EA Sports accidentally gave away POTM Yamal in huge SBC mistake

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 16/01/2026

EA Sports has made a massive blunder and accidentally given away the new POTM Lamine Yamal card for very little on EA FC 26.

The 91-rated card was released on Ultimate Team after the Barcelona teenager was voted La Liga Player of the Month.

Yamal was supposed to have his own Squad Builder Challenge (SBC) for the card, but EA accidentally launched it as a basic 86-rated SBC instead.

The glitch allowed EA FC 26 players to get the card, which should cost 450k, for as little as 45k coins.

Yamal was accidentally listed inside one of the SBCs for the new 92-rated Flashback Sophia Wilson card.

Instead of the six challenges, including an 88-rated squad and an 89-rated squad, Yamal was available for a simple 86-rated squad with one Team of the Week.

Completing that easy requirement guaranteed the POTM Yamal card as well as a Jumbo Gold Pack as an unnecessary bonus.

EA FC 26 players quickly noticed the mistake and rushed to spread the word so others could take advantage of the glitch before EA noticed.

And a lot of the community were already online on Ultimate Team in preparation for the EA FC 26 Team of the Year release.

However, as most had feared, EA Sports quickly took the challenge down and fixed the mistake.

The 86-rated challenge for Yamal is no longer available, but the damage was already done.

Countless players were able to complete the challenge in time and have confirmed that Yamal is still in their collection.

While others, unfortunately, had the fix go live just as they submitted.

Now, many players have the absolutely monstrous card in their possession.

The card will likely be broken with five-star skills, eight playstyles including Tiki Taka+, and 92 dribbling.

EA FC 26 Team of the Year release schedule

While a guaranteed cheap Yamal card is no longer available, there are still a lot of ridiculous cards currently available in FUT packs.

And with that in mind, many content creators and regular players have spent absurd amounts of money on FIFA Points for packs.

It’s why pro EA FC 26 players have admitted that the esport is pay-to-win.

As of today, January 16th, the EA FC 26 Team of the Year cards are officially available in packs.

The cards have unique walkout animations, with the players donning suits, as well as unique graphics when they score.

The release schedule for the EA FC 26 TOTY cards is:

• TOTY Attackers – Jan 16-18
• TOTY Icons Team 1 – Jan 16-20
• TOTY Midfielders – Jan 18-20
• TOTY Defenders + GK – Jan 20-22
• TOTY Icons Team 2 – Jan 20-23
• Full TOTY XI – Jan 22-30
• TOTY Honourable Mentions & 12th Players – Jan 23-30

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

In my seven years of esports writing, I've introduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I'm most proud of the latter.

All Posts By Jack Stewart