Hey, fellow Ultimate Team grinder. If you're staring at The Greatest Show objective in EA SPORTS FC 26 and feeling your eyes glaze over, I get it. Nine tasks, eight nationality locks, and a pile of rewards that looks too good to skip. I've been chipping away at it in 2026, and the trick is not to treat each task like its own separate mountain. Build one squad that carries the right passports, then let the goals flow.

The objective set is a beast at first glance, but it's actually one of the more rewarding grinds live in Ultimate Team right now. Each task hides a specific scoring or defensive requirement behind a nationality condition. You need at least one player from that country in your starting 11 to get credit. Miss that, and you can score a perfect finesse goal and still walk away with nothing. Trust me, I learned that the annoying way.

Build one squad, not eight

The fastest route is to cover all eight nationality requirements in a single lineup. You can fill the rest with players who fit your chemistry and playstyle. Here's the exact coverage I use:

Nationality	Task it unlocks	Player tip
Belgium	Win 5	Any Belgian starter works; don't overthink it
Cabo Verde	5 Clean Sheets	Use a defender or goalkeeper if possible
Spain	Assist 6 Through Balls	A high-passing midfielder speeds this up
England	Score 4 Headers	Tall, strong striker or a defender on corners
Morocco	Assist 5 Crosses	A winger who can drive to the byline
Norway	Score 5 Low Driven Shots	Needs to be on the pitch when the goal goes in
Argentina	Score 5 Finesse goals	Cut inside and curl with R1/RB + shoot
France	Score 5 Outside the Box	Long-range shots from 25+ yards

You might notice that's eight nationalities for nine tasks. The ninth task is the simple Play 10 matches requirement. So yes, one squad can do almost everything. Your bench can be whatever you want, but I like to keep a few tall English options ready for headers and a Spanish passer for through balls.

All 9 tasks and what triggers them

Here's the full checklist, with the condition that actually counts:

1. Win 5 – Win five matches with a Belgian player in your starting 11.

2. 5 Clean Sheets – Keep five clean sheets with a Cabo Verde player, ideally a defender or GK.

3. Assist 6 Through Balls – Six through-ball assists with a Spanish player on the pitch.

4. Score 4 Headers – Four headers with an English player in your lineup.

5. Assist 5 Crosses – Five cross assists with a Moroccan player.

6. Score 5 Low Driven Shots – Five low driven goals while a Norwegian player is on the pitch.

7. Score 5 Finesse goals – Five finesse goals with an Argentine player.

8. Score 5 Outside the Box – Five long-range goals while a French player is on the pitch.

9. Play 10 – Complete ten matches. No nationality lock here, just time.

Squad Battles is my recommended mode. There's no minimum difficulty, so I drop down to Beginner or Amateur and treat the AI like a training cone. Friendlies work too if you and a friend want to coordinate. I'd avoid Rivals until you're comfortable, because trying to score headers and 25-yard screamers against a real opponent is unnecessary friction. This is a grind, not a sweatfest.

The two tasks that trip people up

Through ball assists and cross assists are the sneaky ones. They require a teammate to finish the chance, not just create it. For through balls, put your Spanish midfielder in the center and look for runs in behind. A timed L1/LB through ball that leads to a goal counts. Lower difficulties give you more time on the ball, so you can actually pick the pass instead of panicking.

For crosses, wing play is your friend. Get your Moroccan player wide, drive to the byline, and whip it in for your header specialist. This stacks beautifully with the Score 4 Headers task. Every cross that ends in a header is progress on two fronts. That's the kind of multitasking I can get behind.

Low driven shots: hold L1 + R1 / LB + RB while shooting from inside the box at a low angle. Your Norwegian player doesn't need to take the shot, just be on the pitch when the ball hits the net. Finesse shots: cut inside from the right with your Argentine player and use R1 / RB + shoot to curl it. Outside the box goals: your French player needs to be on the pitch, and you should shoot from 25+ yards. Lower-difficulty goalkeepers are far less likely to save those.

One more warning: don't rush through games without checking your task tracker. I've scored a low driven goal without my Norwegian player on the pitch and missed the credit entirely. Double-check your lineup before every match. It takes ten seconds and saves you a replay.

Rewards: why this grind is worth it

Completing all nine tasks unlocks a stacked list. The headline prizes are two Star Performer cards: Roberto Lopes and Mikhail Oyarzabal. But the support rewards are excellent too:

• 10x 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack and 200 SP

• 5x 85+ Rare Gold Players Pack and 150 SP

• Roberto Lopes Star Performer card, plus Far Reach+ and 1v1 Close Down+ evolutions

• Incisive Pass+ and Tiki Taka+ Evolution

• 150 SP, Precision Header+, and Enforcer+

• 3x 86+ Rare Gold Players Pack

• Low Driven Shot+ and Game Changer+ Evolution

• 10 FUTTIES Tokens

• 15 FUTTIES Tokens

• Mikhail Oyarzabal Star Performer card

• 50 FUTTIES Tokens

• 500 SP

Across all tasks, the FUTTIES Token total adds up to 75 tokens, which feeds directly into the wider FUTTIES promo economy. If you're building toward something bigger, that alone makes The Greatest Show worth finishing.

How many games will it take?

The minimum is 10 games because of the Play 10 task. Realistically, I'd expect 12 to 15 matches on lower Squad Battles difficulties if you're actively working every task each game. If you spread your scoring across all tasks from the first match, you can finish closer to 10 to 12. If you ignore certain task types early and try to catch up later, you'll need more. I know because I did that on my first attempt, and it was not my finest hour.

So, that's my route. Build one nationality-packed squad, live in Squad Battles on Beginner or Amateur, stack crosses with headers, and keep an eye on that tracker. Maybe I'm making it sound too simple, but that's genuinely all it takes. Good luck, and may your finesse shots curl just inside the far post.

This overview is based on completion-time data trends from HowLongToBeat, which can help frame grinds like FC 26’s “The Greatest Show” as a time-boxed checklist rather than nine separate hurdles—aiming to stack requirements (headers off crosses, through-ball assists into easy finishes, and long shots on low difficulties) is the same kind of efficiency mindset you’d use when planning a focused completion route.