engine, the tactical evolution, and the graphical improvements. We were also quick to point out the negatives: the clunky UI, plethora of bugs and glitches, and a couple of missing features from previous games. 

They introduced an oversimplified tactical system using OOP role logic, visualized pressing shapes, and added further cinematic analysis. For newcomers, these changes might be easier to understand, but for veterans, tactics are now harder to control with depth. 

On top of that, there’s no arguing that the game changes things a lot. The new tactical roles are fresh and modern, but some of them lack behaviours that used to be clearly visible through attributes and instructions. Staff management, which was one of the clearer systems, has also been overhauled. A lot of the attributes feel like they are wrapped in vague presentations and graphical abstractions. 

Even the user interface reflects this problem. FM26 tries to look cleaner and more modern, but in doing so, it hides information behind vague visual elements, layered menus, and role-based abstractions. Staff attributes, training effectiveness, and player suitability are now hidden behind extra clicks and interpretation. It looks simplified, but it actually makes core systems harder to understand. Instead of improving accessibility, the UI takes away clarity, which is the one thing Football Manager could never afford to lose.

Why This Philosophy Fails

I don’t know if this can be called greed, but new sports games are in pursuit of the largest possible market, resulting in a failed execution. The main challenge is to maintain a balance between trying to make a game that retains the loyalty of old fans and is also a fun experience for beginners. It’s a line that’s hard to balance, and even veteran game designers struggle with it. 

The Forza Horizon series sets up to be a textbook example of this. Forza Horizon 5 is quite a popular game, and its popularity mainly stems from letting you do whatever you want. You can follow the objectives, or just drive around and do nothing. That is not how the series started. Earlier games balanced free driving with strong identity, curated progression, festival atmosphere, and a semblance of structure. Forza Horizon 5 is freedom above all those aspects.

In an attempt to appear more modern and more accessible, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 fell into a similar trap. It abandoned the tight, responsive levels for poorly thought-out ones, and introduced shallow online mechanics that didn’t serve either audience. It wasn’t nostalgic or catering to fans, and it didn’t feel welcoming to newcomers either. 

Learning from Wii Sports

Though difficult, it is not impossible to make a game that appeals to everyone, and Wii Sports proves just that. Instead of amplifying the sport or adding unnecessary features, it simplified the controls for each sport. Instead of teaching players football physics or tennis mechanics, it lets them experience those concepts naturally.

What made Wii Sports a “game for everyone” was that it had a low barrier to entry, but a high ceiling for mastery. Anyone could understand it within minutes, but timing, spin, accuracy, and positioning in most games still required practice. It’s a game that respects your time, without demanding prior knowledge. 

The key difference is that Wii Sports didn’t try to be both a complex sports simulator and a mass-market product. It is fully committed to its identity. It was designed to be approachable from the ground up. Nintendo never tried to stretch an existing, complex formula to fit a wider audience; they came up with an entirely new one. 

Pick A Side

Football Manager and many other sports games should understand that they just need to stick to their own niche. There is no need to be the second Wii Sports; rather, be proud of what you truly represent. 

They can either commit to meticulous simulation that will create a loyal fan following or commit to a mass appealing arcade experience that grants immediate sales. Simplifying things doesn’t mean you need to strip away core mechanics or reduce the familiarity that defines your game. It means explaining them better. We didn’t really need a massive UI overhaul that hides things in a pretty way; we needed a cleaner way to understand systems we already had.

It’s no surprise that the community is unsatisfied with Football Manager 26. There are numerous issues with the game that everyone is talking about. And, now four of the biggest names in FM content — Zealand, Lollujo, WorkTheSpace, and DoctorBenjy — also sat down to discuss in a joint video on what really went wrong with Football Manager 26.

Across the board, all four creators say FM26’s issues run deeper than the usual first-week chaos we expect from big annual sports sims. The UI? Clunky. The workflows? Weirdly backwards. Features? Missing or moved into oblivion. The vibe? Off. It’s like the devs redesigned the entire experience, but forgot to ask anyone who actually plays the game.

