Season 9 of EA SPORTS FC 26 is here, and I have spent the last week chasing one of the best free cards on the current market: the National Pride Rio Ngumoha objective. If you finish all five tasks, you get a 96-rated Ngumoha without spending a single coin. That alone is worth the grind, but the rewards do not stop there. The objective set also counts toward unlocking the 98-rated FUTTIES Lampard Icon, so every match I played felt like it was feeding two long-term goals at once.

Running each task separately is the slow route. I learned that the hard way. The smarter approach is to build one squad that satisfies multiple requirements at the same time, then grind matches until everything ticks over.

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Here is the squad setup I used to cover the most ground at once:

Requirement Why it matters
At least 6 English players in your starting 11 Feeds the England-based tasks
1 LM as a preferred position player Needed for the LM goal task
At least 2 Premier League players in your starting 11 Satisfies the Premier League requirement
At least 6 first-owned players Players you packed or earned, not bought

The first-owned requirement is the one that catches people out. I almost queued up with a squad full of market purchases before I checked. Players you packed or earned through objectives count. Market purchases do not. If you have been buying players off the transfer market, double-check your squad before every match.

A useful tip: English Premier League players naturally satisfy both the England and Premier League requirements at the same time. Build your core around them and fill the remaining spots with first-owned options to knock out the Win 8 task simultaneously.

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Here is a full breakdown of every task in the objective set:

Task What I had to do
It's Coming Home Win by a 3-goal margin or better
Win 3 Win three matches
Squeaky Clean Keep five clean sheets
Win 8 Win eight matches
LM goals Score five goals with your left midfielder

All five tasks can be completed across Squad Battles on Semi-Pro difficulty or higher, Division Rivals, Champions Finals, or Live Events. I chose Squad Battles on Semi-Pro because it is the most controlled environment. If you want clean sheets and big win margins without the unpredictability of human opponents, that is the mode to use.

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The overlap between tasks is where you save real time. With the recommended squad active, a single match can progress It's Coming Home, Win 3, Squeaky Clean, and Win 8 at the same time, as long as you meet the win margin and keep a clean sheet.

Here is the practical match-by-match approach I used:

  • Matches 1-5: Use the full recommended squad. Aim to win by 3+ goals each time. This clears It's Coming Home and chips into Win 3, Win 8, and Squeaky Clean simultaneously.

  • Score 5 goals with your LM: Make sure your LM is getting touches in the box. Use him as a secondary striker or push him forward on set pieces. Five goals across eight matches is very achievable.

  • Win 8: By match 8, this should be done if you have been consistent with your first-owned lineup.

  • Squeaky Clean: Five clean sheets is the task most likely to lag behind. If you are close to the win total but short on clean sheets, drop to a defensive formation for the final matches.

⚠️ Warning: Switching players mid-objective run can accidentally break your first-owned count. Double-check the squad before every match, especially if you make transfers between sessions.

Finishing the National Pride Ngumoha objective unlocks:

  • 96-rated Rio Ngumoha special card

  • 5x 88+ Rare Gold Players Pack

  • 500 SP

  • Progress toward the 98-rated FUTTIES Lampard Icon

The packs alone make this worth the grind even if Ngumoha does not fit your team. Five 88+ Rare Gold packs can generate serious fodder for Squad Building Challenges or straight-up upgrade your squad depth.

Of the five tasks, Squeaky Clean is the one that most players find slowest to complete. Winning by 3 goals is straightforward on Semi-Pro, but clean sheets depend on your defensive setup holding firm for the full match.

A few things that helped me:

  • Use a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 formation with two defensive midfielders to protect the backline.

  • Avoid pressing aggressively late in matches when you are already winning.

  • If you are struggling, drop to Semi-Pro difficulty where the AI attacks less frequently.

The Win 8 task is the most time-consuming purely by volume, but eight wins on Semi-Pro against the AI should not cause many problems with a decent squad. I finished mine in a single evening session, and the 96 Ngumoha card was waiting for me as soon as the final whistle blew.

For more ways to earn free rewards across Season 9, the Journey of Nations: South America objectives follow a similar structure and are worth running alongside this set if you want to maximize your free packs and player items. In 2026, with EA SPORTS FC 26 Season 9 still active, this is one of the most efficient free-card grinds I have seen. If you are on the fence, build the squad, set the difficulty to Semi-Pro, and let the tasks overlap. The payoff is a 96-rated winger and a stack of packs that can reshape your club.