eFootball POTW 27 Aug '26: Which Cards Are Actually Worth Using?

The POTW Worldwide 27 Aug '26 selection is less about finding one dominant headline player and more about identifying which cards solve a real squad problem. Riccardo Calafiori stands out as the most complete all-round option, Marc Guéhi offers an unusual defensive midfield profile, while Mohamed Salah, Raphinha and Donyell Malen each provide different attacking roles rather than straightforward upgrades for every account.

That distinction matters because POTW cards arrive as fixed-level Trending cards. You cannot reshape their progression later, so the useful question is not simply which card has the highest Overall Rating. It is whether the card's attributes, Playing Styles, skills and positions already match what your Dream Team needs.

If you want the broader explanation of why Overall alone can be misleading, our eFootball Player Stats Explained guide covers how attributes, Playing Styles and Player Skills interact.

What makes a POTW card worth using?

This guide does not rank the pack purely by the number shown on the card.

Instead, each player is judged around four practical questions:

• Does the card have attributes that match its actual role?

• Do its Playing Styles create useful movement on and off the ball?

• Does its skill set cover what the position needs?

• Would the card offer something different from players many established squads already own?

That last point is especially important.

A fast 96-rated forward can be excellent on a developing account and still offer very little to someone whose attack already contains higher-end special cards.

The same card can therefore be useful without being universally necessary.

1. Riccardo Calafiori — the most complete card in the selection

If one card deserves the first look, it is Riccardo Calafiori.

His booster-active Overall reaches 98 at left-back, but the number is only part of the appeal. The underlying profile is unusually balanced:

• 90 Stamina

• 89 Speed

• 88 Defensive Engagement

• 86 Tackling

• 85 Physical Contact

• 84 Acceleration

• 84 Defensive Awareness

He is fully compatible at LB, CB and LMF, giving him three realistic uses rather than locking him into one position.

Why Calafiori works

His attacking Playing Style is an inverted full-back profile, so he is designed to move inside rather than simply remain wide throughout possession. Defensively, he carries a covering profile. That combination gives him a useful identity in systems where the left-back is expected to participate in midfield without completely abandoning defensive responsibility.

His skills strengthen that versatility.

He has:

• One-touch Pass

• Through Passing

• Weighted Pass

• Pinpoint Crossing

• Interception

• Blocker

• Aerial Superiority

• Sliding Tackle

There is enough passing here for possession play, enough defensive utility for transition situations and enough pace to recover when his starting position becomes more aggressive.

Where the limitation appears

Calafiori is not an elite specialist in one defensive attribute.

If your only requirement is a stay-at-home full-back or a dominant central defender, an established premium card can provide a more focused profile.

His value comes from being able to perform several jobs well.

Best fit: players who want tactical flexibility at LB and use formations where the full-back participates heavily in buildup.

2. Marc Guéhi — a defensive Box-to-Box DMF

The most unusual card in the pack may be Marc Guéhi.

Rather than appearing primarily as a centre-back, this POTW version is registered at DMF and uses a Box-to-Box Playing Style.

With the booster active, he reaches 96 Overall and combines:

• 90 Stamina

• 90 Defensive Awareness

• 89 Defensive Engagement

• 88 Tackling

• 86 Speed

• 86 Physical Contact

• 86 Aggression

• 83 Low Pass

He can also play DMF, CB and CMF.

That makes him more interesting than a normal 96-rated defensive midfielder.

What makes Guéhi useful

Most Box-to-Box midfielders are evaluated through running power, passing and their ability to contribute in both directions.

Guéhi approaches the role from the opposite direction.

His defensive numbers are the foundation.

He also carries:

• One-touch Pass

• Through Passing

• Man Marking

• Interception

• Blocker

• Aerial Superiority

• Sliding Tackle

• Fighting Spirit

That is close to a defender's skill package placed into a mobile midfield role.

For a squad that needs more protection through the centre without using a completely static midfielder, that can be useful.

What Guéhi is not

He should not be treated like a creative Box-to-Box midfielder.

His passing is serviceable rather than elite, and his main value remains winning possession, covering space and competing physically.

Best fit: squads that want a defensively weighted DMF who can move beyond a fixed Anchor Man position.

3. Mohamed Salah — the safest attacking all-rounder

Mohamed Salah reaches 97 Overall with his booster active and is registered at SS with a Hole Player attacking profile.

