FC 24 will receive the announced mode for the European Championship on June 6. What new content can we expect for the European Championship at home? Where might EA SPORTS have to cut back?
Fans of the real and virtual turf can not only follow the 2024 European Championship as spectators, but also replay it. Or rather: replay it. The corresponding free update is coming to EA SPORTS FC 24 on June 6, eight days ahead of the opening match of the European Championship between hosts Germany and Scotland. The developer announced this release date on Tuesday, but no further information on the exact content was provided.
So what can we expect digitally on the occasion of the major soccer event? The European Championship will have its own mode in FC 24 and the competition will be recreated. From the group stage to the final: the simulation should faithfully reflect the tournament tree. Based on the mode for the 2022 Qatar World Cup in FIFA 23, we can also expect some variations: If EA SPORTS offers a live option again, it will be possible to enter at any point after the start of the tournament – in line with the real course of events.
Quick matches can probably be played against the AI, locally or online. In addition, the publisher also implemented the option of organizing online tournaments in 2022. Players may even be able to modify their European Championship experience and start with different groups
How authentic will the EURO squads be?
There are still minor doubts regarding the licenses for the national teams. The regular FC 24 package is missing some of the teams that will be competing at the European Championship – including Germany’s group opponents Switzerland. However, as EURO 2024 itself is licensed by UEFA, EA SPORTS should also have the rights to represent all participating national teams
But how authentically will they be represented in the European Championship mode? In many cases – as with the DFB – the final squads have not yet been determined. All nations have already announced at least provisional selections, but these are not binding. It is also questionable whether EA SPORTS had the necessary time until June 6 to exactly recreate these squads, some of which were only recently announced.
It can therefore be assumed that most virtual national teams will include some players who will not make it to the European Championship – and conversely, some European Championship players will be missing. EA SPORTS could remedy this by publishing the squads in a manually customizable way – so that FC 24 players can put together their own final teams. The developer alternative would be to provide an update as soon as there is clarity regarding personnel
Special cards for European Championship players – and legends
In addition to the European Championship mode, the developer will most likely also accompany EURO 2024 with content in Ultimate Team. Leakers announce a FUT promo focusing on the continental competition. Various types of special cards are to be released – for current and former professionals. Dynamic items on the “Path to Glory” are expected to receive upgrades depending on the performance of the player’s respective national team.
In addition, items with the motto “Greatest of the Game” are to appear, which will be awarded to either icons or heroes. According to the leakers, this applies not only to the European Championship in Europe, but also to the Copa America in South and North America, which begins on June 20. Six FUT cards were already available in December, offering a foretaste of the EURO: Florian Wirtz, Federico Chiesa, Ousmane Dembelé, Virgil van Dijk, Jack Grealish and Alvaro Morata.
