FIFA 23 OTW cards are very much in play despite domestic matches being on hiatus for the World Cup. Thanks to a new Nations To Watch mechanic, some of these FIFA 23 items received upgrades in early December due to wins for England, Senegal and USA. The usual system returns after Christmas, with players being boosted for TOTW appearances. Find out how it all works below, before delving into GR's comprehensive FIFA 23 OTW tracker.
How does FIFA 23 OTW work?
OTW stands for Ones To Watch, and arrived in FIFA 23 on Friday, September 30. 16 players landed in the first drop, with EA keeping an open mind to adding more in the weeks and months ahead. Cards start the season with a rating to match their standard in-game item. After that, each time a player appears in Wednesday’s Team Of The Week (TOTW), his OTW is boosted to the same value as the TOTW one.
Take Erling Haaland. Both his rare gold item and OTW card kicked off FIFA 23 with an overall rating of 88. But his first TOTW item had an OVR of 89, and so his OTW card upgraded to 89 too as a result. OTW items never get downgraded, and the big Norwegian has leapt up to 90 since then. Yet his gold card remains locked at 88.
If his goals weren't impressive enough, Haaland is also hotly sought after due to his prominence in the FIFA 23 best young players guide. Oh, and FIFA 23 lengthy players list. Like in real life, he's basically a cheat code.
Are there additional OTW upgrades?
Yes! Starting from September 30, cards also received a ratings increase if that player’s club won three of their next eight league matches. EA called this mechanic ‘Wins to Watch’. So Haaland received an extra boost following City's victories over Manchester United, Southampton, and Brighton.
Also new this year is something called Nations To Watch. It’s tied to the Qatar World Cup, which kicked off on Sunday, November 20. All a player had to do to receive a one-off upgrade was see their national team win a single match at the World Cup. Even if they didn't play in the victory, they still earned the boost. Norway failing to quality meant no boost for Haaland, but the likes of Sadio Mane and Raheem Sterling did get an additional stats injection.
How much do FIFA 23 OTW cards cost?
The community naturally expects Haaland to be among the goals all season, and so his cost is likely to remain astronomical. As of Sunday, December 11 it’ll set you back 1.2 million coins. For that you get 89 Physicality, 91 Pace, and a lethal 93 Shooting.
Also guaranteed to remain expensive is Sadio Mane. In previous years, moving to the Bundesliga would likely have seen his cost come down. But FIFA 23’s new chemistry system no longer punishes you for utilising players from multiple leagues, and so Mane is likely to figure in most meta teams. He costs 640,000 coins as of Thursday, November 17. Mane’s OVR is 91, which breaks down as 93 Pace, 91 Dribbling, and 87 Shooting.
Rounding out the top five in terms of price are PSG midfielder Renato Sanches (85 OVR, 610,000), Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger (89 OVR, 424,000), and Manchester United winger Antony (86 OVR, 273,000). Robert Lewandowski (93 OVR, 179,000) sits just outside that list. As revealed in our FIFA 23 ratings guide, Lewa is one of the top five players in this year's game.
What are the best FIFA 23 OTW bargains?
At this stage only one player can be described as a risk-free investment. Ajax winger Steven Bergwijn is worth picking up if you have 11,500 coins spare. He’s already rated 85 and with a couple of TOTW appearances could skyrocket in value between now and May.
Also worth consideration is Corentin Tolisso. The Frenchman is selling for 12,500 coins and, with a current OVR of 84, could become extremely valuable with a couple of big real-life displays.
Hopefully you also took our early season recommendation of Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck. Highly rated CBs are always required for late-season SBCs (Squad Building Challenges), and a boost from his initial OVR 82 saw his value shoot from 12,000 to 20,000. Tidy.
If you need bargains of a non-OTW flavour, dip into GR's FIFA 23 signings guide.
Are there any other ways to unlock FIFA 23 OTW items?
Yep – or at least, there were for a short time. Continuing a tradition firmly established in FIFA 22, there were two additional OTW players to unlock using in-game objectives, and another two to be found as an SBC reward.
The pair of Objectives players were Spurs striker Richarlison and Milan right-back Sergino Dest. All of Richarlison’s tasks were online-based, while Dest’s tasks could all be ticked off in Squad Battles.
The SBC rewards were new Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie, and Juventus winger Angel di Maria. Sadly, all SBCs and Objectives from the Ones To Watch promo have now expired.
For future SBC help, bookmark our guide to the best FIFA 23 cheapest rated players.
Where can I see the complete FIFA 23 OTW tracker?
Regular players should know the drill by now. We have a FIFA 23 Ones To Watch tracker for you below, and will update the list throughout the season. It's correct as of Sunday, December 11.
- Robert Lewandowski (ST, Barcelona) - 93
- Sadio Mane (LM, FC Bayern) - 92
- Erling Haaland (ST, Manchester City) - 90
- Antonio Rudiger (CB, Real Madrid) - 89
- Paulo Dybala (FC, Roma FC) - 88
- Raheem Sterling (LW, Chelsea) - 88
- Matthijs de Ligt (CB, FC Bayern) - 88
- Darwin Nunez (ST, Liverpool) - 87
- Angel di Maria (RW, Juventus) - 87 [SBC only]
- Franck Kessie (CDM, Barcelona) - 86 [SBC only]
- Gabriel Jesus (ST, Arsenal) - 86
- Richarlison (ST, Tottenham) - 86 [Objectives only]
- Antony (RW, Manchester United) - 86
- Aurelien Tchouameni (CM, Real Madrid) - 86
- Nico Schlotterbeck (CB, Dortmund) - 86
- Steven Bergwijn (LW, Ajax) - 85
- Renato Sanches (CM, Paris SG) - 85
- Corentin Tolisso (CM, Lyon) - 84
- Sergino Dest (RB, Milan) - 84 [Objectives only]
- Tyler Adams (CDM, Leeds United) - 81
