FC 26 TOTY Full Guide and the best player

The Team of the Year (TOTY) event in EA SPORTS FC 26 is one of the biggest promotional events for your Ultimate Team. In FC 26 the TOTY cards represent the most powerful player items released during the game cycle and are typically the strongest cards available until future promos such as TOTS (Team of the Season). To get a TOTY card you have to save packs, grind objectives and vote for your favorite players.

If you are a beginner then all these might be a bit confusing. Let’s follow LDShop, as in this guide you will get to know everything about the TOTY event and learn some important details like when the cards will be released, what rewards you will get, what players have been selected and who is the best overall player of this event.

FC 26 TOTY Overview

The Team of the Year is a seasonal event in FC 26 Ultimate Team where EA Sports releases uniquely boosted special cards of the best players of the previous year. These cards have better ratings and PlayStyles+ than other standard or special cards which makes them very valuable and game changing for your squad.

EA takes your suggestions as well and finally creates a list of 11 best players from around the world. There is also a 12th player that you can choose from a list of players who just missed the starting XI. The TOTY event continues for a couple of weeks and all the contents are divided into different weeks based on player positions, new objectives and exclusive challenges.

TOTY Release Schedule and Structure

The TOTY event in FC 26 has a structured release schedule that allows you to target specific positions and maximize your pack openings:

• January 16–18: TOTY Attackers are released.
• January 18–20: Midfielders are released.
• January 20–22: Defenders and goalkeepers are released.
• January 22–30: The full squad is released that has both Men’s and Women’s TOTY cards.

Other than that, TOTY Icons Team 1, TOTY Icons Team 2, and honourable mention cards are also released during this time so that you can get more chances of getting your favorite player.

12th Player Vote

Even after the main TOTY XI is revealed you can still influence the final team by using the 12th Player vote. You can participate in the vote after the main team has been released. The player that gets the most votes from this will be added in the final squad as well.

TOTY Player Selections and Ratings

The TOTY squad currently has the best players you can get in FC 26 so far. These cards represent the top performances of the players in attack, midfield, defense and goalkeeping.

Men’s TOTY XI Highlights

The Men’s FC 26 TOTY squad includes some of the best performers in world football.

• Kylian Mbappé is the captain of the Men’s TOTY squad with 96 rating.
• Erling Haaland has 97 shooting and excellent attacking stats.
• Ousmane Dembélé has 97 Pace and has excellent stats as a winger.
• In the midfield you have Vitinha, Pedri and Declan Rice as anchors.
• You have strong and reliable defenders like Virgil van Dijk, William Saliba, Nuno Mendes and Jules Koundé.
• The goalkeeper for the squad is Gianluigi Donnarumma and has excellent goalkeeping stats.

These cards are not only fan favorites but you should definitely use them in your Ultimate Team because of how much boost they get in key stats and PlayStyles+.

Women's TOTY XI

The Women’s Team of the Year is also excellent. Lucy Bronze is the captain and has an overall rating of 95. Most of the players are from FC Barcelona. The stats for attackers, midfielders and defenders are equally as good as the men’s squad cards.

Best Player of FC 26 TOTY

Among all the TOTY cards the most influential card is of Kylian Mbappé. And it is not just because he is the captain of the Men’s TOTY XI. His card has some of the highest stats in Pace, Shooting, Dribbling and overall versatility. Because of this his card is a must have card for your Ultimate Team.

Why Mbappé Is the Best

Mbappé’s TOTY card has 99 Speed, 96 Shooting and 96 Dribbling. This makes him one of the deadliest attackers ever released by EA 26. Using these stats you can use his card to start explosive counterattacks, finish consistently and constantly threaten your opponent from wide or central attacking positions.

Other attacking TOTY cards like Haaland or Dembélé have excellent stats but with Mbappé’s combination of pace and finishing you can adapt to different positions like main striker, winger or even a creative forward. Because of this flexibility and boosted stats he is considered to be the best player in FC 26 TOTY squad and also put the most impact on your Ultimate Team. Try to save resources beforehand.

If you don’t have enough then you can always buy FC 26 coins so that you don’t have to grind for hours. This will make your life a bit easier and you can still be able to enjoy these amazing cards in your FUT. The best platform to make the top-up is LDShop, it lets players top up for less and it is a great way to save money.

TOTY Event Mechanics and Rewards

Other than pack openings there are many challenges and reward systems from which you can get valuable rewards without relying solely on packs.

Draft and Exchange System

One of the biggest changes in this year’s TOTY is the Draft and Exchange system. You can use FC Draft Vouchers to participate in TOTY Draft Pools. You can get these vouchers from star passes, store purchases or event objectives. From these drafts you can pull cards and then choose to exchange unwanted items for Phase 2 Tokens. You can then use these tokens to unlock rewards from the TOTY Exchange.

Because of this system even if you get a card that you don’t want from a pull you can exchange it to get tokens. Overall it gives you more control and you can also somewhat choose the reward that you want.

Daily Login and SBC Rewards

Another major part of the TOTY event is the Daily Login Objectives and the Squad Building Challenges (SBCs). From 13th January 2026 to 30th January 2026 you can get a new SBC everyday. If you complete these SBCs then you will build progress in the Daily Login Completionist Objective. The more you progress here the more reward bundles and valuable items you get.

You can easily complete these daily SBCs. You will usually need just 1 Bronze player and you can keep repeating them to get more rewards. As you keep completing the daily sequences your rewards become more and more valuable. First you will get packs like 80+ Rare Gold Player Packs and multiple 82+ and 83+ packs. And by the end you will have the chance to get upto 10 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack when you complete 14 SBCs. This is one of the best rewards you can get from the whole event and you can use these cards in your team or trade them according to your choice.

Conclusion

The FC 26 TOTY event is one of the most exciting promos in Ultimate Team. It has powerful cards, great rewards, and daily challenges, and you will have something for you no matter what type of player you are. Try to save packs and complete objectives from the very beginning so that you can build a strong squad and enjoy the event fully.