eFootball Anticipated Standouts 26-27: João Pedro, Wirtz & Van Hecke

eFootball's Show Time: Anticipated Standouts 26-27 pack is live, and it does something the recent premium boxes haven't: it builds a Show Time selection entirely around current players, with no legend at the top. The three featured cards cover three different areas of the pitch — João Pedro at centre-forward, Florian Wirtz at attacking midfield and Jan Paul van Hecke at centre-back — and community testing has already settled on a clear order between them. João Pedro is the standout, Wirtz is a strong but specific pick, and van Hecke is the card most players will be happy to land on last. Here is what each card does, how the community is building them, and how to decide whether the pack fits your squad before you spend Coins.

What a Show Time card adds

Show Time is eFootball's premium card tier for current-season players: each Show Time card comes with higher base attributes than the player's standard version and, more importantly, carries Show Time skills — exclusive skills that standard, Highlight and most Epic cards cannot learn. Those skills are the reason a Show Time card at a given rating plays above an Epic at the same number, and they are the reason the forward in this pack is getting so much attention.

Like every Featured pack, the box is paid with eFootball Coins. The draw price, pack end date and any draw limit are shown on the pack page in-game; check them before you start, because the three featured cards are not guaranteed within a small number of draws and the pack will close on its own schedule.

The three cards are worth taking in the order the community ranks them.

João Pedro (CF): the reason to open the pack

João Pedro's Show Time card is listed at 87 as a centre-forward before progression, and community testing puts his overall profile close to some of the game's strongest Epic forwards. The appeal is simple. His attributes are already excellent for a ground-based striker, and on top of them he carries three Show Time skills — which, for a centre-forward, the community rates as the most valuable skills in the game, because they turn the shots and finishing moments a striker lives on into a higher-percentage version of themselves.

The one caveat is his playstyle. He is not built as a pure Goal Poacher, the playstyle whose AI makes runs in behind the last defender. That means he drops and links play rather than living on the shoulder, and players who want a striker who lurks on the offside line will feel the difference. Community testers are clear that the card would sit among the very best ground forwards if his playstyle matched his finishing; as it is, he is an elite finisher who plays a slightly deeper role.

For the real-world context behind the card: João Pedro has been one of the Premier League's most in-form forwards this pre-season, and Konami's "Anticipated Standouts" theme is built around players expected to have big seasons. The card reflects that expectation rather than a season already played.

Fit: if your current CF is a Goal Poacher who struggles to link play, or if you rely on Show Time-level finishing and don't yet have it up front, João Pedro is the pull. If your attack is already built around an off-the-shoulder runner who carries a Show Time finishing package, he is a luxury rather than an upgrade.

Florian Wirtz (AMF): strong, but for a specific system

Wirtz's card sits at 86 at attacking midfield. Community testing likes the technical profile and his ball carrying, but it comes with a condition: you have to be comfortable playing around the card's limitations, which reviewers flag without much hesitation. He is at his best as a creative 10 in a system that gives him the ball between the lines and lets him take on players, and less convincing if you want an attacking midfielder who presses hard or covers ground.

The community's suggested skills to add through training are:

• Long Range Shooting — to make his shots from the edge of the box a real threat
• Fighting Spirit — to hold his attributes up late in matches
• Flip Flap and Marseille Turn — dribbling tools that suit his close control
• Weighted Pass — to make the most of his through-ball range

Fit: Wirtz suits players who build play through the middle and want a dribbling creator in the hole. If your system relies on wide overloads or you already have a Show Time-level AMF, he duplicates what you have. If your 10 is the weak link, he is a real upgrade.

Jan Paul van Hecke (CB): the filler card

Van Hecke's card is listed at 86 at centre-back, with a solid defensive frame. Community testing is lukewarm, for two reasons. First, the Show Time treatment on his card feels modest next to what the forward receives, so the jump from his standard version is smaller than the tier suggests. Second, his progression forces a trade-off: to push his pace and acceleration to a level that holds up against fast wingers and runners, you have to sacrifice too much of his defensive profile, which is the whole point of the card.

Suggested skills for him are Sliding Tackle and One-touch Pass, which cover a defender's two jobs — winning the ball and moving it quickly.

Fit: van Hecke works if your defence is short of a tall, physical centre-back and you play a system that protects him from pace, such as a deeper line. For most squads, community consensus treats him as the card you accept rather than the one you chase.

Should you open it?

Because the three cards are so unevenly rated, the pack is really a João Pedro decision. The honest way to frame it:

• You need a centre-forward. This is the strongest case. A Show Time striker with three Show Time skills is the kind of card that anchors an attack for a season, and it is a current player, which matters for events that reward using current-season cards.
• You need a creative 10 and play through the middle. Wirtz is a real reason to spend, as long as you understand you may land van Hecke or João Pedro first.
• Your squad is already complete in all three positions. Then the pack is a gamble on marginal upgrades, and Coins are better saved for the next Epic or Show Time selection that targets a real gap.
• You're a free-to-play player. Coins are scarce, and a pack with one clear best card and one filler card is the kind worth skipping unless the forward is exactly what you lack. Our guide to earning Coins and GP covers where free Coins come from and how to plan around premium boxes.

Two practical checks before the first draw:

• Look under Contracts for a free selection. Konami used the Anticipated Standouts name for a free Nominating Contract selection last September, and a wider pool of current-player cards under the same campaign name is listed in the game's database this year. If a free version runs alongside the paid box, it is worth claiming first.
• Check the pack's draw limit and end date. They decide how many Coins a guaranteed João Pedro could cost you, and whether you have time to earn Coins before the box closes.

Build the squad before you spin

A Show Time forward is only as good as the midfield feeding him and the defence behind him, and filling those positions is the slow half of any eFootball squad.

• Browse verified eFootball accounts with Show Time, Epic and Big Time cards already in the squad.
• Book eFootball hourly services to clear objectives, events and Match Pass progress by the hour.
• Order eFootball boosting for Division climbs and event rewards while you rebuild around new signings.
• Stock Coins for the pack with an eFootball Coins top up from verified merchants.

Every order is covered by Buyer Protection, with payment released only after you confirm delivery.

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