FIFA 21 What If guide: Kante, Raphina and Fer score upgradeable cards

(Image credit: EA)

FIFA 21 What If adds a cunning twist to real-life performances and results. The spring FIFA 21 campaign sees the likes of N'Golo Kante and Kevin Mbabu score in-game upgrades – so long as their actual club achieves a pre-set target across five matches. How does it work, what do the cards cost, and where can you see a full list of players? All those questions are covered below, in your FIFA 21 What If guide.

FIFA 21 What If: how does it work?

On Friday, February 26, EA released eleven new black-and-purple cards into packs. They represent boosted versions of players such as Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante, who jumps from an 88-rated base gold item to a 91-rated What If special card, with stats such as 81 pace, 87 physicality and 89 defending. Those increases alone would have been sufficient to see gamers forking out millions in virtual currency to add one of FIFA 21’s most meta players to their Ultimate Team.

There’s a clever additional wrinkle, however. Kante could earn yet another +2 OVR points, taking his final rating to 93, based on real-life team performances in the following five Chelsea matches. Same for Jadon Sancho and Dortmund, Kevin Mbabu and Wolfsburg, and so on.

For midfielders and attackers such as Kante and Sancho, the +2 card upgrade is awarded if their respective teams score a total of six goals over the next five league matches. For defenders like Mbabu, it’s contingent on their team keeping one clean sheet during the next five league games – as occurred in the promo's first weekend, earning him the boost. That sounds like a no-brainer, but is the sneaky part about items like these. Most owners of Wilfred Ndidi expected an imminent upgrade to his UEL Live RTTF card, but that will no longer occur after Leicester City’s shock exit to Slavia Prague.

FIFA 21 What If: do upgrades occur immediately?

No. Upgrades only occur on the Wednesday following the successful achievement is completed. So while Mbabu's team kept a clean sheet at home to Hertha Berlin on Saturday, February 27, his card wasn't updated from 85 to 87 until the following Wednesday.

FIFA 21 What If Team 2: when does it arrive?

FIFA 21 What If Team 2 arrived on Friday 5 March, and has been added to the complete player list at the foot of this page. Highlights include Dries Mertens (CF, Napoli, 89) and Sergio Reguilon (LB, Tottenham, 87). At that point Mbabu, Sancho and the rest of FIFA 21 What If Team 1 were rotated out of packs.

FIFA 21 What If: How much do cards cost?

Kante is a bank-breaker, inevitably. As I write this, in late April, you’re looking at little change from a whopping 900,000 coins. Sancho is 319,000, Mbabu is 273,000, while new Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard sets you back 267,000 coins.

Bargains are tough to come by, but the two cheapest FIFA 21 What If cards are Roberto Pereyra (LM, Udinese, 87) at 57,000 coins and Vincenzo Grifo (LM, SC Freiburg, 86) for 21,000.

FIFA 21 What If: How else can I get cards?

Squad Building Challenges and Objectives have played major roles in campaigns such as FIFA 21 Freeze throughout this season, and so that trend continues. In addition to dropping those eleven initial cards into packs, EA released an exclusive Francesco Caputo (ST, Sassuolo, 87) card which can only be earned by completing in-game tasks in the ‘Difference Makers’ Live FUT Friendly, such as scoring five goals using Serie A players and winning four matches.

The following week saw Caputo rotated out for a special Matteo Guendouzi (CDM, Hertha Berlin, 87) item. Again, you had seven days in which to complete the necessary objectives.

Even more popular, particularly given Marcelo Bielsa’s attacking ways, was Leeds winger Raphinha’s new 87-rated card, boasting an astonishing 94 pace. That one could only be nabbed by completing a set of three SBCs, which have sadly now expired. Later SBCs included Cristian Tello (RM, Real Betis, 87), Wendell (LB, Leverkusen, 86), Leroy Fer (CDM, Feyenoord, 85), and Adam Armstrong (ST, Blackburn, 85).

FIFA 21 What If: is there a complete card list?

Of course, and as has become traditional throughout this bumper FIFA 21 season, we’ve sorted it according to player rating below. The following list includes Team 1, Team 2, SBC and objectives items, as well as all upgrades. It is correct as of Monday, April 26.

Jadon Sancho (RM, Dortmund) - 92
N’golo Kante (CDM, Chelsea) - 91
Dries Mertens (CF, Napoli) - 91
Alejandro Gomez (CAM, Sevilla) - 90
Marcelo (CB, Lyon) - 90
Chris Smalling (CB, Roma) - 90
Lucas Leiva (CDM, Lazio) - 90
Martin Odegaard (CAM, Arsenal) - 90
Yuri Berchiche (LM, Athletic Bilbao) - 89
Luka Jovic (ST, Frankfurt) - 89
Sergio Reguilon (LB, Tottenham) - 89
Matteo Guendouzi (CDM, Hertha Berlin) - 89
Ricardo Pereira (RB, Leicester) - 89
Florian Thauvin (CAM, Marseille) - 89
Cristian Tello (RM, Real Betis) - 89 [SBC only]
Francesco Caputo - 89 [ST, Sassuolo] [Objectives only]
Morales (ST, Levante) - 88
Pepe (CB, FC Porto) - 88
Daniel Wass (CM, Valencia) - 88
Pierre Lees-Melou (CM, OGC Nice) - 88
Wendell (LB, Leverkusen) - 88 [SBC only
RRicharlison (ST, Everton) - 87
Krepin Diatta (RM, AS Monaco) - 87
Roberto Pereyra (LM, Udinese) - 87
Raphinha (RM, Leeds United) - 87 [SBC only]
Kevin Mbabu (RB, Wolfsburg) - 87
Leroy Fer (CDM, Feyenoord) - 87 [SBC only]
Vincenzo Grifo (LM, SC Freiburg) - 86
Kevin Malcuit (RB, Fiorentina) - 86 [SBC only]
Adam Armstrong (ST, Blackburn) - 85 [SBC only]
Timothy Weah (ST, LOSC) - 74 [Objectives only]