Have you been wondering just what to do in Football Manager 26? Well, I’ve got a new challenge for you: one save from every single country in Europe.
While the World Cup is coming to the USA this year, Europe is still the home of the highest level of football and where the majority of players manage on Football Manager. So I’ve gone through every country in Europe and chosen one save from each. 44 countries. 44 saves. Let’s go.
Russia – Torpedo Moscow
Torpedo Moscow is a proper Football Manager save waiting to happen. A historic Moscow club with league titles, European pedigree and a famous name from the Soviet era, now marooned in Russia’s second tier while the city spotlight belongs entirely to others.
It also comes with chaos. The club were expected to return to the Russian Premier League for the 2025 to 26 season, but were excluded following attempted match fixing during the 2024 to 25 campaign and forced back into the First League.
FM26 wise, this is perfect. A fallen giant. A damaged reputation. A full rebuild. Drag Torpedo back into the Russian elite and restore a badge that still carries weight.
Germany – TSV 1860 Munich
TSV 1860 Munich is an FM26 save that writes itself. A proud traditional club with Bundesliga history, massive local identity and a properly old school soul, now stuck in the third tier while Bayern dominate the city and the headlines.
The 3. Liga is ruthless. Tight budgets, relentless fixture congestion and a promotion race where one bad month can kill a season. The challenge is pure Football Manager. Rebuild a sleeping giant without breaking the wage structure, manage expectations from a demanding fanbase and drag Munich’s other club back towards relevance the hard way.
United Kingdom – Oldham, Queen’s Park, Hereford, Linfield
Because the United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, I’ll give you four saves for the price of one.
Oldham Athletic are a classic Football Manager rebuild. A former Premier League club now back in the EFL, trying to recover stability and belief in League Two after years of decline. Obviously I was going to choose Oldham. They’re the team I’m managing in FM26.
In Scotland, Queen’s Park offers one of the most unique saves in Britain. The country’s oldest club, steeped in tradition, now navigating life as a modern professional side in the second tier.
Wales brings a brilliant alternative story through Hereford. A fan-rebuilt-club climbing quietly while Wrexham dominate global headlines. A chance to prove that progress does not need Hollywood backing.
And in Northern Ireland, Linfield delivers immediate pressure. The most successful club in the country where domestic titles are expected and European performance defines whether your reign is considered a success or failure.
France – FC Sochaux
FC Sochaux is a situation that needs fixing. A historic French institution, multiple time Ligue 1 champions and one of the country’s most respected youth producing clubs, now stuck in the chaos of the Championnat National.
Following financial collapse and a forced reset, FM26 hands you a club whose reputation still screams top flight, even if the bank balance says otherwise. Dragging Sochaux back to where the badge belongs is not optional. It is the entire point of the save.
Italy – Sampdoria
Sampdoria in FM26 is the definition of a fallen giant. A club with Serie A titles, European history and one of Italy’s most iconic identities, now relegated to Serie C for the first time in their existence after a brutal collapse.
Every opponent treats you like a cup final. Every away trip feels hostile. You are expected to restore order immediately while operating in total chaos. History still matters here, but only if you can make it matter again.
Spain – Deportivo
Deportivo La Coruña is one of Football Manager’s greatest saves. A former Champions League regular now living the reality of second tier football.
This is the club that once conquered Europe, famously overturning AC Milan in one of the competition’s greatest nights. Financial mismanagement and long term decline sent Depor tumbling down the pyramid.
Now you are managing a giant with a stadium and fanbase built for La Liga, stuck in Segunda. The potential is obvious. The pressure is relentless. Every season outside the top flight feels like failure.
Ukraine – Dynamo Kyiv
Once the undisputed powerhouse of Ukrainian football, Dynamo now operate in a world where dominance is no longer guaranteed. Years of disruption, talent drain and instability have closed the gap at the top.
In FM26, the challenge is not simply winning titles. It is restoring authority. Competing in Europe while constantly losing your best players forces reliance on youth, short term solutions and intelligent squad planning. A prestige save that never truly feels secure.
Poland – Wisla Krakow
Wisla are one of the biggest fallen names in Polish football. Multiple league titles, European pedigree and a massive fanbase, now stuck outside the top flight following years of financial chaos.
FM26 turns this into a pure restoration job. Stabilise the club. Survive the pressure. Promotion is only step one. Reclaiming authority in Polish football is the real challenge.
Romania – FC U Craiova 1948
FC U Craiova were hit with a staggering 94 point deduction and administratively relegated to Liga III due to financial and licensing issues linked to unpaid debts. Ninety four points.
