FC 26 Cornerstones guide adds Zubimendi SBC and Arnau Martinez objectives
Cole Palmer and Bruno Fernandes also score new cards with FC 26 Cornerstones

FC 26 Cornerstones marks the first major promo from the new footy sim, sliding into the spot historically claimed by Ones To Watch or RTTK. This fresh EA FC 26 campaign gives an extra Club Link chemistry point for each item in your line-up, and features players perceived as a focal point of their team – such as Cole Palmer, Luis Diaz and Nico Williams. All the details, including a Martin Zubimendi SBC, are below, along with the full FC 26 Cornerstones cards list.
FC 26 Cornerstones Team 1 best cards
We’re not into 90-OVR territory yet, but the best card in FC 26 Cornerstones Team 1 narrowly misses out. It belongs to Real Madrid and Uruguay CM Federico Valverde, with an overall rating of 89. Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer runs him close on 88, a rating shared by Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes. Manchester City CM Tijjani Reijnders earns a new rating of 87, as does Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams. All FC 26 Cornerstones Team 1 cards can be viewed in the list at the foot of this guide.
FC 26 Cornerstones Team 2 release date
The FC 26 Cornerstones Team 2 release date is Friday, October 3. The best-rated players will appear here shortly after, along with any new SBCs or Objectives. For a change of pace from FUT while you wait, run your peepers over our FC 26 career mode guide.
FC 26 Cornerstones Martin Zubimendi SBC
Hot news, Arsenal fans: the first FC 26 Cornerstones SBC is for summer signing Martin Zubimendi. The Spaniard’s new card is set at CDM and 86-rated. Below are the five challenges you need to complete to get him. It costs around 90,000 coins as of Friday, September 26.
Challenge | Team rating | Other requirements |
---|---|---|
Spain | 83 | Min 1 Spain player |
Premier League | 84 | Min 1 Premier League player |
84-rated squad | 84 | None |
85-rated squad | 85 | None |
86-rated squad | 86 | None |
FC 26 Cornerstones Arnau Martinez Objectives
Friday, September 26 also brought our first FC 26 Cornerstones objectives player. Girona RB Arnau Martinez has an overall rating of 84, and his 85 Pace will come in very handy. To earn him, complete four of the objectives below. For gameplay help, use our FC 26 skill moves guide.
- Premier League: Play 5 matches in the Cornerstones Regular event using min. 3 Premier League players
- La Liga: Play 5 matches in the Cornerstones Regular event using min. 2 La Liga players
- Serie A: Play 5 matches in the Cornerstones Regular event using min. 2 Serie A players
- Win 4: Win 4 matches in the Cornerstones Regular event using min. 3 Premier League and 2 La Liga players
- Score 4: Score 4 goals in the Cornerstones Regular event while using min. 2 Bundesliga players
- Win 4: Win 4 matches in the Cornerstones Regular event while using min. 3 Bundesliga and 2 Serie A players
FC 26 Cornerstones cards list
The full FC 26 Cornerstones cards list, correct as of Friday, September 26, is as follows. Be sure to also dip into our FC 26 celebrations guide, and have a browse of the complete FC 26 stadiums list – with RB Salzburg and FC Basel among the new additions.
- Federico Valverde (CM, Real Madrid) - 89
- Cole Palmer (CAM, Chelsea) - 88
- Bruno Fernandes (CAM, Manchester United) - 88
- Tijjani Reijnders (CM, Manchester City) - 87
- Nico Williams (LM, Atletico Madrid) - 87
- Martin Zubimendi (CDM, Arsenal) - 86
- Luis Diaz (LM, FC Bayern) - 86
- Mikel Oyarzabal (ST, Real Sociedad) - 86
- Wendie Renard (CB, Paris SG) - 86
- Riccardo Orsolini (RM, Bologna) - 85
- Denise O’Sullivan (CDM, NC Courage) - 85
- Corentin Tolisso (CM, Lyon) - 85
- Gianluca Maldini (CB, AS Roma) - 85
- Ryan Yates (CDM, Nottingham Forest) - 85
- Giovanni Di Lorenzo (RB, Napoli) - 85
- Malik Tillman (CAM, Bayer Leverkusen) - 85
- Arnau Martinez (RM, Girona) - 84
- Brad Guzan (GK, Atlanta) - 84
- Lisa Karl (LB, Freiburg) - 84
- Darlington Nagbe (CM, Columbus Crew) - 83
- Diego Chara (CDM, Portland) - 83
- Marwene Saadane (CB, Al Fateh) - 83
- Lauri (ST, Granada) - 83
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I'm GamesRadar's sports editor, and obsessed with NFL, WWE, MLB, AEW, and occasionally things that don't have a three-letter acronym – such as Chvrches, Bill Bryson, and Streets Of Rage 4. (All the Streets Of Rage games, actually.) Even after three decades I still have a soft spot for Euro Boss on the Amstrad CPC 464+.
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