His main attributes include:

• 90 Ball Control

• 89 Offensive Awareness

• 89 Speed

• 89 Acceleration

• 88 Tight Possession

• 87 Dribbling

• 87 Kicking Power

• 86 Balance

• 84 Finishing

He has full compatibility at SS, AMF and RWF, with partial familiarity at CF and RMF.

That positional spread is the main reason he remains useful despite not having extraordinary finishing.

Why Salah works

His skills are built around combination play and shooting rather than pure penalty-box finishing:

• Double Touch

• One-touch Pass

• Through Passing

• Outside Curler

• Controlled Curl

• Chip Shot Control

• Long-Range Shooting

• First-time Shot

Used behind a striker or from the right side of an attack, that package makes sense.

A Hole Player also looks for forward runs from deeper positions, which means Salah does not have to play as a traditional centre-forward to create scoring opportunities.

The trade-off

84 Finishing is the number to keep in mind.

If your expectation is a clinical No.9 who converts difficult chances consistently, this card is not designed around that role.

If you need an attacking connector who can receive, combine, carry and then arrive in shooting areas, the card is much easier to justify.

Best fit: players who need an SS/AMF/RWF hybrid rather than another fixed striker.

4. Bremer — straightforward defensive value

Where Guéhi is unusual, Bremer is much easier to understand.

He is a conventional CB with a Build Up attacking profile and an aggressive defensive profile. His booster raises him to 96 Overall.

The important numbers are concentrated exactly where a centre-back needs them:

• 91 Aggression

• 90 Tackling

• 89 Defensive Awareness

• 89 Defensive Engagement

• 88 Physical Contact

• 85 Jump

• 84 Speed

• 80 Acceleration

His defensive skills are equally complete:

• Man Marking

• Interception

• Acrobatic Clearance

• Blocker

• Aerial Superiority

• Sliding Tackle

• Heading

• Fighting Spirit

Why Bremer is easy to use

There is very little interpretation required.

Put him at CB and his strongest attributes immediately contribute.

The 84 Speed is also enough to prevent him from becoming completely dependent on a deep defensive line.

Why he is not automatically a major upgrade

Bremer has only one full positional compatibility: CB.

He also competes directly with one of the deepest positions in established Dream Teams, where many players already own premium centre-backs.

That makes him a strong result for a developing roster but potentially only a rotation option on an older account.

Best fit: accounts that still need a dependable, ready-made centre-back.

5. Raphinha — useful if you want movement more than finishing

Raphinha is a good example of why the role matters more than the Overall.

This POTW version is a CF with a Goal Poacher-style attacking profile and reaches 96 Overall after the booster applies.

His strongest attributes are:

• 91 Speed

• 90 Acceleration

• 89 Ball Control

• 87 Offensive Awareness

• 87 Dribbling

• 87 Kicking Power

• 87 Stamina

• 85 Tight Possession

• 84 Finishing

He can play CF, SS, AMF, LWF and RWF, with partial familiarity at LMF and RMF.

The case for Raphinha

The combination of 91 Speed and 90 Acceleration gives him a clear function.

He is built to attack space.

He also has:

• Double Touch

• Through Passing

• Controlled Curl

• Long-Range Shooting

• First-time Shot

• Outside Curler

• Fighting Spirit

That makes him particularly usable as a mobile forward who receives between defenders or attacks the space behind them.

The case against

Again, the limitation is finishing.

At 84, it is adequate rather than defining.

There are also many versions of Raphinha across eFootball, so players who already own a stronger or better-fitting version may gain almost nothing here.

Best fit: accounts that value pace, positional flexibility and movement more than elite finishing.

6. Donyell Malen — a strong Super-sub option

Donyell Malen is worth separating from Raphinha because the two look similar at first.

Malen is also a 96-rated CF after his booster, but his profile pushes harder toward direct running:

• 92 Speed

• 90 Dribbling

• 90 Acceleration

• 88 Kicking Power

• 87 Ball Control

• 85 Tight Possession

• 85 Finishing

• 84 Offensive Awareness

He can play CF and across both wings and wide-midfield positions.

The skill that changes the conversation is Super-sub.

That makes Malen easier to justify as a bench player than as someone who must replace your current starting striker.

Bring him on against tired defenders and his speed, acceleration and direct dribbling become more relevant.