That alone makes this one of the most outrageous phoenix saves in the game. A club with top flight and European history dumped into the depths. FM26 gives you the chance to rebuild everything from the ground up.
Netherlands – Vitesse
Vitesse may be the best FM26 save full stop purely because of how fast everything collapsed.
Not long ago they were European regulars with a clear recruitment identity. Now they are defined by ownership chaos, financial collapse, points deductions and existential uncertainty.
The stadium is there. The fanbase is there. The reputation still lingers. What is missing is trust, structure and sustainability. Rebuild it properly and Vitesse can rise again. Fail and the club disappears entirely.
Belgium – Standard Liege
Standard are one of Belgium’s true heavyweights, but years of instability and underperformance have dragged them away from the top table.
Their last league title came in 2008 to 09. Expectations remain huge regardless. You are expected to compete immediately while repairing structural problems behind the scenes. A heavyweight club operating like a mid table one makes for perfect long term tension.
Sweden – Mjallby AIF
The 2025 season changed everything. Under Anders Torstensson, Mjällby won their first ever Allsvenskan title, one of the greatest underdog stories in modern football. A squad built largely from locally born players in a village of just 800 people.
They qualified for the Champions League qualifiers for the first time and finished with a record breaking 75 points. FM26 asks one question. Can you carry on the miracle and see how far it can really go?
Czech Republic – Zbrojovka Brno
Brno is the second biggest city in the country, yet its football club has drifted into irrelevance for years. Relegations, instability and identity loss have defined the modern era.
The abandoned Za Luzankami stadium stands as a symbol of that decline. Once one of the biggest grounds in the country, now a reminder of how far the club has fallen. Your task is simple in theory. Restore pride. Restore relevance. And eventually challenge Prague.
Portugal – Academica
One of Portugal’s most iconic institutions with a proud academic heritage and a Primeira Liga past, now stuck in Liga 3.
This is a rebuild of an institution, not just a squad. Survive the chaos of lower league Portugal, modernise the club structure and drag a cultural giant back towards relevance.
Greece – OFI Crete
OFI Crete are one of the few major island clubs in Greek football. Long established in the Super League and geographically isolated from the mainland powerhouses.
This save is about defying geography. Building a competitive side from an island and proving Greek football does not have to be owned exclusively by the traditional giants.
Hungary – Paks
Paks operate under a policy similar to Athletic Bilbao, only fielding players who are born, raised or developed in Hungary.
They currently run an entirely Hungarian squad and are challenging near the top, but dethroning Ferencvaros after seven consecutive titles is a monumental task. FM26 turns this into a purity challenge built on development and identity.
Austria – Austria Salzburg
After seeing their club bought, rebranded and effectively erased by Red Bull, Austria Salzburg reformed as a phoenix club and began life in the seventh tier.
Now they sit in the second division. Taking them up and finally beating Red Bull Salzburg to the Bundesliga title would be one of the most satisfying long term saves in the game.
Switzerland – FC Thun
After winning the 2024 to 25 Challenge League title, Thun returned to the Swiss Super League with momentum.
As of writing, they are currently top of the division. A remarkable achievement for a newly promoted side. Having once reached the Champions League group stage, Thun feel like a club capable of anything or collapse at any moment. That unpredictability makes them brilliant.
Belarus – FC Maxline Vitebsk
Maxline shocked Belarus by winning the Premier League in their first season after promotion. A first ever title and immediate Champions League qualifiers followed. FM26 turns this into a question of sustainability. Can a fairytale season become a dynasty, or will reality hit hard?
Bulgaria – Botev Plovdiv
There are countless reasons Botev Plovdiv make a great save. Bulgaria’s oldest active club is one. The off pitch drama is another. Ownership uncertainty, bans, and public instability have defined recent years. Historic badge. Real chaos. Perfect Football Manager material.
Serbia – FK Vojvodina
A sleeping giant without being one of the giants. Six time Yugoslav champions, massive fanbase and based in Serbia’s second city. Years of underachievement and European near misses haunt them. Add in league restructuring that brings four automatic relegation places and you have pure jeopardy baked into the save.
Denmark – Hillerod
Hillerod operate with one of the smallest budgets in the Danish second tier and cannot currently use their own stadium due to league requirements. Despite that, they continue to push upward. Taking them into the Superliga would be a genuine achievement built entirely on smart management.
Norway – FK Bodo Glimt
Bodo Glimt have gone from Arctic outsiders to European headline makers. Europa League semi finalists. Champions League knockout qualification. Wins against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid. This is no longer a fairytale. FM26 asks the ultimate question. Can you finish the story and win it all?
