FC26: Yet Another High-Speed Collapse of the Beautiful Game
I've been playing FIFA since the ‘90s. That’s right — before Ultimate Team, before online lobbies, back when the most broken thing in the game was the diagonal shot from the edge of the box (some things haven't changed much). Things got stale in the 2000s, until FIFA 08 landed on the PS3-engine. A huge improvement. “Be a Pro” (5v5) was the prelude to the feature I had been hoping for. FIFA 09 introduced Pro Clubs, and FIFA 10 refined the formula. Those were the best years.
FIFA 11 added the lock-to-single-player ability in Career Mode. Since then, it’s been nothing but locked-player Career Mode and Pro Clubs for me. No interest in scripting my way through FUT packs or chasing the meta in a 1v1 sweatbox. Just real(ish) football where you are part of a team.
But FIFA 11 was also when the signs of the future Fifa started to emerge. Remember reaching the top 500 in online rankings, only to discover that every single match against a higher-ranked player was a showcase of glitches and pace abuse. Kick-off goals, Fernando Torres and Eto'o breaking the sound barrier on the counter, running zigzags around AI defenders like they were traffic cones as long as they followed an elliptic angle.
Fast forward 15 years, and it’s somehow worse. Online FIFA (for me that's Pro Clubs) is now a glorified Mbappé simulator. Every player has the pace of a cheetah, the dribbling of Messi, the passing of prime Xabi Alonso, and the vertical of peak CR7 — all jammed into one 5’4” fluorescent-green avatar with pink hair and a cowboy hat.
And still, players demand more speed, more agility, as if the game isn't already a full-blown cartoon. EA, in their infinite wisdom, obliges. Because why listen to players who want tactics, positioning, vision, or passing — when you can cater to the brain-dead hordes who only know Run + Counter + Through Ball?
That’s it. That’s the “meta.”
Run. Counter. Through ball.
Repeat until your controller dies or your will to live does — whichever comes first.
Creativity? Dead.
Possession with purpose? A relic.
Teamplay? Only if you count five players sprinting in straight lines hoping for lag.
And when my club actually tries to play something resembling actual football, we get DMs saying:
- “Why do you play like this?”
- “This is boring.”
- “You suck.”
No, my guy. We suck because we’re not miniature Usain Bolts who can score blindfolded while doing a front flip. Sorry for trying to play football in your mutant sprinter simulator.
And the worst part? EA could fix all of this.
It’s not rocket science. Just kill the broken “skill unlock” system that turns everyone into a 90+ freak by default.
If you want growth, make it earned, not handed out like candy.
The system should reflect performance, not just hours played or YouTube tutorials followed. Use a Player Efficiency Rating — something that actually measures how well you play: goals, assists, pass %, turnovers, tackles, positioning, impact.
Perhaps then, the very best of the Turbo Goblins and Meta Midgets might top out at an honest 82 overall — which is still generous, considering their only tactic is 'sprint and pray.'
Reward team players, not stat padders.
Reward football IQ, not turbo-button spammers.
The worst part? With FC26, EA is doubling down on everything that’s broken. There’s a new “Authentic Mode” for offline play — sounds great, probably reserved for people who still remember what passing looks like. But online? That’s "Competitive Mode." Translation: turbo mode. Players are faster, more agile, and more tireless than ever before. Fatigue is a suggestion. Midfield build-up is extinct. And every 5'4" winger is somehow faster than light and stronger than physics. Strikers are playing centre-back — because when fatigue is meaningless and everyone's got 90 pace, who needs actual defenders?
It's not football. It’s basically Mario Kart in football kits.
But hey, it’s FC26.
The shirts are new. The animations are smoother. The pitch has more grass.
And the gameplay?
Still just Run. Counter. Through ball. Repeat.
If so, FC26 might be the year where this 30-year old veteran hangs up his virtual boots and donates his controller to science.
