HOW IS CHOSEN THE TOTW OF FIFA 23

The TOTW is chosen with base on many factors, like league, goals scored, assists, match results and other stats.
FIFA 23 TOTW

The Team of the Week


Since FUT 10, every Wednesday, EA Sports selects a group of players of any category that have played well the previous week in real-life and join them in a single team. These cards are released as In Form for that week only and feature boosted stats. In the week a player gets his TOTW card in packs, it is impossible to find his regular card there. The TOTW players from the starting eleven also have their card art altered, with default images being replaced by special dynamic ones.

Except in rare cases, the TOTWs are released non-stop for a year, from September. All matches from the domestic leagues licensed in the game will likely result in a TOTW item. On the dates scheduled by FIFA for international qualifier matches, domestic leagues stop, and players can form TOTW from these matches (friendlies are not taken into account).

Most matches are played on the weekend, but no games are excluded just because they take place on a different day (yes, Monday or mid-week games can also receive these IFs). Players that stand out on a Tuesday or later days are candidates for the following week’s TOTW. When there are not many matches to be played, as, in July, the batch of selected players can be shortened to eighteen instead of the usual twenty-three.

Many people do not know how TOTW players of FIFA 23 Ultimate Team are chosen. That is why we have decided to release this guide clarifying how this is done.

How is Chosen


TOTW items are announced and released (almost) every Wednesday at 6pm (UK time). However, they begin to come to life much earlier.

Although EA does not reveal anything about TOTW backstage, the truth is that a few years ago, a game developer uncovered in an interview that his team met every Monday morning to make a first plan of what would be the team of the week. For this, and according to producer Niels Diekmann, they have the precious help of the weekly reports produced by an EA’s department based in Cologne (Germany): the FIFA Data Collection and Licensing Group.

As soon as the list of players is closed, it goes through several other departments until they reach the official social networks where they are announced: licenses, brand, QA testing, design, strategic partners, and marketing.

With the increasing importance of the TOTWs, more and more people try to predict the official choices. If you also want to do it, you should know the criteria EA uses to select the new cards:

  • Goals Scored;
  • Assists;
  • Distribution by Positions;
  • Match Results;
  • Team’s and Player’s Popularity;
  • Previous TOTW Items;
  • Distribution by Rating;
  • League;
  • Opponent’s Difficulty;
  • Conceded Goals;
  • Saved Penalties;
  • Saves;
  • Stats and Score;
  • Man of the Match;
  • Minutes Played;
  • Bookings;
  • Rivalry;
  • Other Restrictions.

Factors List


Let’s see one by one what affects the EA’s decision.

  • Goals Scored
    This is the number one factor when deciding who enters the team of the week. After all, goals are the most important thing in football. Defenders that score more than one goal in a single match are almost guaranteed. On the other hand, the strikers may need more than one goal. Regardless of the player’s position, three or more goals are almost always a passport to the TOTW.

  • Assists
    Except for goalkeepers, it is not common to see players who have not made any assist or scored a goal on the TOTW. The importance of assists is such that they are often analyzed together with goals in a single criterion (G & A).

  • Distribution by Position
    Players playing in the same positions compete with each other for a limited number of spots. EA has set a minimum and a maximum amount of players for each position:
    – 2 to 3 goalkeepers (two in 80% of the time)
    – 4 to 6 defenders, regardless of whether they are full-backs or central-backs (five in 70% of the times)
    – 7 to 12 midfielders, regardless of whether they are wingers or central-midfielders (nine to eleven in 60% of the times)
    – 5 to 8 forwards, regardless of whether they are center-forwards or strikers (six to seven in 60% of the time).

  • Match Results
    The better the result, the more chances a player has to be named to the team of the week. However, a draw does not leave him out. This happens mainly to players of inferior teams that manage to surprise the most popular ones.

  • Team’s and Player’s Popularity
    The popularity of players and teams is increasingly taken into account. After all, the community likes to see in the TOTW the players they follow and not mere strangers. Sometimes, this popularity is not related to the biggest clubs or the best players but to the cards highly valued by the FUT community, such as the fastest players or the most OP in a particular edition.

  • Previous TOTW Items
    When assigning a new TOTW card, EA always checks the amount of IF cards a player eventually already has and when he has received the latest card. If he has been awarded many times with these cards, priority will likely be given to other players. Also, if he has already received it two weeks before, most likely, he will have to wait for another time. And yes, it already happened for a player to be selected in two consecutive TOTWs, but it is extremely rare.

  • Distribution by Rating
    EA tries to build teams as balanced as possible. Generally, the rating distribution of TOTW players follows these ranges:
    – five to eight 85+ rated cards;
    – ten to fourteen 80-84 rated cards;
    – three to five 75-79 rated cards;
    – up to two bronze or silver cards.

  • League
    Everyone knows that the players from the most popular leagues are picked more often for the team of the week. This is the case for those who play in the Premier League, responsible for filling around 20% of the slots, even when the athletes are playing by their national teams. Serie A, LaLiga, and Bundesliga compete against each other to see which is the second league more represented in the TOTW, with around 12% each, while Ligue 1 stands at 8%. Still, there are always several leagues represented every week.

  • Opponent’s Difficulty
    To be decisive in a win over Manchester City or Crystal Palace is not the same. This is also reflected in EA’s choices. The greater the achievement, the more chances a player has to receive a TOTW item.

  • Conceded Goals
    This one also applies to defenders, but is more important for goalkeepers. A player in this position who has conceded goals will hardly be part of EA’s choices. If he scored a own goal, chances are virtually zero.

  • Saved Penalties
    Nothing gives more visibility to a goalkeeper than saving a penalty. Those who achieve this and do not concede any goal are strong candidates for the Team of the Week.

  • Saves
    Do not concede any goal, save a penalty, and make many saves. In this order, these are the main criteria used for selecting goalkeepers. Has anyone got all three? Jackpot!

  • Stats and Score
    The specialized press and statistical sites, such as Whoscored, are also taken into account when EA is choosing the TOTW players. Whoever reaches a score of 10 does not have his spot guaranteed but gets closer to getting it.

  • Man of the Match
    Moving slowly to the bottom of this list, it’s time to know the least important factors. Although with little relevance, it seems that, in some cases, EA uses the prizes awarded by domestic leagues to refine their choices.

  • Minutes Played
    A player who gets in at ten minutes of the end must be brilliant (and decisive!) to convince EA. On the other hand, leaving the match earlier, few or no implications will have to the TOTW selections.

  • Bookings
    A player has already been sent off and still made part of EA’s choices. However, this is very rare. The yellow cards do not seem to have any influence.

  • Rivalry
    In addition to the opponent’s difficulty, EA also considers the rivalry between two teams on a much smaller scale. A player who decides a match in favor of his team against the main rival always gains more visibility.

  • Other Restrictions
    More than a game, FIFA 23 Ultimate Team is a business. And like all big business, everything has to be planned in detail. The common player does not have the slightest idea of the many situations that must be planned daily to the point where they can condition the players selected to the TOTW. Hence, there are choices that we will never understand because they were forced to happen in the interests of the game’s producer and its strategic partners.