A Breakdown Of The 2022-23 Donruss Soccer FIFA Cards Release

With the incredible Qatar 2022 World Cup behind us, it’s time to get back to reality. But international soccer rests for no one.

Indeed, because the World Cup was held in the winter instead of its typically scheduled time in summer, the clock is shorter, and time is scarce. The qualifications for Euro 2024 will start in March 2023.

And even before that, domestic league soccer and UEFA competition resumed. So, even though Panini just recently assaulted us with a slew of World Cup releases, the relentless calendar continues to provide for soccer enthusiasts.

First off, the block is Donruss Soccer. So without further ado, here is the 2022-23 Donruss Soccer FIFA Cards review.

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What are Donruss Soccer 2022 FIFA cards

Donruss Soccer is a particularly beloved all-around soccer release. It features some of the top clubs and national teams in the world. In addition, Panini has wisely applied their iconic “Rated Rookies” series to this release, and they often become the standard rookie card for the biggest names in the global game.

But it wasn’t always a successful release. Indeed, it has been stopped twice and still doesn’t have a 100% secure future.

Panini first used the veteran Donruss name for a soccer release with the 2015 Donruss Soccer cards. It was a small set, with only 100 names on the checklist. The design was very familiar to collectors of early 1990s Donruss cards, but it was lovely to see them in a soccer setting.

The cards had several parallels and the popular Press Proof variations. The set also brought auto into the soccer hobby in a big way. The Beautiful Game auto series, which is still an integral part of the set, included legends like Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso.

Panini continued to release Donruss soccer in 2016-17 but then skipped a year. This is because it hadn’t completely caught on yet. Indeed, soccer cards were still a few years away from their big breakthrough.

But luckily, the company didn’t quit and brought a revamped version to the table in 2018-19. This time they incorporated more Optic cards to attract a more extensive collector base.

Donruss Soccer finds its footing

And…..it still didn’t take. For three years, we didn’t have any Donruss soccer. But during that time, soccer cards began to gain momentum. Many collectors’ favorites were the early Donruss-rated rookies and autos. Then, the big COVID-19-related card boom saw an explosion in soccer popularity, and we all knew it was just a matter of time until the line returned.

The Qatar World Cup provided the perfect opportunity, and the Donruss Road to Qatar release saw the franchise’s return. Now that Panini has released a regular release, we believe it is strong enough to retain a regular spot in the hobby calendar.

2022 Donruss Soccer release date

As of now, the listed release date for Donruss Soccer 2022 is April 12th. There haven’t been too many delays lately, so it should be fine. There should be a later release date for blasters, as of yet unconfirmed. So expect them about a month later.

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2022-23 Donruss Soccer FIFA pros

Donruss has carved out a spot as the standard soccer card for most collectors. Moreover, it has successfully applied this veteran line’s inserts and rookie standards. In particular, the Rated Rookie parallels like Cracked Ice and Red Velocity can be worth a good deal of money.

In a time when many hobby boxes of non-top-end products are going for $400 and more, this is a reasonably priced box. Look, Donruss is not an elite brand by any stretch of the imagination. But your chances of hitting a good Rated Rookie are high.

You can even land a Kaboom! or a Net Marvels case hit if you are truly lucky. And the designs for the case hits in this product look particularly appetizing and should be well worth chancing a rip. So, this is a reasonable price for a rip with plenty of upside.

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2022-23 Donruss Soccer cards cons

The main problem this product faces is the post-World Cup hangover. Look, there aren’t many bigger soccer fans than me. I live for this stuff. But we are after the Road to Qatar release, the Prizm World Cup release, and the Panini World Cup stickers album.

Not to mention watching 64 matches in Qatar following a grueling two-year qualification campaign. We are also tired of the endless scandals that accompanied the tournament and the incredibly tragic death of soccer journalism icon Grant Wahl. So there is just a little bit of soccer fatigue here and an element of anticlimax when the first major release comes a month after that breathtaking final.

Another problem and this might just be me, is the design. I am not loving this weird boxy thing going on where the names are. And the Donruss and FIFA logos are cutting into the picture in an unattractive way.

The folks over at Blowout Forums seem to agree with me (which is rare). But as I wrote above, the inserts are lovely, which partially makes up for it.

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2022 23 Donruss Soccer FIFA release formats

So far, Panini has released only the details of the hobby box. However, have no fear. In previous years they have also placed blasters in your favorite retail stores. We believe they will do the same for this year’s release. So, that should give you something to look forward to later in the year.

Donruss Soccer 2022-23 Hobby Box

• 30 cards per pack. 
• 12 packs per box.
• Look for 1 autograph, 1 memorabilia card, 60 parallels, and 48 inserts or insert parallels per box on average.
• Boxes presell for $200
• You can get a case of 12 for $2400

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Donruss Soccer 2022-23 Blasters

This is an estimate based on the previous year’s releases. We will update it as we get more information.

