Penalty Shootouts, Playoff Improvements & More

03 Sep 2026Developer post

This update brings watchable penalty shootouts, improved playoff rules, more realistic transfers, smarter opponents, and plenty of match-day polish.

Cup, continental, and playoff ties that go to penalties now remain on the pitch.
The match clock changes to PENS during a shootout.
Watch each named penalty being scored, saved, or missed, followed by the winning celebration.
Selecting Flash to Full Time will still skip the penalty sequence.
You can watch shootouts, but you cannot choose or take the penalties yourself yet.

Playoff semi-finals are now played over two legs.
Playoff finals remain a single match.
There is no away-goals rule.
First legs end after 90 minutes.
If a tie remains level after 90 minutes in the second leg, it proceeds to extra time and penalties.

Top players at major clubs now command more realistic transfer fees, reaching around £20 million.
Lower-division players remain affordable and attainable.
Winter transfers and loans now add one history entry for each club involved.
Players can now be shortlisted directly from the scout-report popup.

Opponents select their Best XI at kickoff, accounting for fitness, returning players, and recent signings.
Opponents will no longer start injured or suspended players.
Hybrid wide/central players are now more comfortable playing both on the flank and through the middle.
Match squads can now include seven substitutes, with a maximum of five substitutions allowed.
Full-time screens now display club crests, goalscorers, and missed penalties.
New celebration screens have been added for league, cup, and other competition victories.

Player positions are displayed more clearly, including central positions.
Sent-off players are now shown in red.
The shout header now matches the styling used throughout the rest of the match screen.
Long stadium names wrap correctly instead of covering buttons.
Your club and players are now easier to identify.

Match and World Results consistently display the home team on the left and the away team on the right.
The Weekly Results screen can now appear after a midweek match.
When several countries have played, Weekly Results are grouped by country with your nation shown first.

Player profiles now include a History tab.
Club and Squad Hall of Fame records now apply only to the current career.
Club records are also tracked separately for each career.
Season awards continue to consider performances across the entire calendar year.
Save files retain detailed match information unless removing it would produce a meaningful reduction in file size.

Squad badges—including EXP, WNT, and others—now open the player’s Contract tab.
News can now be filtered to show stories about your club only.

News and updates