Did you just pick up FIFA 15 over the holidays? Looking to get into the beautiful game? Well, there certainly is a lot to see and do in the annual FIFA titles from EA, but it’s always good to start with the basics. By focusing on a few core concepts, you’ll be able to compete against the AI, thrive in your career mode or contribute to your team in pro clubs online. The developers have actually done a fairly good job over the years of making the franchise accessible, and the range of options, sliders and modes will allow you to play the game your way.

I’m certainly not going to pretend I’m some FIFA wizard. We have plenty of users on OS who could likely offer some advanced guidance when it’s needed. For my part, I enjoy playing the game with friends online as well as in a Be-A-Pro setting, and this year’s game allows you some added control for all aspects of the on-pitch action. I’d highly suggest using the practice arena or the skill games, located in the bottom-left pane of the “Play” tab. The skill games are a great way to learn components of the FIFA experience and slowly build your foundation of skills.
 

The obvious starting point is how you move around the pitch, with or without the ball. The left stick moves you from A to B, but you also want to be mindful of stamina if you’re just controlling one player (Be-A-Pro or pro clubs online). You’ll move at a standard cadence when fully pushing the stick in one direction, and you can go even faster when pressing the right trigger. This consumes stamina in the short term and long term, so don’t just hold down the trigger the whole game. Pick your spots for when you should accelerate to help on defense or join a rush.
 

In general, you can do quite a lot with just the left thumbstick. It will allow for some basic starts and stops and 1-2 moves to the left and right, allowing you to keep a defender guessing when you have the ball. Consider slowing the pace with the L trigger, as this activates skilled dribbling but also slows down your player’s pace. This way you’ll be able to keep better control of the ball but also misdirect your opponents. When you have the ball and are facing opposition, think about how you can briefly slow down the pace and lull a defender one way and then quickly accelerate the other way. Running all out down the wings works sometimes, but you’ll also need to know how to get by people in traffic. Once again, look to the skill games for some great ball control drills.
 

In general, this is the button that, in my opinion, is the most important one for people to master when they engage with the FIFA series. It’s true that shooting, speed and raw talent all matter in soccer, but being able to connect on basic passes is absolutely critical. If your team has a high passing percentage, it will lead to successes in other areas, such as possession, scoring chances and field control.

With the standard aim assists turned on, the A button pass will locate towards a teammate quite well if you roughly aim towards them and put the right amount of power on the button press. Still, you’ll find that there is some level of fidelity needed to tune both the length of the button press and the direction you aim. A pass that’s too hard will be difficult for a teammate to handle; too soft and it will likely be intercepted. These are all basic concepts, to be sure, but it’s funny how often people just want to start doing advanced lobs and throughs without mastering the simple stuff. Really work on basic A button give-and-go plays as well as queueing up your pass as the ball is coming towards you.

Of course, the A button is also used on defense to pressure the ball carrier, which can be a useful tactic when wanting to cause someone panic or if you’re chasing them down. Use it carefully, as it can put you out of position, but consider deploying it here and there to keep the opposition on their toes.
 

As said, the through pass is a tempting option, as it bypasses the tough part of soccer: getting past defenders. The concept, if you aren’t aware, is that you’re trying to provide a “leading” pass to a defender — putting the ball to where they’ll end up and not to where they currently are. The issue comes from users attempting throughs that are ill-advised at the outset. Sometimes people will try and force a through pass between three defenders. Other times they’ll put too much power on a long through and lose possession when the ball skids out of bounds.

The art of the through is waiting for the midfielders or backs to tip their hand a bit, stepping out of position or getting too aggressive. Once they do, a lane may open up for you to lead one of your players into open space. This can be especially useful when trying to get past the last line of defenders, as you can place a pass that creates a breakaway for one of your strikers. What’s absolutely key is anticipating not only where the defenders are going but where your intended receiver is going. You want to see how the teammate is moving before you decide which angle to attempt the through. Players running on a slant pattern create excellent opportunities for through passes. But as said earlier, master the A button passes before moving on to the throughs.
 

While it’s common to see throughs and lobs from ambitious new players on offense, it’s also common to see way too many slide tackles and shoulder barges from those new to playing without the ball. The problem with slide tackles, when you don’t know how best to use them, is that you’re likely going to get a yellow or red card, and the problem with shoulder tackles is that you’ll likely end up missing the intended target entirely. With great power, as they say....
 

My suggestion would be to focus on staying with a streaking offensive player and squaring up to opposition with the left trigger. You can occasionally engage the A button to put a bit of pressure on them (or use the right bumper to call for more AI pressure), but you’ll want to shadow them and limit their potential passing lanes. I’ve found that just anticipating passes and getting in the shooting lane will create plenty of blocks and turnovers, and even just running into the ball, as a player tries to go around you, will yield better results than spamming the tackle button. Body positioning is incredibly important for headers, both offensively and defensively, so you really want to get in the habit of not overcommitting on risky tackles that don’t even gain you that much if you do succeed with them.
 

There are certainly various ways to shoot in FIFA, including standard shots, chip shots, driven shots and finesse shots. These are skills that need to be honed through arena practice, skill games, Be-A-Pro and exhibition play. I would suggest going to these modes in order to practice, but my one guidance on the art of shooting would be to work on your power judgment. Knowing how long to hold the button down is key.

What is also important to remember is when to shoot the ball. Just like through passes, newer players will often try and force shots from distance or when confronted with lots of traffic. This often leads to turnovers, blocks or missed shots. Your player has to have his feet planted as well as a bit of a run-up to the ball in order to take a good shot. If you fire in full sprint, for instance, your shot might not have as much control as if you slowed for a second and took time to aim. Ultimately, you want to shoot the ball when it can either: (a) score you a goal, (b) create a rebound that might score you a goal or (c) create a rebound that leads to a corner kick. Just blasting the ball at the goalie will be a good way to not achieve any of these ends.

If you’re looking for rebounds, you’ll need people there to collect them. If you’re looking for corner kicks, you’ll need enough velocity and approach angle on the shot to make the goalie execute a desperation save. These are all things you have to get a sense for, and that comes from knowing what your team is capable of and what you are capable of. If you master the basic passes and field control tactics, you’ll have a better chance of getting high-quality shots.

Final Thoughts

While these are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of FIFA skills, they are absolutely critical if you want to have some success against tougher AI players or veteran online players. It’s tempting to just rely on quick and easy solutions like the sprint button, through passes and booming shots, but these will only provide limited success. The subtle skills of short passes, body positioning and player movement are the building blocks for the advanced skills.