He also carries Double Touch, One-touch Pass, Long-Range Shooting, Rising Shot and First-time Shot.

Best fit: players who specifically need a fast attacking substitute rather than a new starting CF.

Two lower-rated cards that still have a role

The next group is where account fit becomes much more important.

Nobel Mendy — useful defensive depth

Nobel Mendy reaches 95 Overall and has a fairly clean defensive profile:

• 90 Tackling

• 89 Aggression

• 88 Defensive Awareness

• 88 Defensive Engagement

• 87 Physical Contact

• 86 Speed

• 86 Jump

• 81 Acceleration

He also carries Man Marking, Interception, Blocker, Aerial Superiority and Sliding Tackle.

For a newer account, that is perfectly usable.

For an established account, the lack of a more distinctive role makes him easier to leave outside the squad.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu — specialised rather than universally useful

Hakan Çalhanoğlu reaches only 95 Overall, but his 97 Kicking Power immediately identifies the reason to use him.

He also has:

• 89 Stamina

• 85 Ball Control

• 85 Tight Possession

• 85 Low Pass

• 85 Lofted Pass

• 85 Set Piece Taking

• 85 Curl

His position coverage is broad, spanning DMF, CMF, AMF and both wide midfield and wing roles.

The issue is that this is a specialist profile.

If you want long-range shooting, set-piece quality and distribution, he has a clear use.

If you need a DMF primarily to protect the defence, Guéhi provides a much more natural fit.

Best cards by squad need

Rather than treating one ranking as universal, the pack makes more sense when separated by what your team is missing.

Need a left-back?

Riccardo Calafiori

His balance of pace, stamina, defending, passing and multiple positions gives him the clearest role.

Need a defensive midfielder?

Marc Guéhi

Especially if you want someone more mobile than a fixed holding midfielder.

Need an attacking creator?

Mohamed Salah

His combination of SS, AMF and RWF compatibility makes him easier to integrate than a pure striker.

Need a conventional centre-back?

Bremer

Simple role, complete defensive skills and no need to build the tactic around him.

Need pace up front?

Raphinha for positional versatility.

Donyell Malen if the priority is a late-game Super-sub.

Need defensive depth without chasing Overall?

Nobel Mendy

His 95 rating undersells a reasonably complete CB attribute spread.

Which cards may look better on the pack screen than they feel in your squad?

There are three situations where this selection becomes less attractive than the ratings suggest.

The first is duplicate role value.

If you already have strong versions of Salah or Raphinha, pulling another card with similar functions does not automatically improve the squad.

The second is specialisation.

Çalhanoğlu's 97 Kicking Power is impressive, but that does not turn him into a defensive midfielder for every system.

The third is fixed progression.

These are Trending cards, so their development cannot be reshaped around your preferred role later. What you pull is essentially the version you have to work with.

That is why the eFootball Player Card Types guide is useful context if you are comparing POTW cards against trainable Highlight, Featured or other special cards.

Does this POTW selection fit your squad?

There is a reasonable case for the pack if your roster still has obvious gaps.

Calafiori can cover several left-sided roles. Guéhi gives defensive midfield a different profile. Bremer and Mendy provide ready-made defensive depth, while Salah, Raphinha and Malen give three distinct attacking options.

The case becomes weaker for an established account.

If your starting XI is already built around high-end special cards, most of this selection is competing for bench places rather than clearly replacing a starter.

That does not make the cards bad.

It simply changes what counts as a successful pull.

The previous POTW Worldwide 20 August guide reached a similar conclusion from a different selection: POTW value depends heavily on whether a card fills a specific tactical gap rather than whether its Overall looks attractive in isolation.

For the 27 August pack, Calafiori has the clearest broad utility. Guéhi is the most unusual role conversion. Salah is the safest attacking all-rounder. Bremer is the simplest defensive upgrade. Raphinha and Malen are more dependent on how you want your forwards to move.

That is a more useful way to judge the selection than trying to declare one card mandatory for every Dream Team.

More ways to build your eFootball squad

If you are comparing this POTW selection with a more developed roster, you can browse eFootball accounts on GameMarket.gg.

For progression or match objectives, the eFootball Hourly Services category covers time-based services, while the eFootball Boosting category is organised around specific competitive or event targets. Availability can vary by category.

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