Complete Connection lands on June 24 as the second 100k-coin Evolution of FC 26's Festival of Football wave, and it's built specifically to push central midfielders to a 95 OVR ceiling with full box-to-box upgrades across passing, dribbling, and defending. The catch is the missing pace boost: the upgrade adds +30 to almost every meaningful stat except Sprint Speed and Acceleration, which means base card selection matters more than usual. Here's the full FC 26 Complete Connection Evolution guide, the five best base CMs to slot in, and the chain logic that makes the spend pay off.
Best players for FC 26 Complete Connection Evolution
Five base cards stand out for the slot, split into two groups based on how they handle the missing pace boost.
Already have the pace baseline (no chain needed)
Marcos Llorente (FUT Birthday): 87 base pace, holds up at 95 OVR without help
Patrik Mercado (Team of the Season): pacy box-to-box CM, ideal raw template
Pedro Fernández (Dro) (Showdown): 86+ base pace if the Showdown upgrade triggered
Pace-light but built for the deep role (chain or live with it)
Toni Kroos (FUT Birthday ICON): deep playmaker, pace was never the point
Gilberto Silva (Prime Heroes): old-school CDM template, dictates from the back
Llorente, Mercado, and Dro give you the cleanest finish because the Evolution caps at 95 OVR and you don't want to spend the only slot fixing a stat the upgrade refuses to touch. Llorente specifically pairs into La Liga or Spain national-team squads and benefits from the +30 to Stand Tackle and Interceptions, which turns the FUT Birthday card into a proper destroyer with playmaker passing on top.
Kroos and Gilberto are the deep-lying picks. Both operate in front of the back four, both rely on positioning and weight of pass rather than raw acceleration, and both ship with PS+ profiles that overlap perfectly with what Complete Connection adds. For either of them, the Shadow Chemistry Style covers the pace gap well enough that the lack of an Evolution pace boost is barely noticeable.
If you want context on how the +30 stack compares to the +50 wave on strikers, the FC 26 Main Event Evolution guide covers the same Festival of Football wave but on the attacking side, with a different chain logic because of the Token Store cost vs. the 100k coin spend here.
How to handle the missing pace boost
Three approaches work, depending on the base card you pick:
Pick a base with pace already built in. Llorente, Mercado, and Dro fall here. The upgrade lands, and the card plays at the rating without further intervention.
Chain a pace Evolution first, then layer Complete Connection on top. This works for any Evolution chain that includes Quick Step or a flat Acceleration boost, then locks in Complete Connection as the closer. The chain math is the same logic that made the Make Your Idol Evolution one of the better stat-stack chains earlier in the cycle.
Run a Shadow Chemistry Style and live with it. For deep-lying playmakers and ball-winners, this is the cheapest path. Shadow adds +10 Pace and +10 Defending to whatever the Evolution leaves you with, which is enough to keep Kroos or Gilberto Silva playable in Champs.
The 95 OVR ceiling means you can't chain another Evolution after Complete Connection lands. The 95 cap blocks any further upgrade until the FUTTIES window opens in late July, so pick the base card under the assumption that this is the final form for the next six weeks.
Picking the right PlayStyle+ stack
Complete Connection adds Pinged Pass+ and Incisive Pass+ at level 3, plus three level-8 PlayStyles: Intercept, Finesse Shot, and Long Ball Pass. That's a passing-heavy stack on the +30 side and a defensive-passing identity overall.
The base card you pick should ideally already have either Press Proven, Block, or a passing PS+ that does NOT overlap with the two the Evolution adds. The point of the PS+ cap (max 3 before, hitting 5 after) is to maximise the distinct abilities on the final card. If your base card already has Pinged Pass+, the Evolution upgrades it but you've wasted a slot you could have filled with something else.
For position-by-position PS+ priority, the essential PlayStyles guide for every position covers which abilities matter most at CM specifically, and which combinations stack hardest with the Pinged Pass / Incisive Pass core.
Complete Connection Evolution requirements and stat boosts
The Evolution is locked to CMs and excludes the entry-level World Tour Silver Stars rarity.
Eligibility:
Overall: max 91
PlayStyles: max 10
PlayStyles+: max 3
Position: CM only (no CDM, CAM, or wide-mid conversions)
Rarity: anything except World Tour Silver Stars
Headline boosts after the Evolution:
Overall: +30 to a flat 95
Agility, Balance, Ball Control, Dribbling: +30 each, landing at 96
Short Passing, Long Passing, Crossing, Vision, Curve: +30 each, landing at 95–96
Interceptions, Stand Tackle, Slide Tackle, Def. Aware, Heading Acc.: +30 each, landing at 96–97
Reactions, Free Kick, Composure: +30 each, landing at 94–95
Weak Foot: +4
PlayStyles+ added: Pinged Pass+, Incisive Pass+ (level 3)
PlayStyles added: Intercept, Finesse Shot, Long Ball Pass (level 8)
The two stats explicitly NOT boosted are Acceleration and Sprint Speed. Strength and Stamina also stay at the base values, which matters if you're slotting the card into a high-press tactic.
Is Complete Connection Evolution worth 100k coins?
For the right base card, yes. 100k is a single-day SBC grind at this stage of the cycle, and the +30 passing-and-defending stack lifts almost any sub-92 CM into the endgame conversation. The pure value plays are the Heroes and FUT Birthday cards above, because they ship with deep PS+ profiles that the cap accommodates.
The wrong base card answer: don't drop the Evolution on a card already at 91 OVR with three PS+. The +30 ceiling still fires, but the PS+ cap blocks any additions, and you lose the chain potential. Save the slot for a 86–89 OVR base where the upgrade actually transforms the card.
If you're stocking 86s and 87s for the chain Evolutions that lead into Complete Connection, the coin pressure adds up across the Festival of Football SBC wave. You can top up your PS5 club to keep the fodder pipeline flowing before the Glory Hunters promo lands on June 26.
FAQ
How much does the FC 26 Complete Connection Evolution cost?
100,000 coins, paid in-game when you start the Evolution chain.
Which players are best for Complete Connection Evolution?
Marcos Llorente, Patrik Mercado, and Pedro Fernández (Dro) for cards that ship with pace already in the bag. Toni Kroos and Gilberto Silva for deep-lying playmakers where the missing pace boost doesn't matter.
Does Complete Connection Evolution boost pace?
No. Acceleration and Sprint Speed both stay at the base card's values. You either pick a card with pace already, chain a pace Evolution first, or run a Shadow Chemistry Style to fill the gap.
Is the Complete Connection Evolution worth 100k coins?
For sub-92 OVR base cards with room to add PS+, yes. The +30 stack across passing, dribbling, and defending plus two added PS+ is a single-card upgrade you'd struggle to match on the market for 100k.
What position does Complete Connection Evolution require?
CM only. CDM, CAM, and wide-mid cards are blocked from the slot, and there are no position-conversion workarounds.
Final word
Complete Connection is the cleanest pure-CM Evolution FC 26 has shipped this cycle, and at 100k coins it's the right kind of single-day spend if you've got a sub-92 base card sitting at three or fewer PS+. Pick the base for pace first, PS+ overlap second, and accept that the 95 OVR ceiling means no further upgrades until FUTTIES.
If you want to lock in the chain Evolution pieces before Glory Hunters takes over the Festival of Football SBC pool on June 26, visit FUTCOIN to grab FC 26 coins and start the Complete Connection slot today.