• 11 packs
• 8 cards in each
• Total of 88 cards
• New blasters usually sell for $20 and resell for around $30

The 2022 23 Donruss Soccer checklist

We don’t have the complete checklist yet. When we do, we will update you with the players and clubs included. In the meantime, we can tell you that it consists of 200 cards. They will each come in both paper and optic editions. Of those 200, 25 will be Rated Rookies, and we will provide you with a separate article ranking them.

The base cards will come in the following parallels:

• Silver
• Teal – #/199
• Red – #/99
• Blue – #/49
• Gold – #/10
• Black – 1/1

Meanwhile, the Optic base cards have a somewhat different array:

• Optic Holo
• Optic Red – #/199
• Optic Blue – #/99
• Optic Teal Mojo – #/49
• Optic Purple Mojo – #/25
• Optic Gold – #/10
• Optic Black – 1/1

The auto series The Beautiful Game also has a set of parallels:

• Blue – #/99 or less
• Red – #/49 or less
• Gold – #/10 or less
• Black – 1/1

The Donruss Soccer 2023 FIFA inserts

The base and parallels are a significant attraction for Donruss Soccer. But the inserts are probably the main reason people are buying boxes of these cards. That is because it includes some of the most desirable case hits Panini has to offer despite being a competitively priced box.

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Nets Marvels

These are some of the most attractive inserts Panini has ever made. And I am not even a Marvel movie fan. Yes, we exist. The soccer versions are just as gorgeous as their more illustrious basketball counterparts.

However, they do not fetch anywhere near as much on the open market. For example, you can get an entire set of the Road to Qatar Net Marvels for $54.

But there is a good chance these will age well. After all, Marvel movies will probably be one of the main trademarks of this period in history.

Kaboom!

The Kaboom! inserts need no introduction. Especially since we already did an excellent feature on them in the past. And these cards have become increasingly visible in the soccer hobby, just as they have in other sports.

While we do not have a complete list of the players who will earn Kaboom! honors this time around, the photos released ahead of time feature Alex Morgan. She is one of the great icons in the history of US soccer, and her cards tend to hold very strong value. So, that is one to try to nab if prices are affordable at first.

The 2022-23 Donruss Soccer FIFA Cards value

One of the significant advantages of this release is the relatively low entry price. But as we all know, you get what you pay for. Usually. So, what are you likely to get when you spring for one of these babies? First, we will look at the singles and the wax value and see how they hold up.

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Donruss Soccer 2022 Wax

First, the hobby boxes:

The prices are all around the same level. But wait, what happened in 2018 to increase the price by over 500%? Kylian Mbappe happened. It is interesting to see how the rookie class makes less of a difference in the soccer hobby unless there is a generational talent like Mbapppe or Messi involved.

So, these boxes are fine to hold. But you can’t expect to make a massive profit unless there is another Mbappe in the rookie crop. And let’s be honest: there are a lot of fine young players coming up right now. The depth of quality globally right now is staggering. But there is no next Mbappe on the horizon.

But what about blasters?

The value of the blasters has gone down over the years. However, I don’t see it going back up because they are printing more soccer cards than they used to, and people are holding more wax than they did before in 2016. The only wildcard is the Rated Rookie class.

Overall, this version of Donruss Soccer doesn’t look like it will be a particularly strong hold. The only wildcard is the Rated Rookie class.

2022 Donruss Soccer singles

If 2022-23 Donruss Soccer FIFA isn’t the greatest hold in the world, how does it do as a rip? We know there are some case hits, so it’s worth looking at their resale value. But since we probably won’t be getting those (especially with my luck), let’s see how some of the other good cards in this release fare.

The class system in soccer is even bigger than in American sports. Inserts and autos aren’t worth all that much unless they belong to the absolute most prominent names in the game.

I think that is because American collectors have a less nuanced understanding of soccer than other sports and seem to only appreciate the leading goalscorers at the expense of other excellent players. So, the low value of some world-class non-scorers may increase over time. But, of course, in football, collectors similarly privilege quarterbacks.

The final word on 2022-23 Donruss Soccer FIFA cards

The best way to summarize this box is low risk and moderate reward. For $200, you are getting a somewhat increased value container. You also have a decent chance of getting a solid parallel or auto. And a smaller chance of getting a case hit.

But keep in mind that the biggest hits here sell nicely, but they are not life-changing. No Lebron triples in here.

But remember that this set may perform a bit worse than most of these Donruss Soccer releases. I don’t think this design is winning them any new fans. In addition, the World Cup hangover effect may dim the luster of the release somewhat, even among the most hardened soccer fans.

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