
Scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in football, let alone FIFA. Use R1/RB to wallop that cross hard and low - especially on counter-attacks, because a regular cross will float in the air and give the opposing defender a chance to rush back and attack the ball. Drilling the ball low is often a more reliable method of getting the ball into the box quickly and efficiently. While modern sides dominate matches by whipping balls into the box - see Liverpool’s full-backs and Man City’s midfielders - there’s something to be said for a cut-back - which both have also mastered. …Your attacker’s just run onto the ball and you have another wide-man ahead of the defensive line on the opposite side of the pitch. Using the R1/RB button is a lovely little trick too, as it will play the ball between the full-back and the centre-back on that side, giving your on-rushing attacker a much better angle to run onto the ball. This is where your through ball comes in. Mo Salah is always ready to run onto a pass to out wide when the opponents are playing a high line. Well, take a look at how Liverpool use their wide-men when they counter. How do you bring your wide attackers into the game? So you’ve got the ball around the halfway line and you’re about to counter-attack. This is simple stuff but vital to keep in mind. Seriously - how often have you seen Bruno Fernandes play the ball ahead of Marcus Rashford in the box? No, he plays it to feet when there’s no space. Through balls create space where there is none, but passing will deliver so much more precision. There isn’t room for you to hit Triangle/Y - so you’re going to have to pass. OK, there are exceptions, but by and large, the 18-yard box you’re attacking is where there is the least amount of space on the pitch. But you need to get out of the habit of using them in the final third. Breaking the lines by threading a pass just ahead of your man to run onto and slot the ball home can be the most satisfying thing possible. Never use a through-ball in the penalty area Look at Manchester City - Guardiola wasn’t sold on Aguero until he’d improved that side of his game.

Whether you’re playing route one football or Barcelona-ball, your striker is a key part of your build-up. You might want to pick someone with more strength or simply adjust your formation so you have a runner nearby like Havertz or Salah, to play the ball to as soon as your striker gets it. That means holding L2/LT to shield the ball when you receive it. It’s difficult to play with strikers who hang on the shoulder of a defender in FIFA, so you’re going to need to develop your hold-up play whoever you pick up top. The type who run beyond the defender - think Werner, Vardy and Aubameyang - or the type who holds up the ball and brings others into play - more of the Kane, Benzema or Firmino. There are two types of striker in the modern game. Use your players where they’re best - that’s basic management.

This might be Kevin De Bruyne at LCM - so that he can cut in and finesse the ball top bins - or Alphonso Davies at left-back to turn out to the touchline and play a driven ball up to Serge Gnabry. Unless your players have a five-star weak foot, you want them in the positions that they’re going to be most devastating. In the final third of the pitch though, he became much more useful on the right-hand side, cutting in on that powerful left peg of his. Gareth Bale was a left-back for Tottenham Hotspur who needed to be comfortable on his left foot in order to play those particular angles. Choose right-footers and left-footers carefully It just creates space and helps to progress your team forward. It doesn’t matter how often you do this - your opposition will usually fall for it. For example, if the goalkeeper plays a ball out to a full-back, he might want to pass in to the CDM and run on with the opposition marker now turned to the CDM to press, the CDM can play the ball back in a one-two to the full-back. It’s good to have a few of these in FIFA. This is simply a set pattern of play - usually in the defence - which is rehearsed to perfection. Passing and making runs is what will get the ball further up the pitch, right? Well, this is where automatisms come in when you’re playing out of the defence.Īntonio Conte is a master of the “automatism”. OK, so let’s combine what we’ve learned already.
