The group stage is over and FIFA 23 is celebrating: Here are all FIFA World Cup Stories players and their FUT stats

The end of the group stage of the 2022 World Cup has been met with a major FUT launch in FIFA 23. EA had promised something big to mark the transition into eliminations and it delivered the FIFA World Cup Stories to FUT 23 today.

A total of 16 player items mark the beginning of the FIFA World Cup Stories promo in FUT 23, one of which is acquired via Objectives. These items are given to players who have put in an outstanding display in one or more of their group matches or have left their mark on a previous World Cup tournament. All 16 items are available in FUT packs with immediate effect but will only stay there for a limited period of time.

FIFA World Cup Stories will last for a week, from Dec. 2 to 9, and will include much more than just the base cards we got today. There will be a second mini-release on Sunday, Dec. 4. Our expectations are for a release in the range of four to six items there. The second FIFA World Cup Icons team is also scheduled for launch before Dec. 9 as a part of this promo. Finally, there will be many SBCs and Objectives added to the fray over the course of the round of 16.

All 16 players released as FIFA World Cup Stories in FIFA 23 FUT

• CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 92 OVR (Netherlands)
• RW: Gareth Bale – 91 OVR (Wales)
• CAM: Bruno Fernandes – 90 OVR (Portugal)
• ST: Marco Asensio – 89 OVR (Spain)
• LW: Marcus Rashford – 88 OVR (England)
• RB: Daniel Alves – 88 OVR (Brazil)
• ST: Edinson Cavani – 88 OVR (Uruguay)
• CAM: Leroy Sané – 88 OVR (Germany)
• ST: Richarlison – 88 OVR (Brazil)
• LW: Alphonso Davies – 87 OVR (Canada)
• RM: Timothy Weah – 86 OVR (USA) – Objectives
• CM: Adrien Rabiot – 86 OVR (France)
• CB: Simon Kjaer – 86 OVR (Denmark)
• CM: Lovro Majer – 85 OVR (Croatia)
• ST: Saleh Al Shehri – 84 OVR (Saudi Arabia)

EA is coming at us with an interesting selection of players. Some of them, like Bruno Fernandes and Richarlison, easily earned their spot with a scintillating performance in Qatar. Others, like Gareth Bale, Daniel Alves, and Edinson Cavani, are legends of their respective national teams that are almost guaranteed to be playing in their last World Cup. Then, there’s a third breed of players who don’t fit into either category seamlessly. It’s EA, so it’s perhaps best to not think about it too much and simply consume the good content given to us.