EA Sports FC 26: the free FUTTIES Plan I and II Evolution turns out a 98-rated striker, to launch before Monday

There's less than 36 hours left to enrol a player in FUTTIES plan I, the free Evolution that turns an attacking midfielder into a 97-rated striker in EA Sports FC 26. The registration window closes on Monday, August 10, 2026 at 7:00 PM (Paris time), and once it's passed, the entire path becomes inaccessible.

Inaccessible, because this is a two-stage chain. FUTTIES plan II requires an item of "Evolution FUTTIES" rarity at exactly 97 overall rating: in other words, the output of plan I, and nothing else. No card bought on the Transfer Market meets this condition. Missing Monday at 7 PM means missing both.

The cost of both Evolutions is zero: no coins, no FC Points. The playtime required is negligible given the result: seven matches in total, playable in Squad Battles at Semi-Pro level. At the end of the chain, you get back a striker rated 98 overall, 98 Shooting, 97 Dribbling, 5 stars on weak foot as well as skill moves, with two Play Styles+ thrown in.

What FUTTIES plan I exactly does

The entry requirements are deliberately broad: 96 OVR maximum, CAM position, 5 positions maximum, 10 Play Styles maximum and 4 Play Styles+ maximum. There is no constraint on rarity, nation or league. Any central attacking midfielder from your club will do, including a regular gold card pulled from a pack.

The path consists of five levels, each validated by a match. The challenge is identical at every stage: play a match in Squad Battles at Semi-Pro level minimum — Rush, Division Rivals, Champions and Live Events also count — with the EVO item included in your lineup. No win, no clean sheet is required. In Squad Battles against the AI at Semi-Pro, this can be sorted out in one evening.

Added to this are two Play Styles+: Finesse Shot and Power Shot. The first is the most sought-after in the game on a striker, the second covers driven shots along the ground from the edge of the box. Getting both for free, on the same card, doesn't happen every month.

The cap trap: your starting card barely matters

This is the point most players miss. A "+50, cap 96" boost means the attribute rises by 50 points up to 96, not beyond. In practice, an attacking midfielder with 50 Finishing and another with 90 both end up at exactly 96. The same logic applies to Acceleration, Sprint Speed, Composure, Agility, Ball Control or Curve.

In other words, spending 400,000 credits on a 95-rated MOC to enter it into Path I brings absolutely nothing more than a pack-pulled 87-rated MOC. Worse still: a card entered into an Evolution becomes untradeable, so the investment is permanently lost, with just three weeks left in the FC 26 cycle.

The real selection criteria

Since the offensive attributes are locked upon arrival, the choice comes down solely to what the two Evolutions do not touch. Here's what remains unchanged on the final card:

• Vision, Crossing and FK Accuracy: Path II raises short and long passing to 95, but leaves these three attributes untouched. A playmaking CAM will retain a genuine edge on through balls and set pieces.
• Heading Accuracy and Jumping: never improved. On a striker meant to finish off crosses, this is the only differentiating lever.
• Strength, Stamina and Aggression: Path II adds +30 Physical with a cap set at just 83. The final card therefore remains light in this area; starting from an already physically solid profile changes everything in duels.
• Body type: height, weight and body build determine the acceleration profile. Path I sets Agility to 96 and Acceleration to 95, but doesn't alter the build — and that's what will decide your attacker's behaviour over the first five metres.
• Chemistry: nation, league and club don't change. Choose a player who fits into your starting eleven's links rather than an isolated gem.

Conversely, two criteria that seem important aren't at all. Star ratings first: Path I gives +4 Weak Foot and Path II +4 Skill Moves, so even a 2-star / 2-star profile comes out as 5-star / 5-star. The starting overall rating next: +50 OVR capped at 97 means the starting point is irrelevant.

FUTTIES Path II: two matches to break 98

The second link is much shorter. Requirements: FUTTIES Evolution rarity and an overall rating of exactly 97, plus the same limits of 10 PlayStyles and 4 PlayStyles+. Two levels, one match each, in the same modes as Path I.

The boosts are surgical: +1 Overall (98), +5 Shooting (98), +5 Dribbling (97), +30 Physical (83), +50 to short and long passing (95 each) and +4 Skill Moves. This is the tier that pushes the card from a good attacker to a genuine end-of-cycle mainstay.

The four dates to remember

• FUTTIES path I — sign-up: until Monday, August 10, 2026, 7:00 PM.
• FUTTIES path I — completion deadline: until Monday, August 17, 2026, 7:00 PM.
• FUTTIES path II — sign-up: until Wednesday, August 12, 2026, 7:00 PM.
• FUTTIES path II — completion deadline: until Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 7:00 PM.

These times correspond to 5:00 PM UTC, the usual switchover time for Ultimate Team content. There's a comfortable margin to finish, but a very short window to sign up: the urgency applies solely to committing to the Evolution, not to playing the matches.

The remaining PlayStyles+ and the Lab

EA has raised the Evolutions cap to four PlayStyles+ during FUTTIES, up from the usual three, and has announced a fifth consumable PlayStyle+ "towards the end of the campaign." Since path I already uses up two of them, starting with a base card with no PlayStyle+ leaves you two free slots to fill in the PlayStyle Lab.

This is also why the order matters: stat Evolutions impose entry caps (10 PlayStyles, 4 PlayStyles+). If you max out your card in the Lab before submitting it to path I, you risk making it ineligible. Do both paths first, then customize.

It's worth recalling the logic behind the campaign: regular FUTTIES SBC items deliberately come out without PlayStyle or PlayStyle+, leaving it up to the player to configure them. Path I works exactly the other way around—it forces its two shot-oriented PlayStyles+ onto the card, making it a pure striker project rather than a versatile one.

Should you start it?

If you're already fielding a 98-rated striker from a FUTTIES SBC or the Transfer Market, the answer is no: the chain costs seven matches and locks up a permanently untradeable card. For everyone else—especially those who've drained their coin balance on SBCs during the first three weeks of FUTTIES—this is the best free deal still available in this cycle.

The campaign, announced by EA to run for four weeks starting July 24, is entering its final stretch. Free Evolutions of this caliber won't reappear until the launch of FC 27: commit an attacking midfielder this Sunday evening, finish the five matches at your own pace by next Monday, and roll straight into path II.