Zealand was especially harsh. He argued that FM26’s problems aren’t just small mistakes. They are the kind of issues that happen when the studio’s development process breaks down from beneath.

The planning is off, feedback loops collapse, and there isn’t proper communication between the different teams. This is how things get messy. In his words, the failure isn’t the bugs; it’s everything underneath them.

“Institutional Failure” And What It Means for FM’s Future

All the creators more or less agreed on the game’s problems and brought their own angles.

For instance, Lollujo pointed out that early access creators were allowed to show negative impressions of the alpha build, which meant the community didn’t get the usual early warning alarms. WorkTheSpace talks about how the redesigned layout feels like it was built for someone who’s never actually played FM before. 

And Benjy, in classic Benjy form, tries to laugh through the pain but ends up sounding just as baffled as everyone else.

However, despite the criticism, they didn’t say that the franchise was dead. It was more bashing and requesting that SI fix the process. The players and creators both love this franchise. They want Football Manager 26 to thrive and Football Manager 27 to be amazing. 

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the community is loud, unified, and very specific about what’s wrong. And historically, SI has listened when the noise gets loud enough.

UFL is available now on PC through Early Access, accessible via the game’s website and official UFL Launcher.

After launching on consoles nearly a year ago, the title has drawn in more than 5 million players worldwide, supported by consistent monthly updates and an expanding lineup of ambassadors, including Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde and Barcelona’s Raphinha. Bringing UFL to PC marks a major milestone for the studio, expanding its reach and answering one of the community’s most common requests.

During Early Access, players on PC will have access to the same core features found on consoles, including Ranked Competitive Mode, Showdown Mode, Playoffs Mode and the Seasonal Team Pass. Cross-play is also available, letting PC and console players compete against one another seamlessly. All progress made during this phase will carry over once the full version launches.

To get started, players can choose from four Early Access bundles that come with in-game currency, exclusive player cards featuring Raphinha, Valverde, Del Piero and Beckenbauer, along with special customization options like the Girofaro Kit. The release date for the full free-to-play version will be shared at a later time.

Based on the mostly negative Steam reviews, Football Manager 26 could not have had a more terrible start. It’s certainly a very polarizing game, one that has a highly rewarding match engine that is unfortunately let down by its clunky UI and terrible quality-of-life aspects. Those are just the core issues, but players are also frustrated with little things like the absence of touchline shouts. 

We covered this issue previously when the game was still in Beta, and fan reactions surrounding it have not changed. In the r/footballmanagergames subreddit, one very frustrated player said the following:

“Nearly every player is missing this, but guys in SI office didn’t. They don’t play their game, and that shows in most parts of the game.”

A Rough Start, To Say The Least

As someone who is passionate about games and tends to be forgiving towards more issues, I take no joy from berating a game. With that said, out of FM26’s nearly 3600 English reviews on Steam, only 26% of them are positive. That means the game is rated even lower than MindsEye on Steam, which, in my opinion, was the worst AAA game launch of 2025, right behind Sony’s Concord. 

We published a review of FM26 just today, and our very own Christian Smith actually praised the match engine, graphical improvements, and the overall tactical evolution. However, he also discussed how the UI and its cumbersome menus seem to fight against you. Not a good look for a game that is basically played inside menus. 

The removal of touchline shouts is just an addition to the massive pile of issues this game already has. On the Reddit post referenced earlier, one user pointed out how touchline shouts felt like they didn’t even accomplish anything in the first place. Another user then argued that the effectiveness isn’t what matters, it’s what touchline shouts add to the feel and immersion of the game. But user Rundas-Slash had the most grounded take on the matter:

“Or you know, crazy idea, they could have made them… Do something? Is it so hard to give a small mental boost of +/- 2 on some relevant stats depending on the player’s morale during the match?”

Let’s be real here, Football Manager games have always been dated. Graphics have never been the best, and because Sports Interactive seems to ignore polish, there are a myriad of issues with each release. This time around, it just so happens that there’s more bad than good for a lot of players.