Top 5 FIFA 23 Road To The Knockouts (RTTK) cards to use in Ultimate Team

The latest FIFA 23 promo is Road to the Knockouts (RTTK), where new cards are introduced, with the chance to upgrade twice. For the first upgrade, their team needs to win two of their next three tournament games, which could be the Champions League, Europa League, or Europa Conference League. The second upgrade comes if their team qualifies for the next round, which is the knockouts.

This promo has cards from every major league, and features some incredible cards before any upgrades even come through. A couple of honorable mentions on this list are Thomas Lemar and Ibrahima Konate. Lemar is an excellent box-to-box midfielder, with both an outside-the-foot and finesse shot trait playing for Atletico Madrid. Konate is an excellent 6'4 centre-back at Liverpool, and his nationality being French certainly helps with chemistry in FIFA 23.

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With all of that cleared up, let’s get into the list of top 5 FIFA 23 RTTK cards. These cards will be expensive, so be prepared to save up the coins required for each one.

This article reflects the personal views of the author.

Top 5 RTTK cards in FIFA 23

5) Raphinha

The Brazilian national is a right winger for FC Barcelona, who have been in excellent form in the La Liga, but have been unable to replicate that success in their Champions League group. Their next three opponents are Inter, Bayern, and Viktoria Plzen. The Czech side should prove to be an easy win, but Barcelona have lost their most recent games to both Bayern and Inter. Although they are up three points on Inter, getting either upgrade will be difficult.

Regardless of upgrades, Raphinha has proven to be a very popular RTTK card in FIFA 23. He has excellent links to fellow Barcelona players, as well as any of the strong Brazilian cards. Expect to find Raphinha in many Weekend League squads, as his base gold card is already one of the most popular in-game.

4) Phil Foden

There have been recent talks by various London-based podcasts that Phil Foden could find himself receiving votes for the Ballon d'Or as long as Manchester City continue their dominance. Undefeated in their Champions League group, it is all but guaranteed that Foden will receive a +2 upgrade. This was taken into account when ranking this card amongst other FIFA 23 RTTK cards.

Foden has some of the best links in FIFA 23, receiving chemistry from one of the best strikers in the game, Haaland, and the best midfielder in the game, Kevin De Bruyne. Foden boasts an incredible 94 rated agility and balance before any upgrades. His excellent on-ball skills, as well as his passable defending, makes him an extremely versatile card that many England national side fans will be interested in purchasing.

3) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Aubameyang has been a staple in FIFA history, and in FIFA 23, he is no different. He has all of the key stats that a striker needs: High/Low work rates, both shooting traits, and has 4 star skills/weak foot. He is the prototype of what the perfect striker is, with blistering pace and excellent shooting in the box.

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Chelsea have certainly been playing well, but they are not a team that cannot be beaten. Their Champions League group has RB Salzburg, Milan, and Dinamo Zagreb, all of whom are respectable opponents. Getting the +2 upgrade is by no means guaranteed, although there is a strong chance that it will happen. With a +2, Aubameyang will be an unbelievably good card, likely to be used by the top rated FIFA 23 players.

2) Federico Valverde

Rest in peace to the player of the month owners. Valverde was given a tradeable, higher rated card in just under a week after his Player Of The Month (POTM) was released, and his FIFA 23 RTTK card will also be expensive. He is clearly one of the strongest box-to-box players in the game and could easily flex into a fullback or wide midfielder position.

Real Madrid have been in excellent form and are currently undefeated in the group stage of the Champions League. If there is one card that should be guaranteed the +2 upgrade, it is Valverde. Once the upgrades arrive, he will officially join the "Gullit Gang", where all of his base stats are above 80 rated. This is an absolutely incredible card, but his price in the transfer market reflects that fact quite clearly.

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1) Lionel Messi

Considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, Messi's FIFA 23 RTTK card in FIFA 23 reflects that opinion. His base gold is already tied for the highest rated in the game, so his promo card will clearly be one of, if not the, best cards in the game. Just like in real life, Messi's RTTK is world-class on-ball, with 90 shooting, 95 dribbling, and 92 passing.

As of late, PSG have been in great form and their group is not the strongest in the Champions League. They should likely be able to both qualify and win two of their next three, resulting in RTTK Messi becoming 94 rated. This is a card that will strike fear into your Weekend League opponents the moment they see it on the right side of your squad. He currently costs a whopping 1.5 million FUT coins, but some may argue that the price is a bargain for how incredible Messi's card is.