EA Sports FC 26: unlock Lampard 98 for free with the Future World Tour objectives before August 13

The last piece of the puzzle is now in place. Since Thursday, August 6, the FUTTIES Éli Junior Kroupi objective group has been available in EA Sports FC 26: it's the fifth and final segment of the "Future World Tour Completionist" chain (the name stays in English in the game), which started in mid-July. Its final reward: Frank Lampard 98, a fully free FUTTIES Icon, playable as a central midfielder, without spending a single credit.

The way it works is unusual and rather generous: the chain groups together five objective groups, and you only need to complete four, any of them, to trigger the reward. In addition to Lampard, the chain pays out 500 season points and a pack of 20 rare gold 87+ players, while each completed group grants its own 96 or 97 rated card plus a bonus pack. All rewards are untradeable.

Don't hang around: according to FUT Mind and FUT.GG's counters, the chain expires on Thursday, August 13 in the evening, French time. So less than a week to complete four groups. It's very much doable as long as you organize yourself, and that's exactly what this guide is for.

How the Future World Tour Completionist chain works

The five groups have been released at a rate of one per week since mid-July: the first two under the "National Pride" banner, the following three branded FUTTIES. They're all played in the same modes: Squad Battles at Semi-Pro difficulty or higher, Live Events, Rivals, or Champions. Each completed group grants its player card, and the chain adds its own bonus on top.

Four groups completed, and Lampard 98 joins your club, along with the 500 season points and the 20-player rare gold 87+ pack. A useful clarification given the confusion going around: this is indeed a FUTTIES Icon, not a Hero, as shown on his FUT.GG page.

The details of the five groups

National Pride Rio Ngumoha (96)

• Play 5 matches with at least 6 English players in the starting XI;
• Score 5 goals with a striker (preferred position only);
• Win 3 matches by a margin of 3 goals or more with 2 Premier League players in the XI;
• Keep a clean sheet in 5 matches;
• Win 8 matches with at least 6 "first owned" players in the starting XI.

This is the longest group on paper: between the 8 wins, the 3 wins by a 3-goal margin, and the 5 clean sheets, expect a good fifteen or so matches if the conditions don't overlap. The "first owned" requirement poses no problem if your club runs on rewards and packs, but it penalizes those who buy everything on the Transfer Market.

National Pride Estêvão (97)

• Play 5 matches with at least 6 Brazilian players in the starting XI;
• Score 3 curled goals with a Brazilian player;
• Record at least 2 assists per match in 4 separate matches with a player with 5-star skill moves;
• Score 8 goals with a Brazilian midfielder.

A predominantly Brazilian lineup ticks nearly every box at once: plenty of attacking Brazilians boast 5-star skill moves, and a Brazilian midfielder played up front handles the 8 goals.

FUTTIES Lennart Karl (97)

• Score at least 2 goals in 3 separate matches with a CAM;
• Provide 5 assists with a German midfielder;
• Concede 3 goals or fewer over 3 matches;
• Win 10 matches.

The quickest of the five groups: FUT.GG estimates it can be wrapped up in just 10 matches, by concentrating the stat conditions in the first three games and then chaining wins.

FUTTIES Can Uzun (97)

• Play 5 matches with a Turkish player in the starting XI;
• Provide 6 assists with Turkish midfielders;
• Score 4 goals with a player who has a 4-star weak foot;
• Score and assist in 3 separate matches with a player rated 90 or higher in dribbling;
• Win 10 matches with at least 6 Bundesliga players in the starting XI.

The dual requirement of Turkish midfielders plus a Bundesliga backbone forces you to cobble together a dedicated squad. If your club has neither, this is a serious candidate to be the sacrificed fifth group.

FUTTIES Éli Junior Kroupi (97)

The latest addition, added on August 6, celebrates the French Bournemouth striker with a 97-rated ST card. Its conditions:

• Play 5 matches with at least 5 French players in the starting XI;
• Score 3 curling goals from outside the box with an ST (natural position only);
• Provide 4 assists with a player born on or after November 11, 2005;
• Score 8 goals with a player rated 92 or higher in shooting;
• Win 10 matches with at least 2 Premier League STs in the starting XI.

The fastest method to finish everything before August 13

First instinct: play Live Events rather than full matches. Their short format cycles through win and goal conditions much faster than Rivals or Squad Battles. The penalty shootout event Showdown: Sudden Death is particularly effective for stacking up wins once the stat conditions are handled — a tip highlighted by FUT.GG for the Can Uzun group, which applies to the others too. Keep Squad Battles on Semi-Pro for tasks that require actual playing volume: goals from a specific position, targeted assists, clean sheets.

Second instinct: combine requirements within a single lineup. For Kroupi, two French Premier League STs count toward the 5 French players, tick off the 2 Premier League STs and, if they shoot well, the curling goals from outside the box; add a young player born after November 11, 2005 for the assists, and the entire group can be completed with a single team. The same logic applies to Estêvão with a Brazilian core, or to Uzun with a Bundesliga lineup built around Turkish midfielders.

Third instinct: choose which group to sacrifice from the start, since four are enough. Ngumoha is the longest, Uzun the most demanding in terms of squad requirements: drop whichever fits your club the least rather than trying to chase all five. Karl, meanwhile, can be finished in one evening — start with that one.

Is Lampard 98 really worth it?

Yes, and without much hesitation. A free 98-rated central midfielder at this point in the season has almost no equivalent: since the card is untradeable, its value lies purely in usage, but that usage is very real for the weeks of Rivals, Champions, and Live Events that separate FC 26 from the release of FC 27, expected in September. The side rewards also land at the best possible moment: the FUTTIES Team 3 entered packs this Friday, August 7, with cards peaking at 99, so your 20 rare golds 87+, your 89+ player pick, and the group packs have a genuine window to produce something huge.

One last point of caution: all the rewards in the chain are untradeable, so there's no point hoping to sell off the duplicates. And there's no indication that any FC 26 content will carry over to FC 27: enjoy Lampard now, that's the whole point of the operation.

Where to start if you're beginning from scratch

Work through them in this order: Karl tonight (10 matches are enough), then Kroupi with a French-English lineup built for the occasion, Estêvão right after with a Brazilian block, and keep Uzun or Ngumoha as your fourth depending on what your club contains — Bundesliga and Turkish midfielders on one side, patience and clean sheets on the other. By mainly playing the Live Events, four groups in six days is more routine than feat. The only real mistake would be to wait until the weekend: on August 13, Lampard disappears along with the chain.