Road to the Knockouts returns for FIFA 23 Ultimate Team and this year’s squad of dynamic cards, which can be upgraded based on their team’s real-life performances, is full of players that are great for the gameplay meta and great for trading.

Some of these cards have fantastic boosts straight out of the gate, but if their teams can tot up some wins in real life, let alone qualify for the knockout stages, then they get really spicy. Keeping track of each player’s path to their upgrade can get fiddly, however, and then there is the question of exactly when the upgrades will land.

Fortunately, this guide covers all of that information, so whether you packed an RTTK and need to know when it will be upgraded, or you fancy dipping your financial toes into the swirling currents of the transfer market and trading these cards, check out the guide below to stay on top of everything Road to the Knockouts.

FIFA 23 RTTK progress and trackerFIFA 23 RTTK upgrade timesHow Road to the Knockouts works in FIFA 23FIFA 23 RTTK trading tipsThis FUT 23 deep dive trailer provides a decent overview of this year's mode.

If you’re interested in Ultimate Team, we have pages on best starter teams, Squad Battles, Milestone rewards and FUT Coins and trading.

FIFA 23 RTTK progress and tracker

Road to the Knockouts cards are in packs until Friday October 15th 2022, but will be available to purchase second-hand on the transfer market throughout FIFA 23 Ultimate Team. Because these are dynamic cards, their stats can be boosted based on their team’s real-life performances, and this will impact their price.

The tracker below features every RTTK card, including SBC and Objective players, their ratings, and progress towards their next upgrade.

Last Updated: Monday November 6th

PlayerRatingsWins UpgradeQualification UpgradePositionsNation & ClubLionel MessiStarting: 92Current: 94Won: 2QualifiedRW, RMArgentinaPSGPierre-Emerick AubameyangStarting: 89Current: 91Won: 2QualifiedST, CFGabonChelseaThomas MullerStarting: 88Current: 90Won: 2QualifiedCAM, CFGermanyBayern MunichPhil FodenStarting: 88Current: 89No longer attainableQualifiedLW, LM, CAM, CFEnglandMan CityNiklas SuleStarting: 87Current: 88No longer attainableQualifiedCB, RBGermanyBorussia DortmundFederico ValverdeStarting: 87Current: 88No longer attainableQualifiedCMUruguayReal MadridGerard MorenoStarting: 87Current: 88No longer attainableQualifiedST, CFSpainVillarealPatrik SchickStarting: 87Current: 87No longer attainableNo longer attainableST, CFCzech RepublicBayer LeverkusenThomas LemarStarting: 86Current: 86No longer attainableNo longer attainableCM, RM, LMFranceAtletico MadridMartin OdegaardStarting: 86Current: 88Won: 2QualifiedCAM, CMNorwayArsenalRaphinhaStarting: 86Current: 86No longer attainableNo longer attainableRW, RMBrazilBarcelonaBremerStarting: 86Current: 86No longer attainableNo longer attainableCBBrazilJuventusJoao MarioStarting: 85Current: 87Won: 2QualifiedCMPortugalBenficaDejan KulusevskiStarting: 85Current: 87Won: 2QualifiedRW, RM, CFSwedenSpursMartin TerrierStarting: 85Current: 86No longer attainableQualifiedLW, LM, STFranceRennesIbrahima KonateStarting: 85Current: 87Won: 2QualifiedCBFranceLiverpoolLucas PaquetaStarting: 85Current: 87Won: 2QualifiedCAM, CM, CFBrazilWest HamSavio Moreira de OliveiraStarting: 85Current: 87Won: 2QualifiedRW, RMBrazilPSVRobin GosensStarting: 84Current: 86No longer attainableQualifiedLWB, LB, LMGermanyInterZambo AnguissaStarting: 84Current: 87Won: 2QualifiedCDM, CMCameroonNapoliAaron Wan-BissakaStarting: 84Current: 87Won: 2QualifiedRB, RWBEnglandMan UnitedIsmael BennacerStarting: 84Current: 87Won: 2QualifiedCDM, CMAlgeriaAC MilanJonathan IkoneStarting: 83Current: 86Won: 2QualifiedRW, RMFranceFiorentinaMoses SimonStarting: 82Current: 86Won: 2QualifiedLM, ST, LWNigeriaNantes

FIFA 23 RTTK upgrade times

The final set of 'Wins upgrades' went live on November 4th, along with every qualification upgrade, meaning the Road to the Knockout player cards are now in their final forms. They will not be upgraded any further.

