We’ve taken a look at the 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup collection, which has quickly been forgotten in favor of more popular 2022 Panini Prizm WC cards. 

The set was always going to be a hard sell. Released a month before the tournament started, many fans ended up waiting for 2022 Panini Prizm World Cup Qatar boxes instead. 

We grabbed a Mega Box for the purposes of this quick review, as we look at exactly what the Mosaic World Cup set has to offer. 

Key Stats

Here’s everything you need to know about the set, including key info about inserts and autographs:

• Release date: October 5, 2022
• Configuration: 15 cards per pack, 10 packs per box, 12 boxes per case
• What to expect: 200-card base set featuring players from 28 national teams
• Hobby exclusive parallels: Mosaic Red, Mosaic Blue (#’d/99), Mosaic Purple (#’d/49), Mosaic Pink (#’d/25), Mosaic Gold (#’d/10), and Mosaic Black (#’d/1)
• Hobby exclusive inserts: Stained Glass and Overdrive
• Inserts: International Men of Mastery, Montage and Pitch Masters
• Autos: FIFA Autographs Mosaic and FIFA Scripts Mosaic

Best Cards

Here’s a rundown with five of the best options found within the set. A David Beckham auto narrowly missed out on a spot, showing just how good the competition is with this particular collection. 

5. 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Kaka #AK (eBay)

Kaka doesn’t make it into many boxes nowadays, even if the legend is only one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d’Or. He retired in 2017, despite offers from clubs in Europe and South America.

The Autographs Mosaic subset immediately catches the eye, and is accompanied by a range of rare parallels that we’ve listed below. Kaka also has a card found in the Stained Glass subset.

• Parallels: Orange Fluorescent #/50, Purple #/50, Gold #/10, Pink Fluorescent #/10, Gold Fluorescent #/10, Black 1/1
• Choice: Fusion Red, Black Gold 1/1

Check prices of 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Kaka on eBay

4. 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Stained Glass Kylian Mbappe #1 (eBay)

Kylian Mbappe had a great tournament, ending as the top scorer for the 2022 World Cup even as France lost the final. The Stained Glass insert is a case hit, and works out to be one of the more valuable cards within the collection. Mbappe was chosen as the first player out of 50 within the subset. 

Check prices of 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Stained Glass Kylian Mbappe on eBay

3. 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Stained Glass Lionel Messi #10 (eBay)

Sticking with Mosaic Stained Glass inserts, Lionel Messi finally won the World Cup in 2022, adding to the value for his cards from the set. With the win, Messi has a serious claim as the GOAT. 

The Stained Glass inserts have proven to be popular with collectors, due to a mix of a strong design and the obvious rarity. Some case hits are worth more than others, and this is at the upper end of the scale. 

Check prices of 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Stained Glass Lionel Messi on eBay

2. 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Pele #S-P (eBay)

Pele passed away on the day I wrote up this review, meaning these are going to be some of the last cards to bear his signature.

It makes sense to throw Pele autos into any World Cup collection, as the ultimate hit you could hope to find. 

It’s hard to go wrong with a retired legend that is seen as a GOAT of the sport, and Pele ticks all of the most important boxes for collectors. His auto is in the Scripts subset. 

• Parallels: Orange Fluorescent #/50, Purple #/50, Gold #/10, Pink Fluorescent #/10, Gold Fluorescent 1/1, Black 1/1
• Choice: Fusion Red, Black Gold 1/1

Check prices of 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Pele on eBay

1. 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Diego Maradona #A-DM (eBay)

Diego Maradona is another major hit, and can be found in the Autographs Mosaic collection. As with Messi, he won the World Cup for Argentina in 1986, and is one of the best-known names in the sport. Having passed away in 2020, the market for Maradona signatures is as big as ever. 

• Parallels: Orange Fluorescent #/50, Purple #/50, Gold #/10, Pink Fluorescent #/10, Gold Fluorescent #/10, Black 1/1
• Choice: Fusion Red, Black Gold 1/1

Check prices of 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Diego Maradona on eBay

What we packed 

We ripped a 2021-22 Panini Mosaic FIFA Road to World Cup Mega Box for the purposes of this review. 

For once, we did well from a smaller box, packing a Ryan Gravenberch Gold parallel numbered to 10 copies. You’ll be able to see the difference compared to the normal Gold card in the image above. We’ve included a close-up of the card below:

It’s not the biggest hit, but it’ll pay for the box itself. However, the vast majority of boxes are going to contain nothing of value, so we’d advise to stick with singles, or only to open 2022 Mosaic World Cup boxes if you accept that you’re likely to lose money. There are some great autos, but that’s balanced out by the sheer number of hobby boxes that were printed for the tournament. 

Summary 

Overall, the is a decent collection, but we’d stick with the 2022 Panini Prizm World Cup Qatar set if you’re looking for the best overall value for money. 

It’s a shame as the Mosaic cards are great to look at, and there were no quality issues with any found in my box. (In fact, they’re in better condition than most Prizm World Cup openings I’ve seen.) However, they’re still a cheaper option unless it’s a rare auto or a case hit.