The Journey of Nations: North America objective set is live in EA SPORTS FC 26, and the payoff for finishing it is genuinely worth the grind. Complete the full set before Season 8 ends and you unlock a 97-rated Maradona for free. That alone makes this one of the most valuable free objectives in Ultimate Team right now.
The catch is that the tasks are spread across roughly 12 to 14 matches, and going in without a plan wastes time. Here's how to knock it out efficiently by splitting the run into three phases.
What is the Journey of Nations: North America objective?
The Journey of Nations is a multi-region objective series in FC 26 Ultimate Team. The North America chapter is one part of that broader set. Completing this specific chapter contributes toward unlocking the 97-rated Maradona during Season 8, so it sits inside a larger progression system rather than standing alone.
The objective breaks down into three distinct phases, each requiring a different squad setup. Switching your lineup between phases is the key to knocking out tasks in parallel rather than chasing them one at a time.
North America objective tracker
Phase-by-phase squad guide
Phase one: six games with a USA and Mexico core
For the first six matches, build your squad around this nationality split:
- 3 players from Mexico (swap in Hero Marquez after your first clean sheet)
- 6 players from the USA
- 1 player from Brazil
- Formation: 4-4-2 (2)
Running this lineup lets you chip away at multiple tasks simultaneously across those six games.
Tasks to complete in phase one:
- Keep 1 clean sheet
- Win 6 matches
- Get 3 wins in Rivals, Champs, or Live Events
- Score a free kick with a Mexican player
- Score 6 Low Driven goals with a USA player
- Score 1 Low Driven goal with Dempsey
- Score a header with Marquez
- Assist 3 goals with a through ball
- Score 7 goals total
Low Driven shots require deliberate input. Practice the mechanic in Kick Off before your Rivals games if you're not already landing them consistently. Missing six of those in live matches will drag the phase out significantly.
Phase two: five games with a Canadian core
Swap your lineup to include at least 6 players from Canada for the next five matches.
Tasks to complete in phase two:
- Get 3 wins in Rivals, Champs, or Live Events
- Assist at least 2 goals in a single match
- Score 2 goals with a Finesse Shot
- Assist 3 goals with a lobbed through ball
The double-assist task and the lobbed through ball assists can overlap in the same game. Set up your Canadian midfielders in positions where they naturally feed the strikers, and the assists will stack without forcing anything unnatural.
Canadian squad selection screen
Phase three: one to three games in Rush
The final phase is the lightest workload of the three.
Tasks to complete in phase three:
- Play in Rush using a North American player
- Win 1 game by at least 2 goals
- Score 7 goals as a team
- Assist 5 goals as a team
Rush matches count toward the team goal and assist totals, so these tasks can stack across multiple Rush sessions if you don't hit the numbers in one go.
What are all the Journey of Nations: North America rewards?
Finishing every phase earns you a solid stack of Ultimate Team currency and some high-rated special cards.
The 60,000 coins alone make this worth doing even if you already have strong North American players. If you're building toward the 97-rated Maradona, this set is non-negotiable.
North America objective rewards
How does this connect to the 97-rated Maradona?
The North America objective is one piece of the larger Journey of Nations set. Completing all regional chapters in the set unlocks access to pick the 97-rated Maradona during Season 8. Skipping North America means you're locked out of that pick regardless of how many other chapters you finish.
If you're working through the broader Season 8 pass at the same time, check out the FC 26 Ultimate Gauntlet 13 rewards guide for more ways to stack promo cards and evolution consumables in parallel.
Tips for finishing faster
- Play Live Events over Rivals when possible during phases one and two. The opposition is often lighter, and the three wins in competitive modes count across both.
- Keep Dempsey and Marquez in your starting eleven for all of phase one, not just the games where you're actively chasing their tasks. Opportunities come up unexpectedly.
- Lobbed through balls in phase two are easier to land when your striker makes a run in behind. Use timed attacking runs rather than hoping for open play chances.
- The Rush format in phase three tends to generate goals and assists quickly because of the smaller pitch and fewer defenders. One or two Rush sessions can clear the team goal and assist tasks entirely.
For a broader look at building your Ultimate Team from the ground up, the FC 26 complete starter guide covers coin-making strategies and squad building that pair well with objective grinding. More guides for every mode in the game are available in the full EA SPORTS FC 26 guide collection.