Messi, Yamal lead Panini Road to the World Cup cards

Every four years we get graced by the sporting gods for the World Cup and Panini has done an incredible job with the sets we see around the tournament. The 2014 Panini World Cup Prizm set is maybe the most iconic soccer set of all-time. While the 2026 Road to the World Cup sets just announced by Panini may not be on that scale, the possibilities are exciting.

In 2022, Panini introduced the "Road to the World Cup" as a way to release a few sets in the build-up to the World Cup. These were met with some success as they allowed them to capitalize on the Erling Haaland hype before Norway was eliminated from the competition. With the World Cup set to begin in the United States, Canada, and Mexico on June 11, 2026, we are just over 7 months away from the start of the tournament and already have two sets announced. One is expected before the end of January 2026!

2025-26 Panini Donruss Road to the World Cup

Box Details

This will be the classic Donruss soccer box we've all come to expect: 30 cards per pack, 12 packs per box, 12 boxes per case. On average, collectors should expect per hobby box: 1 Autograph, 1 Relic, 6 numbered parallels, 12 Optic Holo cards, and 48 Inserts & parallels. As of now, it is expected to be released on January 30, 2026.

Design

Case Hits

The always-popular Kaboom is back and is sure to be a hit, even if the "Road to the World Cup" logo is about 50% too big. In addition to the Kaboom, Animation will make its Road to the World Cup debut. It's safe to assume the manga-themed insert won't be as popular as the Kaboom, but it still looks terrific.

Autographs

I wanted to highlight the autographs in a separate post from the case hits because we will see dual autos vertical for the first time in this iteration of Donruss. In the past, the dual autos have been horizontal. Obviously, for some collectors, horizontal cards are less desirable, so it is interesting see them vertical again. Similar to what we saw in the 2016 and 2017 Donruss Soccer sets. There are three autograph sets, with the others being Signature Series and presumably The Beautiful Game, both being vertical as well.

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2025-26 Panini Noir Road to the World Cup

Box Details

If you've bought Panini Noir Soccer in the last month, you're familiar with this format. 10 card packs, 1 pack per box, and 3 box cases. In a hobby box, on average, you can expect to find 3 autographs, 2 relics, and 3 parallels or inserts. The release date is still TBD. Of note, this will be somewhat similar to the 2024-25 Noir release that came out last month. This Road to the World Cup box is similar, but has Messi instead of Kylian Mbappe. One difference will be the addition of Brazil back into the checklist.

Design

This is the base vertical design, with the Lamine Yamal (seen above) is the base horizontal card. In addition to the vertical and horizontal cards are the framed base cards (see below).

Case Hits & Autos

Panini Noir isn't known for their case hits quite like Donruss and the Kaboom are, but the Sneaker Spotlights are the closest thing in the set to a chase case hit. In addition to the Sneaker Spotlight, Noir offers Critically Acclaimed (pictured above), Motion Picture, and Vintage Art. As for the autographs, the featured autographs we've seen so far are Noir, Showrunner Signatures, and Showtime (seen below).