EA Sports’ second wave of FC 24 Thunderstruck upgrades are on the way after another completed matchweek (bar Bayern Munich’s snowed off tie against FC Union Berlin, anyway) and things are looking bright for FC 24 players with almost all of these exciting player items in their squads. However, some dramatic draws and surprise losses mean a handful of this promo’s best players are still missing out and players like Frenkie De Jong and Joe Gomez headline upgrade discussions at the Thunderstruck promo’s halfway poi.
The onslaught of new FC 24 Ultimate Team promos might not be what directly makes this one of the best soccer games we’ve seen in recent years, but it certainly does make it one of several new PS5 games and new Xbox games that demands a lot of your time. Thankfully, though, unlike the FC 24 Ultimate Team Evolutions, if you want to receive the upgrades these player items have the potential for – if you’re lucky enough to have one in the first place – you don’t actually need to do anything. The Thunderstruck promo upgrades are all based on the real-world performance of the clubs they play for – even if they’re carded, injured, or benched. All that matters in this promo is how many wins each represented club can get in four consecutive matchweeks.
So, those of you sitting on a Paul Scholes promo player item (who’s aligned with Manchester United) or a Bernardo Silva promo player item (who’s aligned with rivals Manchester City and also one of the best FC 24 CM options available right now) should be feeling pretty confident you’re going to get all the upgrades available – right? They’re both top Premier League clubs and, like La Liga side Real Madrid or Serie A side Roma, really should be winning their three next games.
Well, that isn’t actually the case this week – which marks the halfway point of the Thunderstruck promo with two of the four matchweeks now over. With the two Manchester clubs among several represented teams missing out on three points in this second matchweek, players like Barcelona’s Frenkie De Jong and Juventus’ Gleison Bremer stand out as players with OVR upgrades this week.
In fact, as this Thunderstruck upgrades tracker highlights, these are the following OVR upgrades you can expect to see in-game shortly:
- Frenkie De Jong – Barcelona (+1 OVR)
- Gleison Bremer – Juventus (+1 OVR)
- Joe Gomez – Liverpool (+1 OVR)
- Lukas Klostermann – RB Leipzig (+1 OVR)
- Viktor Tsygankov – Girona (+1 OVR)
- Juan Cuadrado – Inter Milan (+1 OVR)
In addition to this, a number of featured FC 24 Icons are receiving additional FC 24 PlayStyles thanks to their associated teams’ performances. Kenny Dalglish, Robert Pires, Ronaldinho, and Luis Figo are all getting an additional PlayStyle shortly. Meanwhile, in a similar fashion, Romelu Lukaku, Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Vinicius Jr, and Joelinton are all among those getting two additional PlayStyles – meaning they’re all one win away from an additional +1 OVR upgrade.
While Frenkie De Jong’s upgrade to 89 OVR is the main talking point of this week’s upgrades, we shouldn’t overlook the upgrades to Gleison Bremer (now 87 OVR) and Joe Gomez (now 86 OVR) either. With these, they’re entering the realms of the best FC 24 CB players available right now and – if results go their way for the next two weeks – they’re both in for another +1 OVR upgrade by the New Year.
Tottenham Hotspur’s draw with Manchester City this week, though, means that Bernardo Silva (one of the highest rated players in this promo) and Cristian Romero (another CB with a lot of potential) are both without upgrades at the halfway point of this promo. This means, even if all remaining results go their way, they’ll only be eligible for a +1 OVR by the end of it – not the elusive +2 OVR upgrade other players still have the potential for.
Somewhat similarly, a number of player items are now on their ‘last life’ – so to speak – as we reach the halfway point, with only two games to go and two wins needed to become eligible for the maximum upgrade available.
With Arsenal playing Luton Town and Aston Villa in their next two games, players like Gabriel Jesus – someone becoming one of the best FC 24 strikers in the Thunderstruck promo – and Thierry Henry should receive both upgrades. Similarly, Bayern Munich players like Gerd Muller and Alphonso Davies should be able to max out their upgrades – when the tie against FC Union Berlin is played, anyway. We would also be very surprised if Al Hilal’s Neymar Jr (who is easily one of the best FC 24 CAM players available with his upgrades) and Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr (a fast player among the best FC 24 wingers out there) don’t get their final +1 OVR upgrade; both teams should get at least one win out of their remaining two games.
While the WSL and D1 Arkema can be a little harder to predict at times, all four female players featuring in the Thunderstruck promo manage to avoid playing one another for the rest of the matchweeks that count towards upgrades. So, there’s nothing to say that these players won’t all receive the maximum amount of upgrades by the New Year. PSG’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Manchester City’s Lauren Hemp are two worth keeping an eye on, at the very least.
If you want to make sure you have a decent squad to throw any upgraded players into when these improvements arrive, you can check out the best FC 24 formations available here. You can also check out the cheapest FC 24 players for SBCs right here, if you want to try your hand at getting one of the new FC 24 Radioactive promo players while they’re available in packs.