Image credit: EA Sports

How Road to the Knockouts works in FIFA 23

By default, Road to the Knockouts cards are boosted versions of their base cards. For example, Lionel Messi’s Rare Gold card in FIFA 23 is rated 91, but his UCL Road to the Knockouts card has a base 92 rating.

RTTK cards can also receive two further upgrades if their team achieves certain objectives in real-life European football:

Wins Upgrade - Players will receive +1 to their stats if their team wins two out of three remaining fixtures in their group. This is based on when the promo went live, and is essentially the team’s last three group stage matches. So, for example, Messi’s PSG would need to win 2/3 games against Benfica, Maccabi Haifa and Juventus. PSG drew the first match of that run, meaning they must beat Haifa and Juventus is Messi is to secure a wins upgrade.Qualification Upgrade - Players will receive another +1 on top of their stats if their team clinches qualification to the knockout rounds of the competition—essentially if they finish first or second in their group. This upgrade can be earned even if the team does not secure the wins upgrade. (Teams who finish third in their UCL group and get demoted to the Europa League do not qualify for this upgrade.)

Players do not actually have to appear for their club in order to earn these upgrades, as they are given out based on the club’s performance rather than the individual. Although clearly it wouldn’t hurt if they went on and ran about a bit to influence the result in their favour.

One thing that is worth mentioning here is that postponed games can also count towards the wins upgrade. This is relevant for Martin Odegaard (Arsenal) and Savio (PSV), because the Matchday 2 game between their clubs was previously postponed. EA says that these clubs still only have to win two out of their remaining games to get the wins upgrade, even though they have four chances rather than three.

If you’re just getting started in FIFA 23, check out our Ultimate Team best starter teams page. You can improve your team by trading and spending FUT Coins - some of which can be earned by completing Milestone Objectives. It’s also a good idea to learn how Squad Battles and Champions work in FIFA 23. We also have an OTW tracker and RTTK tracker.Chemistry has been completely changed in FIFA 23 too and don’t forget about the wide variety of Skill Moves, and make sure to claim your Ted Lasso and AFC Richmond rewards in FUT while you can!Finally, if you need help building the perfect team, we have pages on the best players overall, best Premier League players and fastest players. Along with FIFA 23’s best lengthy players, wonderkids, best strikers, best wingers, best midfielders and best defenders.

FIFA 23 RTTK trading tips

Similar to Ones to Watch, the Road to the Knockouts cards are handy for trading, and fluctuate heavily in price throughout the period that they can be influenced by real-world results. Trading dynamic cards can lose people a lot of coins, but if you know what you’re doing, they can also be a useful way to net a windfall.

The key thing is to buy cards when they are least desirable, then sell them during periods of hype. 'Buy low, sell high!' Perhaps it sounds simple, but understanding when these cards are low and high is the tricky bit.

How it works - RTTK cards usually rise in price in the run-up to a player’s latest match. They can also go up during the match if the team goes ahead and looks like they are going to secure progress towards an upgrade. In theory they will also rise slightly as we get closer to wins upgrade and qualification upgrade release dates.When to buy - Knowing when RTTK cards will rise, the idea is to buy before then, when people aren’t really thinking about them. These cards are just as susceptible to macroeconomic factors in FUT as well, dropping in price during market crashes and heavy supply from packs. Picking up one of these cards during those moments is ideal. For example, the post-Weekend League sell-off on a Monday can be a good time to grab a player who won’t be playing until Thursday. Just pay close attention to their price trends on sites like Futbin and Futwiz and time your purchase carefully.When to sell - You might imagine it makes sense to wait until the team wins or qualifies, or when EA is about to pull the trigger on upgrades. Nope! That’s when everyone will be trying to sell the cards. You want to sell in the hype, to people who are trying to make a quick buck. Having bought cards while they were low, look to sell them at kickoff, or during the first half when the action is neutral, as they are likely to be highest at this point.High stakes trading - If you want to make really high-stakes trades with these cards, you can watch matches and try to anticipate what will happen. Let’s say the favourite goes down 1-0 in the first half and people start panic-selling the card, sending its price tumbling. If you believe the team will come back and still win, then you could pick the card up at its lowest point and wait for the bounce back. Just beware that it may never come, as football is a funny old game!

Whether you want to play with RTTK cards or make some coins out of them, we wish you luck!

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