With the December holiday update that was released earlier, FC 26 brought several Classic XI teams to the kick-off modes. Now they are coming to Ultimate Team with Classic XI Heroes, featuring eleven of the fan favorites that defined an era for their respective clubs.
Unlike the usual promo cards, these Heroes are not packable and are handed out for free. They'll also get upgrades later down the road. Here's how all of that works.
How to Get a Free Classic XI Heroes Player in FC 26
To claim a free Classic XI Heroes player, all you need to do is log into Ultimate Team in FC 26 before January 12, 2026. As for the exact hour, you need to log in before the daily content reset time, which is 10:00 a.m. PT / 6:00 p.m. GMT.
Just as you log in, you'll find an unclaimed pack in the My Packs section of the store. Open it, and you'll get one random Hero from the Classic XI Heroes team.
All FC 26 Classic XI Heroes players
Below is the full Classic XI Heroes team in FC 26:
- Blaise Matuidi (CDM)
- Claudio Marchisio (CM)
- Guti (CM)
- Ze Roberto (CM)
- Jean-Pierre Papin (ST)
- Mario Gomez (ST)
- Gianluca Vialli (ST)
- Diego Forlán (ST)
- Tim Howard (GK)
- Harry Kewell (LW)
- Vincent Kompany (CB)
There are some better and some slightly worse cards here, despite all of them sharing the same 88 OVR. What we mean is you're definitely not getting the one you desire the most. Don't bin the cards yet, however, as they'll receive an upgrade later.
FC 26 Classic XI Heroes Player Upgrade Explained
All Classic XI Heroes players will get a special one-time upgrade in FC 26 at the start of the Team of the Year promo. This upgrade will turn them into Team of the Year Honourable Mention Heroes.
EA hasn't shared the dates for when the TOTY promo will begin. Though based on our guess, it'll be on January 16, 2026, should it continue to follow the past schedule patterns. This also makes sense when you look at the pack expiration date for Classic XI Heroes.
Of course, the dates are speculation, and we also do not know how big the upgrades will be. We'll be sure to update you on both whenever there is any official news.
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