CPU defending issue... need help with defence

[NinthFall]

Hi!

It seems I'm conceding goals all the time in Franchise Mode and I have no clue how to defend the goals I'm conceding. My CPU defenders positioning is awful and basically if the opponent manages to go on a counter attack and cross the ball, my defenders will never be there to block the cross and even if they are chances are they'll just ignore it. I thought this would be fixed with better defenders so I bought myself Koulibaly, but he's just as bad as 74 rated Rob Holding, literally makes no difference.

How do I make them keep their position better and actually do something instead of just standing there sleeping all game long? Also, I'm aware I have to control them, but I can only control one at the time.

[snyder5man]

I doubt you get an answer here. I'm sure everyone is getting scored on, with ease. My issue is the crazy amount of vollies and bicycle kicks from crosses. Most of my games have been 3-2, 4-3, etc. I've got one clean sheet after 12 games.

[unitedred]

How good are you at player switching? In order to be good at defending in fifa, you need to be good at anticipating where the pass is going to go, switch players, close down passing lanes, and team press at the same time. I recommend changing the controls so that teammate press is closer to your thumb. On the ps4, I changed tackle to x and teammate press to O.

If you're struggling to deal with crosses, you could change your tactics. You could instruct your fullbacks to not get forward, instruct your wingers to get back on defense, and use a drop back defensive style. Also, using a formation that matches up well against your opponent's can help. For example, a 4231 matches up well against a 433. I hope some of this helps .

[Krebstar]

So, these are my quick points on better defending. On World-Class this year, I started rough but have started to be able to hold the AI to no goals here and there, and often 8 shots on target at the most, sometimes less.

• Get used to playing as your fullbacks. They'll often tuck in too tightly on defense, so when an opponent is coming down the wing, switch to them quickly, get outside and don't let them past you. This is huge in terms of shutting down attacks. If a CB is coming out to cover, still try and switch to your fullback and cover, and your CB will drop back into the center.
• Set your CMs and CDMs to cover the center and not the wing which is default within your instructions in team management. This is imperative in terms of protecting your back line.
• Get used to playing as your deepest CM or CDM. Just like with the fullbacks, this is who you want to switch to on defense as long as the threat is coming down the middle. Don't switch to your CB—try and cut out the danger before it gets to them.
• Use legacy defending for your controls and utilize the secondary press. If I want to keep playing as my CDM and the ball is out wide, the AI will do a great job of closing down out wide and possibly even winning the ball back.
• Defend smart, and don't rush yourself. If you find you're at a frantic pace, it might be you that's causing it. Don't try and win the ball back immediately. Sit back and wait for a mistake. If you feel like you don't have time, you might need to increase your half length so you don't always feel rushed in defense.
• Go with a low setting in your tactics for how many players get forward into the box. This will help with some players staying back and cutting out attacks in midfield, and not adding to an end to end game.
• Always have at least one CM or CDM set as deep as you can in the formation, set to stay back.
• Unless you want to be insane, never set both fullbacks to always attack, unless they're wingbacks. I've started to have one always go forward while the other always stays back, which essentially leaves me with a back three when going forward. Or, set both to balanced and you'll also have more cover.

All of those have helped me gain better control defensively this year. I've kept clean sheets, and I've even limited shots on target. Sometimes you'll have a crazier game, it happens, but if you play smart and utilize some of those things above you'll hopefully be better off.