Finland – HJK Helsinki
HJK are Finland’s most successful club and the nation’s clearest European hope. Despite consistent qualification, Finnish teams rarely progress deep into competitions. Turning HJK from qualifiers into genuine European contenders becomes a proper build a nation challenge.
Slovakia – 1. FC Tatran Presov
Slovakia’s oldest football club returned to the top flight after promotion in 2024 to 25. Survival is the immediate goal. Long term stability is the real challenge. This is about turning heritage into something sustainable rather than symbolic.
Ireland – Dundalk
Dundalk’s recent history has been pure chaos, the kind that feels tailor made for Football Manager. They went from being one of Ireland’s biggest modern success stories to a club staring into the financial abyss, with licensing issues and constant off pitch uncertainty. New owner John Temple has since stepped in and brought some much needed stability, getting the club properly back on its feet and giving them a platform to rebuild again. Now they are back in the Premier Division for 2026, their 100th season, the perfect storyline.
Croatia – NK Istra 1961
Istra operate as one of Croatia’s smartest modern clubs. Small city. Limited budget. Heavy focus on data and development. Competing in a league dominated by Dinamo and Hajduk, FM26 turns this into a true Moneyball save. Recruit cleverly, sell well and prove intelligence can close the gap.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – FK Rudar Prijedor
Newly promoted into a 10 team league where everyone plays each other four times. No easy games. No hiding places. With a young squad, limited budget and poor real life form, your job is survival first and transformation second.
Moldova – FC Petrocub Hincesti
Petrocub are the closest challengers to Sheriff’s long standing dominance. The challenge is enormous. Break the monopoly. Progress in Europe. Grow the coefficient. Everything matters in a league this small.
Lithuania – FK Kauno Zalgiris
Fresh league champions for the first time in their history. FM26 is about proving it was not a fluke and building something sustainable while lifting Lithuanian football along with you.
Albania – KF Egnatia
Already reaching Europe without being a traditional giant, Egnatia offer a perfect build a nation platform. Every European round won genuinely moves Albanian football forward. Progress is fragile. That makes it meaningful.
Slovenia – NK Celje
Currently clear at the top domestically, Celje are one of Slovenia’s smartest operators. Domestic success is achievable. European progress is the true test. Sell smart. Reinvest better. Lift the nation season by season.
Latvia – Valmiera FC
Recent champions turned crisis club. Financial collapse and licensing failures saw Valmiera booted from the top flight structure. FM26 hands you a rescue mission rather than a title charge.
North Macedonia – FC Struga Trim Lum
Founded in 2015 and already league winners, Struga operate on fine margins. Early European qualifiers define their seasons. One good run can transform the club. One bad summer can undo everything.
35 Estonia – Paide Linnameeskond
A stadium capacity of 768 tells you everything. Yet Paide continue to reach European qualifiers. FM26 dares you to take a club with virtually no resources and make them visible on the continental stage.
Luxembourg – Swift Hesperange
Recent league winners with genuine European ambition. Low coefficients mean every tie is life or death. This is one of the closest things to a San Marino style challenge without going that extreme.
Montenegro – FK Decic Tuzi
A 2,000 seat stadium. A small town. European qualification already achieved. Montenegro has never had a club reach a European group or league phase. FM26 gives you the chance to be the first.
Malta – Victoria Hotspurs
The only club from Gozo to enter the Maltese pyramid. They stormed promotion with a perfect season but have since struggled. A proper long term project with genuine uniqueness.
Iceland – Vikingur Reykjavik
One of Iceland’s oldest clubs with immediate European football. Tiny crowds. Summer football. Brutal scheduling. European nights feel enormous here. A true David versus Goliath save.
Andorra – FC Andorra
Playing in Spain but representing a nation. Spanish prize money allows long term growth. Develop Andorran youth. Build the national team indirectly. One of the most creative saves on the list.
Liechtenstein – FC Vaduz
The Vaduz Challenge. No league route to Europe. Only the cup. Win the Conference League. Then the Europa League. Then finally reach the Champions League. Fail once and you start again.
Monaco – AS Monaco
There was only one option. Literally, the only club from Monaco.
San Marino – San Giovanni
A parish of around 30 people. The smallest settlement in Europe with a top flight club. If you want the ultimate challenge, this is it. Can you take this tiny community and turn it into the biggest club in Europe? That’s the challenge.
Vatican City – Create a Club
There is no Vatican league. So create one. Insert them anywhere you want. Build the smallest nation in Europe from scratch. And yes, the Pope absolutely starts in goal.
