World Fighters Legendary Route: France, Italy and Germany, Match by Match

This page is written for players who have already finished the New Stars Route — the Legendary Route does not exist before then — so it names the opponents and how each match is scripted.

What the route is

Bandai Namco’s own Story Mode page bills the Legendary and Advanced routes as original storylines “where the familiar powerhouses and new rivals take the stage”, with one headline: Germany’s Schneider returns “wearing a new flame”. The Legendary Route is the World Youth half of that promise. It runs the same tournament as chapters 4 and 5 of the New Stars Route, but reseeds it: the second group stage sends Japan against France instead of Sweden and Argentina, the first knockout match is Italy instead of the Netherlands, and the final is Germany instead of Brazil.

The three matches, their episode challenges, rewards and scripted moments below are Communityas recorded by al-gest’s Legendary Route walkthrough, published on 11 September 2026. Card names are this site’s translations of the Japanese printed on the card; the Japanese is in the same cell.

The prologue — no match to play

The route opens with cutscenes only. Clearing it pays the Link Scenario “PR”, and clearing it and watching the Link Scenario “Makoto Soda / Taichi Nakanishi” pays a second Link Scenario for Nakanishi himself. It also opens three Side Stories, 100 play points each: “France vs Sweden”, “Hernandez and Morisaki”, and “Italy Changes”.

Match 1 — France Youth

France is the second-group decider, and the team is built forward. Elle Sid Pierre plays behind the strikers and is the reason you lose the ball: single tackles bounce off him, so commit two players and keep your midfield from drifting wide. Felix Blanc on the left and Louis Napoleon up front are the other two you mark.

One piece of timing matters more than any of that. Takeshi Sawada is substituted for Taro Misaki early in the second half, and you do not get to refuse. Every challenge with Sawada’s name on it has to be done before that.

Card	Type	Rank	How you earn it
Spear Tackle · スピアタックル	Tackle Move	B	Win the match
Slider Shot · スライダーシュート	Shot Move	S	Your player scores with a Control Shot
Dump Truck Dribble · ダンプカードリブル	Dribble Move	A	Hiroshi Jito lands 3 dribble moves
Feint Tackle · フェイントタックル	Tackle Move	A	Hikaru Matsuyama lands 3 tackle moves
Naniwa Guts Saving · 浪速のド根性セービング	Saving Move	SS	Taichi Nakanishi saves 3 shots

Every card here is Unique. The other rewards on this match are Link Scenarios, potential stars and two Rivals Episodes: China’s needs the France match won plus its two Link Scenarios, Uruguay’s the France match won plus its four.

Match 2 — Italy Youth

Italy is where the route stops being a shooting gallery. Zino Hernandez has not conceded in the tournament, Salvatore Gentile carries four unique skills in defence, and Leonardo Rusciano leads the line; their right side is the stronger one. Tackle range across the team is long, so you lose the ball early and often, and the match tends to finish low-scoring.

Two moments are scripted rather than earned:

• If Yuzo Morisaki starts in goal, an event fires when Rusciano gets the ball in Japan’s half, and Morisaki saves it — guaranteed.
• Japan’s first clear-cut chance is saved, whatever you do. Zino’s Super Move takes it. Plan on needing volume, not one good shot.

Card	Type	Rank	How you earn it
Flying Eagle Shot · フライングイーグルシュート	Aerial Shot Move	A	Win the match
Golden Right Hand · 黄金の右腕	Saving Move	SS	Your player takes 2 shot moves and Shingo Aoi takes 2
Acrobat Hoop · アクロバットフープ	Shot Move	A	Shingo Aoi scores with the Acrobat Hoop
Rolling Dribble · ローリングドリブル	Dribble Move	A	Jun Misugi lands a dribble move
Lightspeed Right-Angle Feint · 光速直角フェイント	Dribble Move	S	Shingo Aoi beats Salvatore Gentile with a dribble move

One challenge on this match asks your player to use two moves you cannot get here. The Orbital Curve comes from the France match — assist once with Sawada, then watch the Link Scenario “#2 France Youth”. The Mirage Chapeu comes from the main story’s Sweden match: use a Shadow Steal there, then watch the Link Scenario “#2 Saudi Arabia Youth”.

