Defending is an art, and we’re about to train you all to become expert artists. If you’ve ever struggled with keeping the ball out of your net, you’re not alone. While offense in EA FC 26 has been highlighted consistently, defense hasn’t received the same appreciation. The problem is, you can’t win a game solely on offense.
Offense can’t be turned into defense, but a good defense (or counter) can always set up ideal offensive opportunities. So to help you take full advantage of those opportunities, we’ve compiled this concise defensive guide. This guide should serve as a basis for all your defensive needs, and tips and tricks directly from the top.
Is Defending Different In EA FC 26?
The running joke of EA games having minimal change from the previous year doesn’t apply to EA FC 26. Unlike FC’25, EA FC 26 puts a lot more focus on manual defending and calculated decisions. Don’t even think of piling your entire defense on one player because one through ball is all it takes. And don’t bet on the offense running out of stamina because it doesn’t apply as intensely as it used to, especially in the competitive preset.
Now, defending is more about reading your opponent’s movements, knowing where they’re pathing rather than just following them on the ball. Passing is a lot more accurate this time around, and passes into the box can be lethal. Keeping all this in mind, make sure you’re not just trying to brute force your way into a win, because all you’ll receive is a red card suspension.
That said, let’s focus on some defensive tips that’ll take your game to the next level.
Best EA FC 26 Defending Tips
Tactical Vs Advanced Defending
The type of pathing you choose is one of the easiest settings to pick, and trust us when we say this, tactical defending will save you a lot of goals. While advanced defending is, as the name says, advanced, it is a lot harder to pick up and requires much more decision-making. With tactical defending, the margin of error is larger, and mistakes aren’t punished as hard.
Now, you might think the harder option is better in the long run, and sometimes that is true. But switching to a different style of defense can be hard. And bearing all those losses will be even harder. If there’s a simpler option that makes defending easier, it’s best to take it. With less decision-making, you’re able to maximize other decisions to improve your defense.
Player Switching
Attacks in EA FC 26 are much more aggressive compared to FC 25. The players are faster, and trailing behind the attacker you’re supposed to mark is almost certainly a death sentence. This is why you need to learn player switching on your fingertips. If the player you’ve currently selected won’t be able to catch up, switch to another player down the field to intercept.
Switches work in two ways:
- L1/LB: Quick switch to nearest defender
- Right Stick: Switch to the player in a specific direction
Both of these methods have their uses, which is why mastering both is essential. In high-stakes situations, switching to whoever’s closest can save you from a goal. But sometimes knowing who to switch to and overriding the AI’s judgment can get you out of sticky situations. Learning when to opt for what will come with practice, so better get started soon.
Player Press
When talking about different types of presses on defense, you have:
- Partial Team Press
- Full Team Press
- Second Man Press
Each of them is good in different scenarios, but we’ll explain what each one does. The partial team press signals your defense to move in on any open pass options for the offense. As we mentioned, just overloading players onto the ball does not work anymore. One successful through ball will spell doom. The partial team press helps keep pressure on the offense and reduces the chances of an uncontested pass.
The full team press is a more aggressive version of the partial team press. Here, your team will not only mark open offensive opponents, but actively try to win the ball and go for a counter-attack. This is slightly more risky because your focus is split between defense and attack. However, this sets up a pristine offensive opportunity.
The second man press is exactly what the name suggests. Rather than everyone closing in on their marked targets, you focus on the second man running alongside the offense. The player with the ball can’t cut through your entire defensive line himself and will often look for an opportunity to pass the ball to the second man. If you see this and press the second man, you might save yourself from a tap-in goal.
Jockeying
This might be something of a new concept to some players, especially after playing previous iterations of FC. We mentioned how partial/full team press should be used for the team to stop passes, but what about stopping the run? Well, that’s where jockeying comes in. Using L2/LT, players can engage in jockeying. Your defender will now maintain a distance from the ballrunner, blocking potential passing paths, and reacting to the attacker’s movements.
This puts the pressure on the attacker to make a move since he can’t cut the ball through you, and gives your defense time to reorganize. You can also combine jockey with sprint (L2+R2) to perform a speed jockey. This is when maintaining the jockey against a fast player or a player on the run. Keep in mind how important it is to read the attacker’s decisions rather than blindly going in.
Utilizing CM/CDMs
One of the biggest blunders made by amateur FC players is not utilizing players on the field properly. Your defensive line should be your last line of defense, but that doesn’t mean you leave them in one-on-one situations. This puts the pressure on your defense to stop the attack at any means necessary; otherwise, it’s mostly a goal.
What you should do instead is pull back your CM/CDMs as soon as an attack starts forming. If the attack knows your players are coming in from behind, they’ll feel pressured into a pincer. Your CDMs from behind and your CB/FBs in front. This makes it a 2v1 instead of a 1v1, improving your chances of stopping the attack dead in its tracks.
Covering The Box
We can’t emphasize enough how important it is not to abandon your position, especially on defense. Something we observed in previous games was how CBs would often rush towards the corners to help FBs take back possession. The result? A lobbed cross into the box that results in a free goal. This brings us to our point of covering the box.
Whenever the attack is playing from the sides, make sure your CBs (and even CDMs in some cases) are covering the box. The attacker won’t take a shot from the corner, so the only reasonable outcome is a cross or a near pass. Both those options lose effectiveness if you’ve properly covered the box with players. These players can also shot-block if they try a direct shot after a short pass.
If you follow these tips carefully, you’ll end up with more possession and concede fewer goals as a result. Just make sure to practice off-the-ball defending, jockey with the attacker, and whenever you see a deadly attack forming, keep your composure!
