I need help getting better at defense

Anticipate their move. You have to play alot to start to be able to do this. It helps if you play soccer at a competitive level in real life.

A thing that good defenders are trained to do is watch the dribblers hips and don't stab at the ball. You make your move starting with your hips, so if you watch that, you'll be able to read where they will go ahead of time and react by stepping with your whole body into their path.

Similarly, in FIFA the only way to do such a thing is to recognize where they would be inclined to go. Look at the field as if you are your opponent.

What is the easiest direction to go to? If you can recognize that, you can perhaps anticipate where they will go. However, you cannot rush in holding sprint. Instead, drop back and get space, contain, and force them out of bounds.

It's always said that when a winger is coming down the line and he's just got you to beat one on one, a smart defender makes it a two on one by forcing him towards the sideline.

Do this in FIFA as well. Don't let him cut middle and go to goal. And even while you are forcing him out wide, hold R1 to bring another defender to either help you contain them, or cut off his angle to the middle or one of his teammates.

Once again, DO NOT rush your player when you go into the tackle. Players online like to get a pass and hold R1 and have it go through their legs then run onto it with their pacey striker. If you take your space and don't step too quickly, this won't happen. A good way to do this is by jockeying with L2 when they are still in front of you (NOT when they are on a breakaway and you are chasing them down).

When cutting off his angle to a cross, use L2 to contain as well. If he is too fast, you can use L2 and R2 at the same time a little further back so as to keep up.

By jockeying with L2, your player usually goes into tackles with their whole body, going for ball, rather than stepping and maybe drawing a foul, especially in the box.

I'm writing a guide for the game, so this will all be in there. I hope you find this helpful!
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Ben D Straw
6/29/08

imran_666 posted...

After playing since launch I think this game is less about defending and just who scores the most. I know who scores the most wins but the way the defenders run away from the ball and midgets score headers agaist big boys is silly.

You are wrong in so many ways...
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Ben D Straw
6/29/08

este914 posted...

Time_Hero posted...

imran_666 posted...

After playing since launch I think this game is less about defending and just who scores the most. I know who scores the most wins but the way the defenders run away from the ball and midgets score headers agaist big boys is silly.

You are wrong in so many ways...

Care to explain?

I just explained defensive tactics.

I have a record of 328-63-135 on Ultimate Team right now (W-D-L). Most of the losses were from trying out teams in tournaments. Obviously there were actually loses in there, but alot of wins and ties. It's around 62% win record, which is pretty decent online on Ultimate Teams.

Most of the ties were because of my solid defense. If you are a smart defender online, you will not get scored on. Now, to w, you must score some goals as well, otherwise you will always tie.

For instance, even without a pacey defense (Ashley Cole, John Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic), I don't get goals scored. Then with a good offense (Torres, Mata, Oscar, Hazard, Sturridge, Ramires), with pace, you can deal a good amount of damage.

Defense is about recognizing how your opponent plays ASAP.

In my last match, I got 3 goals scored on me in the first 20 minutes. I was not really paying much attention to the game after the first goal. But after the 3rd one, I started to realize what he was doing. He would pass one touch all around the middle, waiting for his fast strikers to make the right run, then play the through ball.

My response was to instead of having my defenders step, have my midfielders (Ramires, Sturridge, or Hazard), step to ball, while closing in from behind them while holding R1 to bring Torres or Mata to help.

I scored 5 unanswered goals because that was the only way he knew how to play, and I broke it down, and he couldn't do any defending to stop me from scoring.

It really goes along way.
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Ben D Straw
6/29/08

lfcwarrior8 posted...

I observed this too...in my career Xavi scored a header over Hummels...and i feel defending has become a lot more realistic since fifa 12...

That's been happening since I can remember playing Fifa. And 9/10 times Hummels will win that header.

AI is stupid...if you actually take the time to learn, you can be smarter than the AI. Obviously AI does a good job overall, but some tiny things really show how slow it is at reacting.
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Ben D Straw
6/29/08