Match 3 — Germany Youth

The final, and the reason the route exists. Schneider up front and Deuter Muller in goal are both best-in-game, and the CPU plays a level above the rest of the route — even on Normal it tackles constantly, so decide on a dribble or a pass before the ball reaches you.

• An event fires at kick-off and Schneider shoots. Your keeper is working in the first ten seconds.
• In the second half, a shot from Tsubasa, Misaki or Hyuga triggers a goal for Japan — and Germany can be handed one straight back by an event of their own.
• Level after 90 minutes means extra time, settled by golden goal. First score wins.
• Muller’s HP is enormous. Shots that take large chunks off a keeper — the Neo Tiger Shot is the obvious one — are worth more than a higher volume of small ones. If you can ignore the episode challenges, start Shun Nitta: he gets shots away fastest.
• Schneider is not the only danger. Cornelius Heine shoots from around the halfway line, and that is the most common way to concede here.

Five cards drop for the win alone:

Card	Type	Rank	How you earn it
Fire Shot · ファイヤーショット	Shot Move	S	Win the match
Warhead Header · 核弾頭ヘッド	Aerial Shot Move	A	Win the match
Kaiser Dribble · カイザードリブル	Dribble Move	A	Win the match
Kaiser Charge · カイザーチャージ	Tackle Move	A	Win the match
Iron Saving · アイアンセービング	Saving Move	SS	Win the match
Heel Lift · ヒールリフト	Dribble Move	A	Ryo Ishizaki plays and Tsubasa lands 3 dribble moves
S.G.G.K. · S・G・G・K	Saving Move	SS	Your player saves 5 shot moves and keeps a clean sheet
Neo Tiger Shot · ネオ・タイガーショット	Shot Move	S	Your player scores
Razor Shot · カミソリシュート	Shot Move	A	Makoto Soda scores
Overhead Lift · オーバーヘッドリフト	Dribble Move	A	Shingo Aoi lands 3 dribble moves
Sky Rocket Volley · スカイロケットボレー	Shot Move	S	Jun Misugi scores with the Sky Rocket Volley

Genzo Wakabayashi’s Link Scenario asks for a clean sheet, and there is an event in this match that concedes one for you. Set event skip to “on” in the locker room before kicking off and the event does not fire.

What the 21 cards add up to

All 21 are Unique, so each one is locked to the character it belongs to. Four are SS — Naniwa Guts Saving, the Golden Right Hand, Iron Saving and S.G.G.K., every one of them a keeper card — five are S, eleven are A and one is B. That is a heavier top end than any single chapter of the New Stars Route, whose ten S- and SS-rank cards are spread over its last two chapters; the super moves list has those 69 cards and the named moves behind them.

After the Legendary Route

Germany is the last Legendary match. The Advanced Route — the other route the New Stars Route opens — restages the Asian qualifiers rather than the World Youth; al-gest lists it as the episode after this one and has not published it yet, and nothing official says it is gated behind Legendary. This page stops here and will cover the Advanced matches once there is a source for them rather than a guess. Finishing each route has its own trophy — Fated Rivals and Unsung Powerhouses — and the last team unlocks sit at the same rarity, which is why the unlock guide points here.

Legendary Route FAQ

How do I unlock the Legendary Route?

Finish the New Stars Route. It is not a difficulty setting or a New Game+: it appears as its own episode list alongside the main route once the final against Brazil is won.

How many matches is it?

Three, plus a prologue that is cutscenes only. France, Italy, Germany — in that order, no branching.

Is it the same as the Advanced Route?

No. Both are original routes on Bandai Namco’s Story Mode page, but the Legendary Route replays the World Youth against France, Italy and Germany, while the Advanced Route goes back to the Asian qualifiers.

Can I lose a Legendary match?

Nothing in al-gest’s walkthrough marks one as loseable the way the Stuttgart friendly is in chapter 3 of the main route. Treat all three as must-win.

Do I need the Ultimate Pack for the Neo Tiger Shot?

No. The Germany match pays a rank-S Neo Tiger Shot card for scoring with your own player. The Ultimate Pack sells the same card early — the editions guide has the wording.